Nightbooks

 "Nightbooks" (2021, David Yarovesky, Ghost House Pictures, MXN Entertainment, Catchlight Studios, Netflix) is a fun horror for kids based on the book by J.A. White.

Alex (Winslow Fegley) is a young horror fan who likes to write his own scary stories. After a disappointing horror themed birthday party, he swears never to write a scary story again and takes his notebooks down to the building's basement with the intention of burning them in the furnace. However, en route he discovers a mysterious floor of the building and enters a strange apartment, which turns out to be owned by a witch called Natacha (Krysten Ritter), who holds him prisoner and tells him he must tell her a scary story each night or else! 

While the witch sleeps, Alex and his fellow captive, Yazmin (Lidya Jewett), who has been stuck in the witch's apartment acting as her housemaid for several years, attempt to find a way to escape and unlock some interesting secrets along the way.

A fun horror aimed at kids, "Nightbooks" delivers some festive scares and action as well as some important messages about wandering into stranger's apartments. Yazmin and Alex learn to work together through the film to try and outwit the evil witch.

Sporting some great effects and a rather terrifying magic cat, "Nightbooks" is sure to appeal to young horror fans in the making and is a fun adventure for adults, too. A welcome entry to the annual Halloween countdown and somewhat reminiscent of other great kids' horrors such as "The Monster Squad" (1987).

[Image: Ghost House Pictures, et al]

Hani

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" (2019, André Øvredal, Lionsgate, Entertainment One, CBS Films, Sean Daniel Company) is a film based on the series of short stories by Austin Schwartz.

A horror anthology aimed at teens (think "Creepshow" meets "Goosebumps"), the film is surprisingly jumpy and really well put together. We follow Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti), Auggie (Gabriel Rush), Chuck (Austin Zajur) and Ramon (Michael Garza) who find the book of scary stories by Sarah Bellows, the town's local horror legend, on Halloween night. The stories not only have a horrible way of becoming reality, however, the group discover new stories are still being written from beyond the grave and people they know, including themselves, are the unlucky protagonists... Can they put a stop to Sarah before it's too late?

Although very heavy on CGI which may not age very well in the long run, the film has a neat wraparound story and enjoys a seasonal Halloween theme which could make it a fun addition to annual viewing.

The stories are well adapted for screen from the original tales and even those of us too old to enjoy the childhood nostalgia of the stories themselves, the film still captures the feel of the tales and makes an entertaining 120 minutes.

Our protagonists and even antagonist bully, Tommy (Austin Abrams), feel well rounded and give a good performance in their roles. The late 60s setting of the film seems somewhat incidental, but not the the film's overall detriment. In the main, the adult characters are kept to the periphery and leave the main work to the kids.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good the scares were. The film doesn't seem to shy away from being quite dark and it's certainly a film young me would have loved. For the adult viewer it will feel relatively trope-laden but it's a perfect film for younger horror-hounds in the making who want to see something scary but aren't quite ready for some of the more adult targeted films. It's a good gateway film and could have the staying power for longevity in the future.

[Image: Lionsgate, et al]

Hani

Hell Fest

"Hell Fest" (2018, Gregory Plotkin, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, Valhalla Motion Pictures, CBS Films, Lionsgate) is a slasher film set at a Halloween theme park.

A group of teen friends visit the Hell Fest themepark together, enjoying their VIP passes. However, they soon notice that they are being followed by The Other, a masked man. Is it just another of the park's entertainment or have they attracted the attention of a serial killer?

While the film is serviceable, it is largely trope-ridden. The scares don't always successfully land and you don't get to know any of the characters well enough to make them much more than slasher fodder. The killer himself is also fairly forgettable and lacks any interesting quirks or characteristics that would let him in with any chance of joining the slasher villains' rogue gallery. It is nice, however, to see a film not just falling into the 'the park staff are in on it' story.

The festival itself looks fun and is a great scene for this type of story. The set design and range of horror themes threaded through the theme park are really well done and make the film worth seeing for that element alone.

All in all, it's not very original but is worth checking out if you're a slasher fan looking for something new to watch.

[Image: Tucker Tooley Entertainment, et al]

Hani

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

"Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988, Dwight H. Little, Trancas International) is the fourth instalment in the Halloween franchise and a direct sequel to Halloween 2.

Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur, Tom Morga & Erik Preston) wakes from a coma and discovers that his sister Laurie has been reported dead, but had a daughter called Jamie (Danielle Harris) who is living in Haddonfield with a foster family. He makes a murderous bee-line towards Haddonfield to find her, whilst being tailed by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence).

The film is a pretty by-the-book slasher movie and pales, of course, in comparison to the original. Donald Pleasence, as ever, manages to deliver a dedicated performance, and Danielle Harris gives a strong performance as the young Jamie, however overall Michael is just slashing over familiar ground and it lacks the tension of its predecessors. Despite that, it remains an entertaining film and is still worth visiting for some old fashioned slasher movie nonsense.

[Image: Trancas International]

Hani

I Married a Witch

"I Married a Witch" (1942, René Clair, Paramount Pictures) is a black and white comedy romance based on the unfinished novel titled "The Passionate Witch" by Thorne Smith which was later completed by Norman H. Matson .

The witch, Jennifer (Veronica Lake), curses the Wooley family in Puritan times after she and her father Daniel (Cecil Kellaway) are denounced as witches and sentenced to death by Jonathan Wooley (Fredrich March). The Wooley curse is to never find happiness in love, and this haunts the descendants of the Wooley clan up until 'present' day.

When Jennifer and Daniel's spirits are released by accident on the eve of Wallace Wooley's (also Fredric March) wedding to spoiled, gold digging bride, Estelle (Susan Hayward), Jennifer sees an opportunity to further punish the Wooley clan and attempts to woo Wallace and ruin not only his unhappy wedding, but also his run for Governor. But spells can be tricky things, and often go awry...

Veronica Lake is stunning, but the best thing about her is her comedic timing. Jennifer is a marvellous character and we enjoy every devious minute that she's on screen. The film enjoys great pacing, fantastic effects, considering the time of production, and a delightful and well portrayed story.

If you're looking for some lighthearted Halloween entertainment, this could definitely be for you.

[Image: Paramount Pictures]

Hani

Haunt

"Haunt" (2019, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Broken Road Productions, Nickel City Pictures, Sierra/Afinity) is a film about an extreme Halloween haunted house attraction.


Are extreme Haunts a real thing? Regardless, this story follows a group of students who go searching for a way to keep the party going after the clubs close on Halloween night and venture into an extreme Haunt they find on a secluded road. But the convincing scares they witness at the start of their tour might be more than clever tricks and they soon realise that they themselves may be the next part of the attraction.


It's a premise that's been done before in films such as 2014's "The Houses October Built" , however, I'd hasten to add that filmmakers Beck and Woods, who are better known perhaps for "A Quiet Place", have selected a different style of storytelling and steered clear of the found footage style, which differentiates this work from others of its kind. The action is pretty good and the gore is very well realised. The pacing of the film is also fairly sturdy with very few long pauses between action.


My main and only gripe with the film, really, is that the characters are so unlikeable that I didn't feel like I was rooting for anyone in particular. Even protagonist, Harper (Katie Stevens), is not as sympathetic as she could have been. This isn't a comment on the acting, however, and is admittedly not uncommon in slasher movies, where most of the cast are really just fodder anyway. In that respect, the film delivers a good bounty of kills and gore as well as not delving too far into trying to explain the reasons behind the murder and mayhem. Certainly worth checking out this spooky season on Shudder.

[Image: Broken Road Productions, et al]

Hani

Hell House LLC 2

"Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel" (2018, Stephen Cognetti, Cognetti Films) is the sequel to 2016's found footage jump-fest, "Hell House LLC".

I personally really enjoyed the original film and you can find my thoughts on it here.

Following on from the events of the first film which covered a documentary team investigating the supposed technical issues which caused tragedy at the opening night of popular Halloween Haunt, Hell House, at the Abaddon hotel in 2009, the second film focuses on the public's continued curiosity of the cause of the tragedy.

Having reached some level of infamy after the documentary was released, Mitchell (Vasile Flutur) ventures back into the Abaddon Hotel after investigative journalist, Jessica Fox (Jillian Geurts), and her team receive an anonymous tip off of breakthrough evidence within the abandoned building. Despite Mitchell's misgivings they head back inside and discover some more of the truth behind the hotel's dark presence.

The familiar surroundings and creation of continuity are very effective and the film manages to continue the story in a believable way, demonstrating that the documentary inspired several wannabe ghost hunters to venture into the hotel with their camera phones and meet some unfortunate circumstances.

A lot of the jump scares are familiar, too, but this isn't to the detriment of the film and actually really pleased me as a viewer. The hotel doesn't change the rules for the sequel, it just reveals more of its nature to the camera. There are one or two elements where we are shown perhaps too much compared to the first film where a lot of the scares were in the subtlety of the horror, but on the whole the sequel delivers a lot of the same level of creep that the first did.

In the pattern of most sequels, however, the film does not quite meet the quality of the original and the characters and actors do not quite convey the same natural relationships and repartee that the original cast did. Things do sometimes feel a little more obviously acted. Although some of these scenes took me out of the story momentarily, the action within the hotel would quickly draw me back in.

The film delivers many more twists than the first and some of the revelations are delivered at a fast pace. A good few of these are succinct and creative, but the volume of them did lose some of the ingenuity and simplicity of the original plot. The story flow of the sequel is also less linear than the original and demands a little more effort from the viewer to keep things in place.

All in all, "Hell House LLC: The Abaddon Hotel" delivers an effective sequel that continues the story from the first film and sets up a comfortable starting place for more in the series. Although it didn't feel as immersive as the original, I certainly enjoyed it and look forward to a third.

[Image: Cognetti Films]

The Houses October Built

"The Houses October Built" (2014, Bobby Roe, Room 101, Foreboding Films, Image Entertainment, RLJ Entertainment) is a found footage horror set at Halloween.


The film opens at the end. I imagine to whet your appetite and rev you up for the movie, but for me it just robbed a bit of the mystery out of the experience.


Flash forward to introduce us to a group of pals from Ohio setting out on their road trip around the American South's scariest and most extreme Haunted House attractions. They plan to film their experience as a documentary and uncover the darker side of the 'harmless' fun of thrill-seeking.


They start out with the more mainstream Haunts, introducing us to the characters and letting us see some of the attractions. But their ultimate goal is to find a legendary and exclusive extreme haunt called "Blue Skeleton", which is said to utilise actual torture techniques for a more realistic experience.


Throughout their journey they encounter natural resistance from Haunt staff to divulge their trade secrets or oust their employers' more sinister tricks. They're chased, threatened and thrown out a fair few times. Additionally, they get to hear some more disturbing tales from less coy staff.


Finally, they catch wind of the elusive Blue Skeleton and, with some difficulty, are able to gain entry to the Haunt. However, once inside, will they live to tell the tale?


A directional debut from Roe who also plays one of the main characters, he has brought together a cast which interacts fairly well on screen. However, the film suffers from a bit of a lack of strong pacing and a few conflicts of style. The characters start out making a documentary, but this theme doesn't seem to continue much throughout the film and it winds up just a stream of clips. I get it, they haven't edited it yet (and maybe won't ever get around to it) but you'd think they would have filmed a few more documentary-style scenes and interviews than are shown.


The film premise is pretty good with plenty of footage of the haunts themselves, but there's very little action throughout most of the movie and then, when stuff does start to pick up, it's over really quickly without any explanation and not enough mystique to make it a satisfying mystery. The movie ends with the only explanation being "*shrug* just 'cause".


I'm not a huge found footage fan, and when I do find a FF film that I like, it invariably has some wraparound or a few scenes of traditional filming to bolster out the shaky cam (see my thoughts on 2016's "Hell House LLC"). One of my main issues with "The Houses October Built" was that its reliance solely on 'unedited' found footage reels, made it noisy and disjointed to watch. And it's never really explained how we're watching it. Have the Blue Skeleton staff sold the videos on? Are we watching it over their shoulder/through their eyes? Was this even the Blue Skeleton?


Although, for a debut it's a fairly solid Found Footage entry and, if you like haunted houses, there's a few good scenes.

[Image: Foreboding Films, et al]

Hani

Death Spa

"Death Spa" aka "Witch Bitch"  (1989, Michael Fischa) is a campy 80s film about a haunted gym.

It's the late 80s and everyone is into lycra and leg warmers. We open onto the parking lot of the Starbody Health Spa. It's a stormy night, and the neon sign suddenly falters, losing the letters s,t,a,r,b,o,y,h and l. Cunningly leaving our movie title lit up in the rain. And that, my friends, is where all the cunning behind this picture ends.

"Death Spa" is a ridiculous romp through a haunted health club, chalk full of sweaty beautiful people in colourful workout outfits, gratuitous nude scenes, extremely 80s dance workouts and terrible dialogue. Oh, and it's set at Halloween. It's great and also a bit crap at the same time!

Michael Evans (William Bumiller) owns and operates the Starbody Health Spa. A recent widower after his wife committed suicide, Michael is back on the dating game. When some of his clients, including his new squeeze, are suddenly (and often fatally) attacked by his gym equipment, Michael begins to suspect that his late wife is haunting his gym!

Although slow in places and suffering from serious pacing issues, the film benefits from some fun, low budget effects and hilarious gore. It really is a great candidate for a so-bad-so-good cheesy movie night and definitely one for the low budget horror aficionados out there looking for something a little different to your usual haunted house flick! Just don't go in with any high expectations.

Hani

Hell House LLC

"Hell House LLC" (2016, Stephen Cognetti, Cognetti Films) is a found footage mock-umentary film set in a Halloween haunt.

The film circulates around a film crew trying to unravel the mystery of a tragedy which struck a haunted house in an abandoned hotel. Although authorities reported a 'malfunction' as the cause of the panic, survivor footage and accounts have made it seem like something more sinister happened. When someone steps forward as a witness who was involved in the tragedy, along with a lot of new, unseen footage, the crew think they might be on the verge of a breakthrough. We follow the story of the group of haunters setting up shop in the small town just outside of New York city and see first hand the events as they unfolded.

I'm not the biggest fan of found footage as a rule. The jumpy camera style gives me motion sickness and often the acting is unnatural and distracting. But, "Hell House LLC" manages to be dark, entertaining and filled with effective jump scares. The camera motions are very typical of a found-footage flick, but the effective screen cutting, styling and overall storytelling keep the viewer engaged and stop it from becoming boring.

The characters are well evolved and a good sense of camaraderie (and animosity) is built up effectively. Some of the jump scares are pretty by-the-book, but these are well paced and nicely shot. There are a few, however, that actually elicited a jump from me and the use of one of the haunt props is extremely well done. It is definitely this that made the film stand out for me and has brought it into my annual Halloween watch list.

The film delivers an effective scare fest and neat plot twist that creates a great Halloween party atmosphere. And while the plot isn't exactly breaking any new ground, it does inject the jump-scare, found footage genre with a fun, atmospheric entry.

[Image: Cognetti Films]

Hani

Holidays

"Holidays" (2016, Kevin Smith, Gary Shore, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Scott Stewart, Nicholas McCarthy, Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch, Sarah Adina Smith and Anthony Scott Burns, Distant Corners Entertainment, XYZ Films) is a horror anthology inspired by different well-known Western holidays and celebrations.

Valentine's Day
A bullied teenaged girl has a crush on her swim coach and decides to get him something gruesome to show her feelings...

The characters are quite well built up in this short with a fun, if slightly predictable end. But the run time is very short in order to fit in the whole calendar and so the short suffers a little by having to pack everything in quickly, losing some of the pacing.

St. Patrick's Day
A teacher tries to make a withdrawn new child come out of her shell. The child informs her that she will only smile when she makes the teacher's deepest wish come true and leaves a small snake emblem on the desk. Over time, the teacher's wish comes true, but maybe not the way she really wanted.

A short that has some really good, creepy elements and a lot of potential, but just didn't have much to do with St. Patrick's day (other than snakes) and managed to feel oddly longer than the other shorts. It didn't pack the punch that the plot deserved.

Easter
A little girl sneaks downstairs the night before Easter to catch the Easter Bunny delivering her eggs, only he is not what she anticipated, and there is a penalty for seeing him in the flesh...

Probably the most successful short of this anthology, the plot packs a nice punch but the small run time and budget also limit it.

Mother's Day
A woman who cannot stop becoming pregnant every time she has sex is taken hostage by a coven of women who cannot have children.

A pretty horrific premise, but the short was a bit artsy and dithery and then switched direction completely again.

Father's Day
A woman finds an old cassette tape from her deceased father and listens to it. The voice on the tape takes her down memory lane (he recorded it whilst out walking with her younger self years before) and then asks her to go to a special location to meet him...

A beautifully made short that came together into an emotive piece. However, the time limit again robbed the plot of the finale it deserved and made the rest of the build up seem wasted.

Halloween
A douchebag who runs a pay-per-view webcam porn site using ladies he's lied to as his cam stars meets his deserving demise at the hands of his victims. Oh, and it's also set on Halloween.

This is the Kevin Smith piece. I like Kevin Smith, but his work can be very hit or miss for me. This one was a miss. My main problem with it was that it had very little to do with Halloween; the most horror-centric holiday on the calendar and you take it to this generic, anytime of year gore-fest. Talk about wasted opportunity. The short also tried to be funny, and also be serious and didn't seem to know what it was.

Christmas
Seth Green and Clare Grant star in this virtual reality/jingle-all-the way inspired piece. A man goes to extremes to ensure he gets the latest gadget for his family's Christmas; a UVU virtual reality visor which shows you the real you. However, he and his family may not be too comfortable with their real selves, or each other's selves once they plug in...

A good concept with some good scenes that are again reminiscent of older festive films. Although it wasn't the most engaging short in the bunch, it did its job.

New Year's Eve
A serial girlfriend murderer sets out to welcome in the new year his way....

A good short with some gore and a nice twist. It rounded off the anthology on a high after some obvious lows.

This anthology is a mixed bag containing a lot of misses. There's no enveloping story which could have brought it together and each segment is very short (even by anthology standards) and has to round off quickly often taking away from each piece's story somewhat. Some segments are better than others, but certainly none jumped out enough at me to make me want to rewatch this film again. I think each director was trying too hard to make their segment the 'weirdest' of the bunch and many veered too far away from their core holiday, losing the point of the film.

There are better anthologies out there which make this one look like a film student's 2nd year project.

[Image: XYZ Films]

Hani

Tales of Halloween

"Tales of Halloween" (2015, Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, Dave Parker, Epic Pictures, Film Entertainment Services) is a horror anthology of ten short films which are all interlocked.

With cameos from John Landis, Joe Dante, Barry Bostwick and Adrienne Barbeau (to name but a few), this horror anthology is a good bit of gory fun. 

Although the shorts are indeed.... short... they are entertaining. More often leaning to horror comedy than true horror, each story is a fun gem of cheesy, self awareness that's bound to please, with a few surprising twists which keep you keyed in on the action. I'll admit that some are of course, better than others (to my taste), but there's something in here for everyone. 

A great film for Halloween night.

[Image: Epic Pictures]

Hani

All Hallow's Eve

"All Hallow's Eve" (2013, Damien Leone, Ruthless Pictures) is a supernatural slasher about a killer clown and a VHS tape. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd start looking at some films I haven't seen before.

Sarah (Katie Maquire) is babysitting Tia (Sydney Freihofer) and her brother Timmy (Cole Mathewson) on Halloween night. We all know that's a bad idea for a start. Timmy opens his trick or treat loot to find that some strange neighbour has put a VHS tape in instead of sweets. Sarah is obviously keen to check the tape's contents before letting the kids watch it. Personally, I would have just put that creepy shit in the bin, but whatever.

The tape turns out to be an anthology of murders which all feature Art the Creepy Clown (Mike Giannelli) in some way or other. Thinking it's just a somewhat disturbing movie, Sarah gives in and lets the kids watch some of it before putting them to bed. But Art the clown makes a special guest appearance later that night, with some unhappy results...

Art the clown was first invented for a short film called "The 9th Circle" in 2008 and was again seen in another short called "Terrifier" in 2011. He's a pretty creepy character, but the film doesn't do him justice as it's just not scary enough to make the most of him.

The film itself isn't awful by any means, but there are long boring stretches and the lack of dialogue in large segments of film, while mostly effective, result in a loss of interest from the viewer after a while. The subject matter is violent and gory with most of the action centering on the depraved clown who just seems to hate lone women and want to hurt them.

There are some really disturbing scenes and some good practical effects, considering the film's low budget. I particularly appreciated the beginning to the end of the wraparound plot, which is by far the best part of the film. Unfortunately, some other effects and costumes are much less effective (I'm sure I could get a more convincing alien costume in 'Poundland') and lose some of the viewer's engagement.

The whole VHS tape thing is becoming a trope of its own and I couldn't review this film without obviously comparing it to "The Ring" series and "V/H/S", which both enjoy much more scares than this one does, but also bigger budgets. One thing that "All Hallow's Eve" did do quite well was slowly make the babysitter's environment more menacing as the film went on.

They've tried to give the film a gritty, video tape vibe with some muting of colours etc. Each segment has a different post-production hue, which I liked.

So, it's not a masterpiece. I'm not a huge fan of torture-porn films and the low budget hindered some of the film's effectiveness. The overall linkage of the shorts is pretty sketchy, the actual shorts themselves are not great and some of the action is more funny or just gross than scary. But it shows a lot of potential from Damien Leone as his full length debut and Art the clown is truly very creepy.

[Image: Ruthless Pictures]

Hani

Halloween 2

"Halloween 2" (1981, Rick Rosenthal, Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Corporation) is the sequel to John Carpenter's masterpiece.

Michael Myers (Dick Warlock), the unstoppable madman, is still home for his favourite holiday and he's still hell-bent on tormenting Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and other teens in Haddonfield. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still tailing him. And, wouldn't you know it, everyone is still pretty unprepared for the events, despite a whole load of murders in town already...

A pretty slow film, which holds none of the artful suspense of its predecessor but makes up for it with a lot more gore/violence, it serves as an unrequired and uninspired sequel to a good film. Rather than adding to the plot, it instead imitates its own imitators.

Not my favourite Halloween film. But still an interesting piece of cinema in respect to styling.

 

 

[Image: Universal Pictures]

 

Hani

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

"Halloween III: Season of the Witch" (1982, Tommy Lee Wallace, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Universal Pictures) deviates from the usual Halloween film formula with no sign of our favourite masked murderer, Michael Myers (although we do see a bit of Halloween 1 on the TV in a few scenes).

One of the most anti-Halloween horror films I've seen, the plot is centred around Dr. Challis (Tom Atkins) who begins to investigate the devious Silver Shamrock Company with a woman called Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) upon the mysterious death of Ellie's father.

Silver Shamrock are plotting to kill millions of children on Halloween night through the use of free Halloween masks and a creepy advert. They're also Hell-bent on unleashing some evil upon the world! Pesky witches!

A strange film. I actually quite enjoy it, despite its lack of Michael. The concept is creepy, the advert is shudder-worthy and, despite a low budget, the film is well put together with a few funny scenes - all be they accidental.

It will also get the tune from 'London Bridge is Falling Down' in a Pac-Man-style stuck in your head, though!

[Image: Universal Pictures]

Hani

Night of The Demons (1988)

"Night of The Demons" (1988, Kevin S. Tenney, Republic Pictures, International Film Marketing) is a Halloween party favourite and a must have for any cheesy horror movie night!

A group of teens decide to have a Halloween party in an old abandoned mortuary. Goth outcast, Angela (Mimi Kinkade), who's throwing the party, believes that the place is possessed by demonic spirits and wouldn't you know it, she's right! Soon everyone's getting possessed or trying to escape while their possessed friends get all kinky and weird around them.

It's all just good fun and delivers everything promised: boobs (and more... Any Linnea Quigley fans will be happy), gore, demoniacally possessed teens and some Scooby Doo Style chase scenes!

Some really cracking physical effects allow for that sought after 'ewww!' moment, including an eye popping scene that is really nasty in the best kind of way!

If you're looking for originality you're in the wrong place, but it's certainly sheer 80s awesomeness not to be missed!

[Image: Republic Pictures]

 

Hani

The American Scream

"The American Scream" (2012, Michael Stephenson, Brainstorm Media, Chiller Films, Magic Stone Productions) is a documentary from the mind that brought us "The Best Worst Movie" back in 2009.

It's set in a quiet American town called Fairhaven and follows 3 families of 'home haunters' as they prepare for the big night of Halloween over the month of October. Each family goes all out for Halloween, turning their gardens and houses into haunted houses for people to visit and enjoy. All three have a different personality, and so each Haunt is very different.

I knew America was crazy for Halloween, but I didn't realise how seriously some people took it! Or that there were whole conventions for props and house decor. Man, I definitely live in the wrong part of the globe.

Endearing and sweet, and often a little sad, this film follows the trials, tribulations and sheer dedication the Haunters and their ever supporting families go through to treat the children and trick or treaters at Halloween.

Each Haunter has such a different character and obviously felt very differently about the holiday and how they went about putting their haunt together, and I think I loved each one of them, they were just so charming in their sheer determination to make their haunt one to remember.

With some ups and downs and some really funny moments that had the cinema laughing aloud and sharing smiles, I found this film to be an excellent crowd pleaser, and a great study on the modern day American obsession (not with bad connotations, however) with All Hallow's Eve and how hobbies can really give your life purpose if you're passionate enough.

The props that Vincent put together, in particular, were so impressive! If he lived in my neighbourhood I would have been helping him out every year! The ending has a melancholy feel to it, however, and I'm curious to whether getting to live his dream has made Vincent happy. I really hope it has, though!

The scenes inside the haunts are excellent and really funny. All in all, this was a little gem of a movie and, while not a horror, is so touching and well put together it will bring a smile to your face.

A good way to start off the 2013 Fright Fest!

[Images: Brainstorm Media, Chiller Films, Magic Stone Productions]

 

Hani

Boo

"Boo" (2005, Kismet Entertainment Group, Graveyard Filmworks, Anthony C. Ferrante) is a haunted old hospital movie.

It's Halloween night and a group of college students decide to spend it in the closed, and badly cordoned off, Santa Mira Hospital. The hospital is rumoured to be haunted, but no one has ever survived a night there in order to describe their encounter before. Or, so the urban legends say...

Feeling brave, the group head in and soon find that perhaps the rumours are true!

A movie with a terrible name, I wasn't exactly expecting much, and while it's quite an amateur production in many ways I found myself actually enjoying it. I watched with a friend, which is usually a good way to make a bad movie entertaining. It's not one to give you nightmares by all means, but I did find a few scenes to be quite promising.

The premise of the film is hardly inventive, but Ferrante has added in some bulk in trying to give the ghosts a sad and abusive history. While this is hardly a film I'd watch again, I would hasten to add that it's got some good sides to it.

The scenery is spot on and the camera work is excellent for B-movie-land. The characters, although your typical 'unlikable horror fodder', are portrayed relatively well. It's certainly nowhere near as wooden as some films I've seen recently.

The ghosts tend to pop up in the background a lot in a fun Scooby Doo kind of way, and there's a lot of 'jump' attempts, some more successful than others. The effects are my favourite kind, mainly props and prosthetics, and are perfectly passable considering this film wouldn't have enjoyed a large budget.

There is, of course, the obligatory dead dog scene for you animal lovers out there...

M. Steven Felty does an excellent job at being the ghost, and has an almost Robert Englund creep factor about him that verges very much into the Freddy Krueger territory.

A film with a lot of potential but let down with some of the primary points of story telling, it's worth a try, but don't plan on being scared.

[Image: Kismet Entertainment Group]

 Don't be fooled, however, it's nowhere near as much fun as Dog Soldiers!

 

Hani 

Trick 'r Treat

"Trick 'r Treat" (2007, Michael Dougherty, Legendary Pictures, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Warner Premiere) is a horror anthology similar to, but much less corny than, "Creepshow" (comic books, linking tales, recurring characters, enveloping time frames, main ominous framing character and dark humour...).

I really liked this film. I'd heard good things about it and was looking forward to it, but with caution, as you can so easily do this style of film wrong! However, it's based on a short animated film which was written and directed by Michael Dougherty also, so you know the original material has been used to full potential!

There are 4 main stories encased within the timeframe of one particular Halloween night in America, and each story interlinks in some way or another.

The whole feeling of the film is between humorous, tense and cheesey (an excellent combination), and each tale focuses on something different, while still keeping the main theme: don't disrespect All Hallow's Eve Traditions and don't blow out the pumpkin light!

The First Tale

Emma (Leslie Bibb) and her husband Henry (Tahmoh Penikett) are coming back from the town Halloween parade in costume.
Emma hates Halloween and Henry loves it (kind of like my boyfriend and I, but the opposite way around...). Emma's tired and pissed off. She tries to talk Henry into taking down the decorations (on Halloween!). Henry isn't keen (he wants to watch Halloween porn in bed). Emma gives in and tells him to go inside and she'll take down the decorations instead. Henry bounces into the doorway and gets his video tape set up. Yes, video tape.
Emma begins taking down the rather extravagant decorations when she feels like someone is watching her. She begins to look about, sees a creepy guy in a mask, staring at her. She jumps, but then the guy turns out to be waiting on a lift to a Halloween party. Emma is just about convinced that everything's safe when she is suddenly jumped by a small figure in a dust sheet!
When Henry comes outside to find out where she's gotten to, it's to find Emma's gory remains decorating the garden...
A simple and short beginning, it sets the film up with a nicely gore-soaked opening.

 The Principal

Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) is the principal of the school. He's a bit of a psycho, too. Upon finding a brutish young boy called Charlie (Brett Kelly) smashing pumpkins and stuffing his face with too much chocolate, Wilkins decides to teach him a lesson. A deadly lesson.

Shockingly funny, and decidedly gross, this short nearly put me off my dinner. The burial scene is enjoyable, though! There's an entertaining end scene, too. And keep your eyes peeled for related characters!

The School Bus Massacre Revisited

Throughout the other stories, we have seen some trick or treaters who are looking for, not sweets, but pumpkins.

These kids turn out to be Macy (Britt McKillip), Schrader (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), Sara (Isabelle Deluce), Chip (Alberto Ghisi) and eventually also strange fish Rhonda (Samm Todd).

They are lead by Macy to a cliff face, where she explains that a school bus full of children with special needs had been driven over by the bus driver, who was paid to do so. The driver hadn't intended to still be on the bus, however....

Macy states that she intends to honour Halloween by placing a pumpkin for each child victim near the waterside where the school bus and bodies still lie. The kids go down in a lift (or elevator), but is this little field trip all it appears? And was Rhonda invited along just to be nice to her?

A good little trip, there are some quite effective, if obvious jumps and again, I enjoy the ending!

Surprise Party

I like this story because I like Anna Pacquin and I like a good build up. This story begins with a bunch of 20-something year old girls. Most of the group are getting dressed in as little as possible for the big Halloween party in the woods. All but Laurie (Anna Pacquin). She covers up, and unlike the others can't find a date. Her elder sister is quite cruel, getting her ugly or old dates, and constantly telling her she 'needs to be herself'.
When Laurie finds a date he's not what she expected, but he's certainly not expecting her surprise either!

 Sam

Kreeg (Brian Cox) is a skanky old dude living with his dog. He enjoys frightening off Trick or Treaters with cruel tricks of his own. He's burning photos, and if you can guess who he is before it's given away, then you're paying attention!

He's all set to attack the next little kid who dares to chap his door when he finds out that some trick or treaters are not all they appear. Especially when they are Sam... Now, I'm going to hazard a guess that Sam's second name is Hain and when pronounced together he'd prefer you to call him 'Sow-en', because he's certainly a demon or the spirit of Halloween.

An exciting tale with an amazing performance from Brian Cox as the resilient old man! We even get to see what Sam's really made of, too.

Sam is creepy as! I love him!

A nicely rounded end which leads us (un)happily back to the start. I think this film is just what I wanted it to be, and with some good effects and some fun, gruesome humour in the mix, too. I think it's a new Halloween night favourite!

[Picture: Legendary Pictures, Bad Hat Harry Productions & Warner Premiere]

Hani

Satan's Little Helper

"Satan's Little Helper" (2004, American World Pictures, Satan's Little Company, LLC, Intrinsic Value, Jeff Lieberman) is a B-movie slasher laced with dark comedy set at Halloween. I was going to keep this flick for Halloween, but had heard so much about it, I couldn't wait!

Nine year old Dougie Whooly (Alexander Brickel) is an odd child, but once you meet his mother, Merril (Amanda Plummer, whom you may recognise from The Fisher King and other films), you begin to realise why. His whole family are a little strange. He has become obsessed with a game called "Satan's Little Helper", which has inspired a sudden admiration of Satan in him.

He is excited for Halloween for three reasons, and none of them involve teeth-rotting sweeties!

1) Dougie is excited to see his elder sister Jenna (Katheryn Winnick) who is home from acting college for Halloween to take him Trick or Treating.

2) He is looking forward to dressing up as his favourite game character, 'The Helper' from "Satan's Little Helper", who mainly helps Satan attack and kill random people in the highly featured, terrible animation during the film

3) And he is convinced that he is going to find the real Satan and 'help' him "rip people's guts out". Little does he know how true this wish is going to come...

When Jenna returns with her new boyfriend, Alex (Stephen Graham), Dougie is upset (he's a little incestuously interested in his elder sister, in that way where most 3 year old girls are convinced that one day they'll marry their daddy).

In a huff, Dougie storms out into the street, bemoaning the fact that his sister has ruined his Halloween. He spies a man dressed as a demon dragging a body out into a porch and arranging it like a decoration. Convinced that he has found Satan, Dougie follows this man as he clearly goes along arranging obviously real dead people around the neighbourhood. The 'demon' spies young Dougie who is now gleefully cheering him on in his 'game' and is about to either run or dash the boy's brains out, when Dougie explains that he is Satan's little helper, and would like to help him out!

The boy then hangs out with this serial killer for the rest of the film, helping him, while clearly convinced that it is all a game. As I said, this boy is very strange and clearly a little stupid... OK, a lot stupid! But then, the rest of his family aren't much better. His mother appears to be stoned, her friends appear to be blind and his sister turns into an instant slut (like a lot of girls do around Halloween)!

The film delivers some moderate B-Movie gore and also the laughs in plentiful supply, and the sheer WTF moments just add to the fun. We spent a lot of time going "Why...? Oh wait... They're clearly just not a 'smart people'". But believe me, this isn't a criticism.

The killer is brilliant. He gets a lot of screen time, doesn't speak, never shows his face and is both sinister and kind of enjoyably & darkly charismatic all the way through the film! His rapport with the deluded young kid is kind of oddly endearing, if, of course, you ignore the fact that he is a psycho murderer, and also apparently an aspiring rapist, once he sees Jenna in her sexy Wench costume...

Although the base storyline could be considered a rehashing of "Halloween", I argue that's it's not. The addition of the innocent (and clearly misguided) child, really keeps the humour and shock coming, and adds a lot more to the story than simply a psycho killer in a mask stalking a babysitter. (Not that I dislike "Halloween", of course! That classic is definitely on my All Hallows Eve watch-list).

A film that deserves a cult following, "Satan's Little Helper" is an excellent slasher comedy, which contains some effective, if simplistic, special effects (despite virtually non-existent budget) and some actual scares, contained in a nicely produced B-Movie format which I really love. Also, there are a fair amount of boobs and cleavage, for those looking for that!

It doesn't help the argument that games don't effect children's view on violence, however...

[Picture: Satan's Little Company]

 

Hani