When it comes to movie franchise ideas that are just a well that could never go dry, it’s this one. A lot of folks may not like found-footage, but the fact is that when it comes to pure ideas, this is brilliant: short horror/sci-fi films presented as if they are part of an otherwise ordinary video. The series is one that could live on indefinitely, and so long as the budgets are kept in check, it’s something fun to look forward to every year.
The thing is, though, that results may vary.
There are some entries in the series that are classic, like the first two films, but after that it gets very hit and miss, and I have been left looking for the fun episodes within the overarching films. As much as I love the series, the fact is that there are some stinkers, and alas, this is one of them.
“Halloween” is presented as another set of found-footage shorts with a wrap-around. The wrap features footage from a food manufacturer, as they test a new Halloween-themed soft drink. From there we are given several short horror films with check-ins from the film proper.
The first episode, “Coochie Coo” features two older young women going out trick-or-treating, and being told that they could incur the wrath of “The Mommy.” It is an interesting episode that quickly rockets past believably fun, into silly, and unfolds in a way that feels very familiar, and offers nothing new.
The nex episode is “Ut Supra Sic Infra,” which follows a police investigation into what happened to after several friends were found dead at a supposedly haunted house. This one is very well done, and very creepy. My big problem here is that it has no real “why” to it. It just sort of “is.” And that’s fine, and it still works, but it doesn’t work as well for me.
“Fun Size” is the third, and worst entry of the film. Again, we have people WAY too old to be trick-or-treating, heading out to get some candy. Alas, they come to a house with a bowl outside warning to only take one. The candy is very strange, but what the friends find is that there is a reason for the warning. This is probably meant to be funnier than I took it, and just feels cringy, and dumb. It’s utterly groan-worthy.
The next wpisode is “KidPrint,” another episode that has a lot of potential, but just falls apart. Here we find a business that makes short videos of children for their parents to keep in case something happens to the kid. The idea is to have a current image, sound, and video of a child in case they disappear. The town the business is in, though, starts to suffer child disappearances and killings, and it seems the kids had been customers of the business. As I say, it’s a fun idea, but as it plays out it gets ridiculous, and isn’t scary, so much as corny. It’s a huge bummer.
The film ends with “Home Haunt,” which is a fun episode that, sadly, can’t maintain what it creates. Here we have a father trying to keep his aging son interested in the home haunt they put on. As they put together what would probably be their last haunt together, the father snatches a strange record from a shop, and unfortunately for them, it’s more than it appears. The episode is fun, but has no real explanation for anything, or resoution.
One of the biggest issues I have with the film overall is that, other than the last one, there’s no real reason the epsiodes have to be Halloween-based. They ARE, and they CAN be, but they feel shallowly related to the holiday. The stories too all feel incomplete, and not fully fleshed out.
I am happy for those folks that loved this entry in the series, and am glad it’s out there, but for me, this was the worst one so far, and was wholly forgettable.
So be it.
I hope the series continues, but with stronger stories next time.
2 out of 5
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 