The Perfect Movie for Halloween Night

Every Halloween at exactly 10:00 pm, a tradition begins.

A crowd gathers in a random living room somewhere in the outskirts of Tokyo, They were all asked to bring snacks along with a bottle of wine and nothing more. For thirty minutes they made small talk as they anticipated what was to come. Lights were dimmed and the TV screen began to flicker. The tradition begins.

Every Halloween night, my friends and I get together for a filming of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It all started around 15 years ago when I suggested, or should I say, forced my friends to watch it. None of them really celebrated Halloween and they couldn't figure out why I made such a fuss about it, so I figured seeing this movie would show them what the spirit of Halloween was all about.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

The story revolves around Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King, who is in charge of the yearly Allhallows Eve in Halloween Town. He grows weary of the same event year after year and discovers a town called Christmas Town. He makes an attempt to take over Christmas Town and Santa Claus. In the process, he discovers the meaning of true happiness by just being himself.

There are so many reasons why I love this movie. First of all, it's hard not to be amazed at the fact that the entire film was created using stop-motion animation. This means that 24 individually posed frames were necessary to create one second's worth of action on film! The movie is full of spectacular visuals and the music and songs are creatively written. I also think it's ingenious at how they've included Halloween with Christmas into one film, making it the perfect film to watch during the entire holiday season.

The Nightmare Before Christmas never seems to get old for me. I've always loved Tim Burton's films but this one seems to be one of my favorites. It's one of those rare movies where it appeals to people of all ages.

The tradition continues

15 years ago, I started this tradition of watching this film with friends on Halloween night. Perhaps it's all the good food and wine that keeps them coming back every year. I like to believe that Jack Skellington had something to do with it.

Here are some recipes that you might enjoy for Halloween.

• Halloween Spider Cupcakes
• Japanese Curry Rice for Halloween
• Easy Halloween Cupcakes