There are scary Halloween movies, and then there's the perfect marriage between the spooky holiday and the fall season in general. '90s gem Practical Magic is the ultimate movie to turn on when the leaves start to change and the weather cools down. The Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman-led witchy feature is set in the picturesque autumn of New England, where the fall colors are more vibrant than anywhere else in the country. Over two decades later, the movie stands up as a beloved Halloween classic with minimal scares and more than a few romantic moments.
What is Practical Magic about?
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Twenty-four years later, if you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly suggest you spend a couple of dollars renting it on Amazon. It will easily become an annual favorite. The film is based on the Alice Hoffman novel of the same name, which follows two sisters, Sally (Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Kidman), who come from a long line of witches. The Owens women have long been looked down upon in the dreamy Massachusetts town they live in. This has made things difficult for Sally and Gillian over the years, who grew up in a spooky-looking old house with their two quirky aunts. They find love, experience loss, and must work together to defeat an evil threatening their family.
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If you've read the book, you know how different the film version is. It has the same characters, but the movie definitely romanticizes the story a bit, so it's impossible not to fall in love with the characters and their small town in New England during the peak of the fall season. Somehow the film also manages to have the perfect soundtrack to accompany the story, especially during pivotal moments. While having Stevie Nicks appear multiple times on the soundtrack certainly helps create a certain vibe, one of the best scenes in the movie was actually backed by a country song.
The Ultimate First Kiss Scene
Central to the plot is that the Owens women have bad luck with men because of a family curse placed by their ancestor, Maria. But Sally's two aunts decide that it's time to intervene with her lonely existence, so they spice things up a bit. In one of the most memorable scenes of any '90s romantic comedy, a spell is cast, and Sally runs from her gardening work to the center of town into the arms of a local man she had set her sights on. Equally entranced by the spell, he runs toward her as well, and she jumps into her arms for a first kiss that's so good you could really only come up with it in a movie. The ultimate song to play during this scene? Obviously, Faith Hill's "First Kiss."
A country song setting the scene in a witchy Halloween movie might not make the most sense at first, but it's strangely perfect. "This Kiss," written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff, was released the same year as the film, 1998, on Hill's third album Faith. It was a No. 1 hit on the country charts and earned the superstar two Grammy nominations. Though it's easily one of her most memorable hits from the '90s, it's also fondly remembered for its shining moment in this cult classic film.
Practical Magic Soundtrack:
- "If You Ever Did Believe," Stevie Nicks
- "This Kiss," Faith Hill
- "Got to Give It Up (Pt.1)," Marvin Gaye
- "Is This Real?,"Lisa Hall
- "Black Eyed Dog," Nick Drake
- "A Case of You," Joni Mitchell
- "Nowhere and Everywhere," Michelle Lewis
- "Always on My Mind," Elvis Presley
- "Everywhere," Bran Van 3000
- "Coconut," Harry Nilsson
- "Crystal," Stevie Nicks
- "Practical Magic," Alan Silvestri / "Convening the Coven" - The Michael Nyman Orchestra
- "Amas Veritas," Alan Silvestri / "Maria Owens" - The Michael Nyman Orchestra
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