Nightmare On Church Road

The woodwork squeaks… The Whale SUN29OCT23

t’s good to know that, in this age of 1,001 daily distractions on our phones, some people still know the unbeatable power of getting together in a dark room and letting a movie truly envelop you.

This afternoon, there were plenty of just such smart kids – and their lucky parents – at The Whale, for a triple-bill of Halloween big screen classics.

Earlier in the day, it was Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie for the kids, and later this evening, for the kooks, it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Sandwiched in between is perhaps the finest Halloween movie of them all, The Nightmare Before Christmas, written by Tim Burton and directed by his fellow failed Disney animator, Henry Selick.

That this stop-motion film still has the power to charm and slightly alarm 30 years after its release says something about the black comedic magic contained therein.

And the happy sight of all the smiling young faces down at The Whale this afternoon – including birthday girl Michelle, centre in our first gallery shot below – would no doubt bring a tear to Jack Skellington’s eye.

If you hurry, you can still grab a ticket for The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 8pm here.

And if you’re feeling nostalgic, you can jump back to one of our earlier Nightmare screenings here.

You can check out this year’s Christmas movies here.