By Mia Gutierrez, October 28, 2025
When it comes to fall everyone has their essentials they need to get into the fall spirit. Some of those may include carving pumpkins, baking, or even decorating. For others, the only essential needed is their favorite fall movie.
Here are the top five films to add to your watchlist this fall:
Coraline
This nostalgic 2009 film can bring viewers back to their childhood and pulls them into an eerie dimension with its claymation design and unique storyline.
The movie revolves around a blue–haired, rebellious girl named Coraline who enters another world through a pale little door that blends into the wall of her house. The door, it turns out, is a magical purple portal to a dimension where she finds her doppelgänger family, who want to keep her there forever, and the life she thought she wanted comes at a hefty cost.
The movie’s cool and dark tones as well as its unique character style create a cold and creepy aesthetic, which makes the film such a classic to watch during the spooky season.
“Every time you watch it, there’s always something new you didn’t notice before,” said kinesiology student Alexa Medrano. “It never gets boring and the creepy vibes are perfect for Halloween and fall time.”
When Harry Met Sally
Rom-coms may not be the first genre you think of for the spooky season, but can often be a comfort film to watch during fall.
“When Harry Met Sally” is a fall must–watch for a lot of rom–com lovers due to the constant guessing of will they or won’t they and the yearning for love during the holidays.
The film mainly takes place in the fall in Chicago. Harry and Sally meet in college, and the film displays the development of Harry and Sally’s relationship through the seasons and their views on whether men and women can just be friends.
The film’s extensive timeline allows the viewers to feel like they are in an emotional and complicated relationship with Harry and Sally, and ultimately want what’s best for them.
The Twilight Saga
The “Twilight” saga is always a classic for fantasy and romance lovers, but the colder season and rainy days is when viewers and the films die-hard fan base really tune in.
The first movie follows teenager Bella Swan, who falls in love with the aloof Edward Cullen after moving into a new town. She then discovers he is actually a vampire.
As the saga continues so do the challenges they face, including her love triangle with Edward and Jacob in “Eclipse” and her decision to choose Edward or Jacob regardless of how different their worlds are. The possibility of picking one of them means losing another.
The film’s moody and iridescent lighting, misty setting and cold temperature are what truly make the “Twilight” films stand out to fans and sends them back to the early 2000s.
“I specifically like ‘Twilight’ because it reminds me of my childhood, the whole ambience of the movie and how it takes places during autumn in Washington,” said psychology student Kate Peralta. “She describes Forks as a cold place, and that it’s always raining, which is what makes it such a perfect movie to watch when I’m nice and cozy in fall.”
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
“Wallace & Gromit” is a classic Victorian gothic horror film that brings an adventurous twist to fall. The movie focuses on the owner and dog relationship of Wallace and Gromit and their mission to stop a giant rabbit from destroying the town crops.
Although it is a stop-motion animated film, the warm, comforting and earthy tones, as well as the movie’s English town settings, make it feel like a real world. The film also relates to all age groups with its message of doing the right thing regardless of any amount or incentive that’s offered.
“The warm colors in the movie and a specific scene where he has coffee and a sweater really gives the fall vibe and the sense that the weather is getting cold,” said biology student Nicole Brown.
Halloweentown
Students who watch “Halloweentown” will get a nostalgic reminder of the Monstober campaign on Disney Channel that debuted in 2005.
The movie follows Marnie, who visits her grandmother and discovers she comes from a family of witches on her 13th Halloween. She learns she must use her family’s power to help save Halloweentown from an evil presence.
“Halloweentown” allows viewers to imagine what a world with ghosts, ghouls and witches would be like. It changes the narrative of scary Halloween movies by focusing more on the unity between the Halloween and human world. It represents the meaning of accepting others while also embracing who you are.
“The film is very nostalgic and intertwines the traditional concept of Halloween and also the lessons of love and family, while also trusting yourself to make the right decisions,” said apparel merchandising and management student Viviana Medina.
