Welcome to Sloane’s Showtime Sessions: a column where I, an avid movie-watcher, share my opinions on the latest movies in theaters and streaming in your living rooms. Have a movie suggestion to share? Leave me a note in the comments or email me: [email protected]

   As Halloween recently came to an end, let me ask you… what is Halloween without ghosts, goblins, monsters, and scares? Spooky season is a time full of original movies, throwbacks, and traditional themes. Casper is a nostalgic 1995 film with a sentimental tale of a friendly ghost who solely wants to make friends. 

   Casper is a Family/Comedy movie directed by Brad Silberling that stars Christina Ricci as Kathleen “Kat” Harvey, Bill Pullman as Dr. James Harvey, and Devon Sawa as Casper himself.

   The movie starts off with a haunted mansion located in Maine full of ghosts that no one wants to stay in, let alone enter. Casper’s 3 mean ghost uncles haunt the mansion, all while little Casper only wants to make a friend with anyone brave enough to stay.

   When Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) arrives at the mansion with his daughter “Kat” Harvey (Christina Ricci), things quickly change. Dr. Harvey isn’t phased by Casper’s uncle’s evil ways. “Kat” forms a very strong connection with Casper… Casper might’ve developed special feelings for her.

   The plot upon their arrival is heart-warming as the mother of “Kat” and the wife of Dr. Harvey passed away and all he really wants is to connect with her again. The entire time the movie played, I found myself reminiscing about Halloween at a young age. It truly brought me back in time down memory lane. 

   If I could recommend one “spooky” movie that represents the true value behind the Halloween tradition, it would certainly be Casper. With ghosts that can talk, haunt, but also feel empathy, this movie is everything that Halloween speaks for. Overall, I’d rate this movie a 10/10 and will definitely watch this movie every Halloween season.