Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen started their illustrious television movie careers in the early 1990s, while they were in the midst of their Full House success. They led their first film, To Grandmother's House We Go, when they were barely six years old in 1992, but it was their second film, Double, Double Toil and Trouble , that really launched them into TV movie stardom — at least, it did for me. A Halloween movie through and through, Double, Double Toil and Trouble is an underrated classic that deserves — nay, demands — a second look.
Double, Double Toil and Trouble is a family mystery disguised as a Halloween film. The Olsen twins starred as Kelly (Mary-Kate) and Lynn (Ashley) Farmer, twins who are tired of people commenting on how they look identical. While visiting their rich great aunt, Aunt Agatha — who is played by Cloris 'freakin' Leachman, the twins discover that Agatha also had an identical twin sister, Sophia. After finding a magic moonstone in their house, Aunt Agatha used it to ruin Sophia's life, eventually using her magic to banish Sophia to the other side through a mirror. After seven years trapped behind the mirror, on Halloween at midnight, Sophia will be banished forever, and Lynn and Kelly set out to rescue her. (Trust me, it's way freakier than it sounds.)
I'm not going to lie, Double, Double Toil and Trouble used to scare me to death. The idea of being banished to another dimension behind a mirror all alone was terrifying to me as a little kid — it still is. Yet despite the fact that it frightened me, I would watch the movie over and over again, Halloween or no Halloween. That's just one of the things that makes Double, Double Toil and Trouble so great: it's scary, but it's not a film you can only watch during Halloween season. Stories of family curses and jealous sisters are never out of style. It's also just a ridiculously cute movie. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were sensations for a reason, and Double, Double Toil and Trouble features the twins at their peak adorableness.
Now, I'm not one of those people who loves Halloween movies — I'll always watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown, but I'm not a Halloween movie junkie. Still, Double, Double Toil and Trouble will forever hold a special place in my heart, not because of its Halloween theme, but because it was the movie that kickstarted my obsession with the Olsen twins. I fell in love with Mary-Kate and Ashley through Double, Double Toil and Trouble, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Whether you're feeling nostalgic for a little Mary-Kate and Ashley, or you're just trying to find a good Halloween movie to cuddle up with, give Double, Double Toil and Trouble a shot. It will be the classic you never knew you needed.
Images: Warner Bros. Television ABC
