Freeform Announced Its Halloween Lineup For October, But I'm Really Confused By One Movie's Inclusion

Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween has become as much a seasonal staple as pumpkin spice lattes and Spirit Halloween pop-ups. Every October, the network rolls out its TV schedule of spooky and family-friendly classic Halloween must-watches like everyone’s favorite Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, mixed with modern entries like Hotel Transylvania and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. This year is no different, but one title on the list has me scratching my head.

The full schedule was revealed on Freeform’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, where they promised “all the scares, all month long” with a graphic listing every film. The usual suspects are there, like some of Tim Burton’s best movies, some creepy comedies, and Disney-approved frights. But as you can see in the list posted below, nestled among the witches, ghosts, and monsters is 1996’s Matilda. Yes, the Danny DeVito-directed Roald Dahl page-to-screen adaptation about a brilliant little girl with telekinetic powers made the cut.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I love Matilda. It’s easily one of Roald Dahl’s best movie adaptations, with Mara Wilson’s iconic performance, Pam Ferris’ terrifying Miss Trunchbull (who still haunts my childhood dreams), Miss Honey reading as a quiet trauma survivor, and the cake scene standing out as one of the most unforgettable moments in one of the best ’90s movies of all time. But is it really a Halloween movie? When I think of October programming, I picture supernatural hijinks, undead creatures, and Jack Skellington crooning from a spiral hill. Matilda, as charmingly oddball as it is — sometimes even playing like “My First Carrie Adaptation” — feels better suited to spring or back-to-school season than a fright-night lineup.

The rest of the lineup makes sense. Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice appear multiple times, because what’s October without them? Tim Burton is heavily represented, with Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas all taking up slots. Disney Channel staples like Halloweentown and Twitches are sprinkled in for nostalgia. Even offbeat picks like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and The Incredibles double feature (paired with Haunted Halloween) can be explained. But Matilda? That’s where Freeform lost me.

To be fair, Matilda does have its moments of genuine creepiness. Miss Trunchbull is essentially one of the scariest modern-day horror villains introduced into a children’s story, and her chokey punishment chamber could easily transition from a PG-rated to R-rated nightmare sequence. As I mentioned earlier, the telekinesis subplot bears shades of Carrie, particularly for the school setting. Maybe Freeform is leaning into that?

Still, labeling Matilda as a Halloween movie feels like a stretch — especially when some glaring omissions would have made far more sense in the lineup. Here are a few films I think would have been a better fit for Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween:

• The Halloween Tree — I’m a die-hard Halloween holiday fanatic, and my family watches this classic every year. Ironically, I first caught it on Fox Family’s (Freeform’s predecessor) 13 Nights of Halloween.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes — A Disney-produced Ray Bradbury adaptation that’s creepy, melancholic, and tailor-made for October nights.
• The Frighteners — Peter Jackson’s ghost-filled dark comedy delivers scares and laughs, plus it’s an underrated gem that deserves more love.
• The ’Burbs — Tom Hanks and suburban paranoia at its finest; it’s the perfect blend of horror and comedy for a neighborhood-themed fright fest.
• Ernest Scared Stupid — Pure nostalgic Halloween energy, slime and all, and one of the few kids’ comedies that really embraces the holiday vibe.
• Arachnophobia — Creepy crawlies galore; it’s funny, terrifying, and guaranteed to make you side-eye every corner of your living room.

Confusion aside, I’ll still tune in because Matilda is a comfort-watch classic, and a little tonal whiplash in a horror-heavy month isn’t the worst thing. Still, Freeform clearly had more seasonally appropriate options they could’ve tossed into the cauldron.

At the end of the day, 31 Nights of Halloween is less about strict genre rules and more about a month-long nostalgia binge. If that means serving up chocolate cake alongside broomsticks and black cats, well, that’s just part of the trick-or-treat deal.