Community “Epidemiology”
Community is a sitcom about college students which routinely jumps between high concept storytelling and small-scale character drama, reminiscent of Dan Harmon's other work Rick and Morty. In this adventure, the cast attends a Halloween party which seems to be going well until only for a sudden zombie outbreak occur due to dean’s ineptitude. An enclosed, high-stress environment amplifies a zombie outbreak shares some amazing synergy with the characters as their often self-absorbed or near delusional personality traits. The lengths the cast go through to ensure their own safety or attempt absurd plans make for some hilarious results. A particular standout moment being when a character puts everyone in danger of infection after being bitten, by convincing themselves that were ‘special’ and immune. The climax also proves amusing when Donald Glover’s Troy attempts to save the day by donning some “power armor.” It’s not quite a parody as its played straight with all the characters acting completely in character, something it shares 2003’s Shaun of the Dead only with more emphasis on the humor over sentimentality.
Scary Godmother 1 + 2
The Scary Godmother specials are the devious pair of Halloween specials which premiered in early 2004 on Cartoon Network. The first special introduces us to an easily frightened girl named Hana as she gets goaded into entering an abandoned home to prove her maturity to her cousin. After entering the home, she gets whisked away to the supernatural land of Frightside by the titular Scary Godmother. Despite initial hesitation, Hana spends the night getting to know a cast of quirky monsters as she joins in their celebration of the holiday. The first Scary Godmother can be best described as a very cozy special. The entire special is about getting to know the colorful cast of monsters who show off multiple facets of their lives as their supernatural natures are humorously contrasted with mundane issues like parenting and teenage rebellion.The specials roots as a children's book shine through with the emphasis good morals like not judging a book its cover and an ending where the other kids are terrorized by Hannah’s new friends.
The second special pick up next Halloween and focuses on Jimmy, Hannah's cousin who has slowly descended into a paranoid madness after his scare from last Halloween. Jimmy’s paranoia eventually leads him to the conclusion that he must destroy Halloween, which is coincidentally correct as the existence of the Frightside depends on the success of the holiday. The special is still laidback but forgoes to comfortable party atmosphere for a ridiculous rant of a boy gone mad trying to ruin the holiday for his friends as they come up with inventive ways to celebrate the holiday without candy, store-bought costumes, or pumpkins. The true standout piece of entertainment stems from Jimmy’s devolution into the Halloween Grinch.
Be warned these specials were made with CG in the early 2000s. Need I say more. The faux cell-shaded aesthetic used for the backgrounds are distracting, especially due to their absence from the characters. The second film makes a decent effort at making things look less uncanny, but in the end neither special has aged well visually. Scary Godmother is really the perfect thing to put on after a long day if you want to relax while you imagine having friends you can actually celebrate the holidays with.
Honorable Mentions
There have been way too many Halloween themed media to cover at once, so here's a list of films, tv specials, and mini-series which deserve way more time given here to keep an eye out for.
Nightmare Before Christmas
Coraline
Paranorman
The Simpson “Treehouse of Horror” Specials
Over the Garden Wall
South Park “The Scoots”
Bob’s Burgers “The Hauntening”