Day 31

The Terror Of Hallow’s Eve (2017)

Directed by Todd Tucker

When bullies push horror loving 15 year-old Caleb Thomas over the edge, he unwittingly summons an ancient spirit of Halloween vengeance to get even with them. His plan works a little too well, and soon Caleb needs to face the monster he unleashed. Halloween horror movies have a special energy, so it’s always good to find filmmakers continuing in that tradition, even if the movies they make are not perfect. The Terror Of Hallow’s Eve is definitely not perfect, but it has a wonderful spooky atmosphere and a lot of heart that shines through in so many areas, particularly the performances. Everyone here is giving their all for this movie and that elevates it a lot, particularly the villainous jester character, played by beloved character actor Doug Jones, who steals every scene he’s in, and Caleb’s mom who is the mommest mom who ever mommed. Bonus points for getting serial B-movie star Eric Roberts to appear on camera without him appearing drunk, and even more bonus points for getting him to do some acting, I really wasn’t used to seeing that.

The pacing is quite quick, this film is only 80 minutes including the credits sequence and sometimes this breakneck speed does feel strange, but I can appreciate the filmmakers keeping 15 minutes of filler sequences out so we can get to the fun bits faster. And the fun bits are quite fun! There are some great spooky revenge sequences and even though the budget was clearly a limitation on what happens, that budget is worked around in clever ways to show you something creepy and fun. The ending is kind of strange, I’m not exactly sure if they were trying to leave it as a sequel bait thing or if they’re aping similar ending sequences they’ve seen other movies do, but it does feel a bit like a misstep, especially after the rest of the movie was so charming. Regardless, The Terror Of Hallow’s Eve may not be a modern classic, but it has enough charm, heart, and fun practical effects monsters to make it a worthwhile Halloween viewing. Recommended!