Halloween hits on Friday. Are you prepared to see Elsa & Annas & Olafs everywhere you look for our first post-Frozen dress-up holiday? That billion dollar 2013 smash will surely dominate. As for 2014 movies it goes without saying that you'll see a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy and sometimes full teams. Team costumes on Halloween are the best but the key to their worth will be in how they handle adorable memorable Groot. Groot costumes will range everywhere from the godawful to the 'how'd they do it' spectacular, depending on creativity and budget.
Here are the characters / movies that would be the neatest tricks to pull off that would make the biggest treats for The Film Experience if fully sewn or creatively cobbled together by overachievers.
(Say no to store bought costumes!)
TEN 2014 COSTUMES WE HOPE TO SEE ON HALLOWEEN
10 "Full Metal Bitch"
The great takeaway of Edge of Tomorrow or Live. Die. Repeat. or All You Need is Kill or whatever they're calling it today is that Emily Blunt is a badass. Rita, the feared warrior within, practically begs for a life outside of that movie since she is so iconized within it. Good luck pulling off all the metal armor and weaponized accessorizies. And how to look exactly like Emily Blunt while doing it and not "Random Robot Girl"... that's your challenge.
How to win Halloween in this costume: Get a male sidekick in a similar outfit who is shorter than you. Or drag along weird alien carcasses behind you.
"The Shailene Woodley and eight more costumed curveballs after the jump
09 "The Shailene Woodley"
Why choose between The Fault in Our Stars or Divergent when you can have both? Throw on a long wig (if you don't have those luxurious brown locks) and an Abnegation or Dauntless or combo look, and pair it with an oxygen tank and a hefty book or two. If anyone thinks you're making fun of the sickly or dying, remind them that The Fault in Our Stars actually has a romantic makeout climax in the Anne Frank Museum so it loses all contests about appropriateness.
How To Win Halloween In This Costume: Find a way to incorporate Shailene's online-antagonizing anti-feminist celebrity persona for the whole picture.
08 Anything from The Book of Life
I don't have anything clever to say about this but who doesn't love an intricate super colorful costume? The colors in this movie. The colors. The makeup opportunities for the overachiever!
07 "Birdman"
If you don't have the money for the full look, you're better off. Some combo of Riggan Thomson, the has-been movie star, and his super obnoxious alter ego is the way to go anyway. Bonus points if your Halloween party is booze-fueled and you can incorporate a striptease into just your underwear and a bad wig for comic effect.
How To Win Halloween In This Costume: Make it a group costume. Convince an exhibitionist friend to be Mike Shiner in his man-panties to follow you around challenging you / stealing your thunder and your daughter. Or risk confused stairs with dancing reindeer accompaniment.
06 "Anna & Wanda"
Hipsters only option. A lot of people won't know Ida but you should never let box office and populist limitations rule your movie obsessions. Life would be so boring with only studio film obsessions in the mix. Why not do this Jewish Nun pairing with your best GFF especially if you're hitting a party attended by other movie buffs.
How To Win Halloween in This Costume: Put Wanda in a window frame and make sure your makeup and costumes are entirely black and white. (Think Detox at the Drag Race Reunion.)
05 "Valka"
This one is for the cool moms. And what was cooler in Strong Female Characters this year than Cate Blanchett's mysterious dragon rider... especially with that freaky mask.
How to Win Halloween In This Costume: Dress up your baby son and family pet as Hiccup & Toothless to accompany you. Baby son is still too young for the ultimate Mothers/Son costume (I've yet to see a real life mom & son do Psycho for Halloween but I've always always wanted to see it)
04 "Lucy"
An easy costume with pop culture punch. Lucy was a big enough hit that if you get the dark roots bad blonde dye job right, and are smart enough to switch it out for a black wig without warning (change your hair color with your mindddddd. Use more than 10% of your brain and f*** hair salons - who needs 'em) everyone will know who you are. Bonus points for the overachievers who can figure out how to work in her whole 'becoming a computer with weird black entrail blobbiness.' No, I don't know what was happening in that movie as previously discussed.
How To Win Halloween In This Costume: Convince your Asian friends to trail behind you as nameless disposable antagonists - not racist at all!
03 Anyone from The Boxtrolls
The possiblilities are just about endless, especially if you're looking for a group costume for family or friends. The Boxtroll look is easy if you find the right boxes (aged, funky, unique) and ghoulish makeup. Imagine the cute factor of parents as White Hats with their baby boy or girl in an "Eggs" box or Winnie dress? All props to Deborah Cook who did an amazing job on the costumes in this movie and is weirdly not credited for it on IMDb.
How to win Halloween in this costume: Be twins, siblings or boyfriends and pull off "Madame Frou Frou" & "Snatcher" together
02 "Amazing Amy"
GONE GIRL SPOILERS... WHICH, WELL IT'S BEEN OUT A WHILE NOW.
This would be a hard one to pull off but if people recognized who you were dressed as they would absolutely love it. How exactly do you convey elusive missing possibly murdered Amy Dunne? Do you try to recreate a children's book cover of "Amazing Amy"? Do you go with a bloody slip and box cutter? Her on-the-lam incognito look? Or do you get more creative by including your actual hubby?
How to win Halloween in this costume: Be an actual couple with a sense of humor about your couple-dom and pull off Nick (easy costume!) & Amy in tandem... somehow. But how to convey that marriage in visual form? Any suggestions from brilliant readers out there?
01 "Franck & Michel" from Stranger by the Lake
KIDDING! Don't get arrested on Halloween. Or, if you do, don't blame TFE for suggesting this. If you'd like to do this costume at a private party please send photos to filmexperience (at) gmail (dot) com
01 "Gustav H"
If I were still dressing up -- I don't know why I quit exactly -- I'd be aiming for Gustav this year. That old world elegance, that snooty stylization, that lux purple jacket (my favorite color), and all his equally colorful friends and colleagues and enemies. In fact group costumes from The Grand Budapest Hotel would be all kinds of amazing thanks to costuming legend Milena Canonero's work. Think about it. That visually specific ensemble would afford a wide variety of opportunities for your personal entourage. I'm not just talking about hotel staff: Who wants to do old lady Tilda drag?; Who wants to carry a big fluffy stuffed cat?; Who wants to be a scary finger chopping murderer; a member of a prison gang?; Who wants to carry huge boxes of candies as a pastry chef's assistant with a birthmark?
How to win Halloween in this costume: Find as many friends as possible willing to join in. Wes Anderson movies were practically made to inspire group costumes. Very large groups, very awesome costumes. See also: The Royal Tenenbaums.
Do you have your Halloween costume picked out for Friday?