What is the criteria for a perfect fall movie? Take into consideration outfits, food, place, just the perfect mix of it all—what movie comes to mind?

 Every year it’s the same lineup: “Hocus Pocus,” “When Harry Met Sally” and the “Harry Potter” saga. While they are all personal favorites, it’s time to introduce a new set. Following a rubric that pays close attention to themes, scenery, aesthetics and characters, students all have their own opinion as to what a fall film means.

 When asking juniors Fiona Brandt and Paige Deke, they had very similar ideas come to mind. In terms of fall colors they both immediately said a color palette including browns, oranges and mellow yellows. When it came to fashionable wear, Brandt leaned more towards scarves, flannels and almost anything with a plaid pattern while Deke fell for a Levi’s jean jacket, Doc Marten loafers and messy braid” type of vibe. Their joint consensus for fall movies was “Goosebumps,” “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and, not a movie, but worth mentioning, the ever-iconic “Gilmore Girls.”

 Junior Oliver Meredith couldn’t come up with any colors or themes that fell within the fall spirit. His big contribution was that his favorite genre is any spooky one, specifically the movie “Halloween.”

  Junior Dakota Tol had a bit more to say. She believes a perfect fall movie should be any thriller, a classic seasonal scare really honing in on the holiday spirit. This is anything from “The Shining” to “American Psycho.” 

 “I’m all for a good scare,” Tol said. “It’s Halloween so there is only so much time to watch some fun thrillers you don’t really think about the rest of the year.” 

 When it came to colors and initial thoughts on the season she was not sure about a color palette but an immediate thought is really anything to celebrate the holiday, carving pumpkins, homecoming, and driving around looking at all the different decorations. 

 Asking people from an older generation, such as Summit English teachers Amanda Holdredge and Erin Carroll, the answers started to vary. Instead of the jean jacket, loafer Docs and everything plaid outfits, responses began to lean more to the penny loafers, Levi’s 501’s and Benetton sweaters. 

 Not just the sweats and fashion combos changed, the movies did, too. “The Breakfast Club,” “Risky Business” and “The Princess Bride” all seemed to be very appealing contenders, alongside perhaps the one with its more fitting name, “Autumn in New York.” And there couldn’t be a fall lineup without “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

 Don’t get it wrong, everyone loves Charlie Brown and Hermione Granger, but these characters and the movies that come with them tend to become more background noise rather than eyes glued to a screen. Try mixing up your own recipe for the perfect fall movie. Here’s what to look for: 

 Year: When was it made? The year can heavily determine the cinematography. Looking for a static-y film with romantic music every 25 seconds? Check out some older films, anything ranging from 30-40 years ago. Or a pillow-over-the-eyes, and practically feel like the killer is standing in the room horror monstrosity? Look for movies made over the past 10 years.

 Plot: What type of scare is ideal? Is it a “DON’T GO IN THERE” or a “will she make it to the train in time to tell him how she feels?” When making the decision, consider the desired fear level.

 Feeling: this probably seems like a silly category, but think about how every teenage girl began to wear sparkly eye makeup and matching clothing sets when Maddie from Euphoria began doing it. Why? Because it felt exciting to wear something that powerful and to know that Maddie did it too, so what type of feeling is being evoked? Reborn, shattered, mournful, empowered. It can make the movie that much more exciting when there’s a feeling bleeding from the screen.

 Acting: Who and how should the movie, dialogue and acting flow? Is it constant jokes and sarcasm like with Lorelai and Rory Gilmore? Or are the actors soft and delicately spoken, like Laurie from Little Women? Acting and small details can be the deciding factor when searching for an ideal movie.

 All these seemingly little things combined equal a simple, foolproof way to pick a movie. No more surfing Netflix just trying to find a movie that will be only half as good as anticipated.