Claira Curtis

Near the end of Spirited Away, as the young heroine, Chihiro, prepares to leave the bathhouse that employs her to try to save the life of the boy she loves, her mentor asks the boiler man, Kamaji, “What’s going on here?” A fitting question, one you may ask yourself at least once while watching this tale full of folkloric spirits, transforming creatures, and otherworldly environments. Kamaji’s response is simple, yet pointed, “Something you wouldn’t recognize.

For almost twenty years, Robert Englund invaded our nightmares as Freddy Krueger. While there have been countless Michaels and Jasons, Englund was the sole possessor of Nightmare on Elm Street’s brand of terror (save one misguided reboot, which Tony confirms solidified Englund as “the only true Freddy.”) The series went on to spawn five direct sequels, a soft meta-reboot, and a crossover with Friday the 13th. As the ’80s entered the MTV and Saturday morning–cartoon era, Freddy pivoted.

In 1815, Jane Austen brought to life a literary icon with these words: “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” In 1995, writer-director Amy Heckerling brought Emma’s modernized counterpart, sixteen-year-old Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), onto the big screen with Clueless.