Group Costume Ideas

OK, everybody sit down and write down your five favorite weird movies. Some of mine are Harold and Maude, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Eraserhead, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The Fifth Element. With these as your starting point you can get some very creative Halloween costumes.

Harold and Maude: if you’ve never seen this one, go out and rent it right now. Go on, I’ll wait. …

Back already? OK, Hilarity ensues as 18-year-old Bud Cort (Harold) plays a death-obsessed spoiled rich kid who falls for septuagenarian Ruth Gordon (Maude). This is a crazy simple small group costume. You need: a young man, an old woman, a one-armed Colonel, an uptight rich widow, and an Anglican minister. You can build it out with a few young girls and an undertaker if you have a larger group. To really cap it off, make a Jaguar XKE hearse. Never saw a Jag hearse? I TOLD you to go rent the movie, now GO!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (aka Willie Wonka): OK, I know you’ve seen this one, or at least the advertisements for it.

This one is great for very large groups. There are a lot of characters that everyone will recognize, and it is a great mix of purchased and home-made creative Halloween costumes.

For the home-made costumes, there are all the kids; what few items and props you might need you can from thrift shops or the local dollar store. There’s Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregard and of course Charlie Bucket. A lot of the Adults can also be put together from scratch pretty easily. But they’re kind of boring as costumes.

the Fun Stuff!

Willy Wonka, Confectioner Extraordinaire and All-Around Bizarro: You can rent or buy this costume, but have some fun; get yourself a velvet tux in either bright burgundy or red, a top hat and a loud shirt, with or without a big floppy bow tie, and don’t forget the cane, make it something extreme. You don’t really have to follow the movie precisely, have some fun with it people will get the idea, espescially if you have the …

Oompa Loompas: Here you do need to follow the movie images reasonably well. A brown long-sleeved t-shirt, baggy white overalls and white gloves and you’re almost there. Striped socks and some striped trim for your cuffs and collar finish the clothes. Just rent the green wig (unless you happen to have one laying around already `;-> ) and make some bushy white eyebrows; you’re all set. No you don’t have to be really short for this, just make sure whoever plays Willy is a lot taller

Eraserhead: this is a very early David Lynch classic.

Unless you go to some really far-out parties, no one will know who the hell you are. The movie was is black and white, so cover your face with grey makeup, and tease your hair straight up. Spray your hair with a a bit of grey to dull the color and you’re all done. Just wear a drab grey suit. Don’t forget Mary and the “baby.” If you haven’t seen this one, ask your freinds about it. Either you’ll love it or hate it, and being a David Lynch fan is no guarantee you’ll like it. Yes, it’s really that weird.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: This is a perennial favorite for creative Halloween costumes.

You should have no trouble finding costumes for everyone, so I won’t go into it much here. If you have any trouble. get in touch with your local medieval fan group; they’ll be more than happy to help you out. Don’t forget the killer rabbit. If you are at a big enough place, you could even build the Trojan Rabbit.

The Fifth Element: There are a few good characters from this film, it could be good for a small group of three or four.

First there’s Leeloo, get a bright red wig and some gauze and you’re ready to go. Not brave enough for the “bandage” costume? OK, then, settle for that thong-over-pantsuit bit.Several can dress up as the space pirates, but those rubber suits and masks can get really hot and uncomfortable. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get all hot and sweaty at a party. (unless it’s that kind of a party <grin>) If you’re feeling especially outragous, there’s Ruby Rod the over-the-top space video/radio host. A leoppard-print robe, microphone headset and don’t forget that hair (who could?) And the blue-skinned alien opera singer (what was her name?) I haven’t seen a ready-made costume for her, but with a little creativity, it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something.

OK, I’ve gotten you started, now GO GET YOUR COSTUMES!

For the
Economically Challenged (whether by Choice or Circumstance)

OK, you need a group costume ideas, and you don’t want to break your
(very fragile) piggy bank. This seems even more challenging because you have a group who want to go with a common theme. You can put together the basics at home, and just add on a couple cheap accents from the costume shop or local discount store.

A band of gypsies is pretty easy if a few of you have the right tastes in clothing hiding away in your closet. The ladies just need to layer several skirts, perhaps with some scarves as skirts, and a simple peasant blouse with a few dollars of gaudy costume jewelry. The men just need a vest and a hoop earring.

A band of hobos is crazy simple; we used to use this one a lot when we were kids. Just take some old clothes and rough them up a little, drag them around in the dirt, maybe walk on them a little. Rub a bit of grime on your face, dark makeup works, but we often used old coffee grounds. And of course your goodie bag of a kerchief tied to a stick over your shoulders.

Couples and
Small Group Costume Ideas

Even for groups of three or four, it can be easy to twist a couples costume to work. For example, one old standard is Bonnie and Clyde, but if you have a larger group, just add a couple of police and you’re all set.
Just take the basic pair and build out a supporting cast to suit your group.

A lot of great group Halloween costume ideas come from taking the old standards and giving them a gruesome Halloween twist. I often see Cupid and a loving couple at Halloween parties. So let’s see cupid gone wrong. Maybe Cupid accidentally grabbed the wrong bow and arrows and people are getting killed. Just the diaper/loincloth and archery set for Cupid and bloody arrow wounds for the victims. Or step it up a notch (OK, several notches) and give Cupid a Tommy gun.

Take the gruesome and move it into the mundane with a zombie beach party or disco zombies. One very funny group I’ve seen was a “Ghouls Gone
Wild” take-off on the videos you see advertised on late-night TV.

Move the cute into the gruesome, or the gruesome into the ordinary and you have the makings of some very memorable group costume ideas.