Top Movie-Inspired Halloween Costumes To Consider
With the leaves changing colours and the air getting colder, that can only mean one thing: autumn is upon us. Besides the promises of Thanksgiving and a need to wear warmer coats, it brings one of my favourite parts of the season: Halloween.
Now if you’re anything like I am, then chances are you don’t have a costume lined up yet. In fact you probably haven’t even given it any thought. After all, it’s still more than ten days away, right? Sure, if you don’t mind going through whatever the stores have left when you finally decide to go shopping for one. Even then, you’re limited to what the stores have to offer. If that’s the route you’re going, then by all means, don’t let me stop you. It works for a lot of people. But if you’re looking for some movie-inspired ideas and suggestions before heading to the mall, then here are some things to keep in mind.
Nothing is more classic at Halloween than pirates and cowboys. And there’s been enough Halloweens and science fiction conventions to tell me that Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow was a popular one. With four Pirates of the Caribbean movies out and multiple characters in each, it wouldn’t be hard to customize any one to suit your style. If you’re looking for a more obscure pirate look, try the new Pirates! Band of Misfits costumes.
Cowboy costumes have been a staple in the Halloween industry for a long time. And why not? You’ve got everything from the classic John Wayne look to Woody from Toy Story. Want to change up your cowboy costume a bit? Give it a Cowboys and Aliens vibe by working in some of your old sci-fi costume, or simply clamp on a metal wristband with your six-shooters. Finally, modelling your costume after the new imagining of The Lone Ranger sets you apart as a person who not only knows how to put together a costume, but is well-informed with his movies.
If you’re looking to make a movie reference without everyone in the room knowing, you’ve got more than enough options. Girls, have an old school -girl uniform in your closet? Sucker Punch it (unless you’re planning on going as Britney Spears for the hundredth time, in which case, you and I need to talk). Guys – Have a long coat, dark hair and some eighties shades? Find an old stereo to carry around and you can be Say Anything’s Lloyd Dobler. Possibly the easiest obscure movie reference requires little more than a trip to the grocery store. Buy a coconut, saw it in half (drinking the milk is optional), and gallop around clicking them together. Nobody will care whether you will have a costume or not (although the people who don’t get it may have you locked up by night’s end).
If you’re looking for an easy, last minute movie costume, then vests and leather are your best friends. For guys, Han Solo of Star Wars and Marty McFly of Back to the Future have two easily achievable looks, all made possible with the use of an iconic vest. Got a black leather jacket? Spike the hair, rock the black and go as a Terminator.
If you’re a girl, it’s better to go with a recognizable figure. Got a long black dress? Get some black gloves and go as the famous Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Got a white dress? Marilyn Monroe is your best bet. Or, if you’ve got a prop weapon sitting at home and no costume to go with it, make yourself a Hunger Games contestant with little more than pants, a black shirt and a jacket (and may the odds be ever in your favour).
There’s nothing worse than dressing in one costume for a party and having someone think you’re someone else. To avoid this kind of problem, it would probably be best to stay away from dressing like Neo from The Matrix, as well as Agent J, K, or any other agent from the Men in Black series. Otherwise you will look either like a leering government agent, or someone who could be suspiciously late for a wedding.
If you’re planning on trying to go as a character from Avatar (the James Cameron film, not the awesome animated series), then make sure you do more than simply “blue” yourself up – with the popularity of the Smurfs resurging in the last few years, that could be the first and last time you try the look.
Finally, if you’re planning on going in little more than a fedora and trench coat to try and pull of a Humphrey Bogart-esque private investigator, make sure you’ve got the swagger. Otherwise you might be little more than an Inspector Gadget.
