9. Paranorman
Paranorman is a stop-motion animated film that was actually considerably more entertaining than I expected it to be. It tells the tale of Norman, a misunderstood boy who has the ability to talk to the dead. But when Norman fails to keep the tradition of reading a fairytale at a Witch's grave, she awakens along with a group of zombies and it's up to Norman and his friends to figure out exactly what is going on and save the day. The end of the film sees Norman discovering that the witch is actually a young girl who could speak to the dead, just like him, only she was ostracised for her ability and has been vengeful ever since. Norman eventually convinces her that her thirst for vengeance is just inflicting more pain on the town's inhabitants, finally understood by someone else, she drifts away peacefully into the afterlife and the town is saved. There is large scope for a sequel here, Norman still has the ability to talk to the dead, only now the townspeople and, more importantly his family, believe him. A potential sequel could involve other mythical creatures of horror icons such as vampires or werewolves and further curses that Norman must overcome in order to protect the town. Whatever the direction a sequel would take, it would be great to see the vibrant characters and ghosts of Blithe Hollow brought to life again with the same humour and warmth that this film offered.