Friends who have decided to not go trick or treating for the first time go spend the night in a temporary Halloween store that opened nearby. Of course, things go wrong.
Written by Billie Bates and directed by David Poag, this film is based on the Spirit stores that crop up around the US and Canada every year right after back-to-school season is over. The film is most definitely aimed at kids and younger teens and absolutely not made for adults. Out of the opening with Christopher Lloyd and the presence of Rachael Leigh Cook, the story has very little to offer adults and parents watching it along with their kids or checking it out for the novelty or nostalgia factors. The film is decently written and directed, it’s not a badly crafted movie, it’s simply one for which adults without kids may not be the target audience here. It’s not boring, but it’s not exactly exciting. Knowing it’s a kids movie makes the stakes almost useless. You know going in this is not going to end with everyone horribly mangled, you know from the start where this is going to go. If this is something that sounds good, then perfect. For most horror fans, it will leave a little to be desired.
The performances here are decent with kids in the lead and the familiar adult cast left behind for most of the film. This one was appealing due to the presence of Christopher Lloyd who will appeal to his fans and to fans of good ol’ 80s nostalgia. However good he is here, he gets very little screentime and is missed as soon as he’s gone. The kids do well and they are decent actors, but as an adult, they were a bit interchangeable with other kids in other movies and even with each other a bit. Only a few hours after the film and most of their performances were pretty much forgotten. Clearly, were this viewer more in the age range this film is aimed at, this whole impression may be completely different.
The effects here are passable. This may sound harsh, but a lot of this film’s effects are cgi and they look good here, but probably won’t age well in the next few years. Yes, the work is solid in terms of what is shown in most scenes, but a few sequences are a bit off and none of it left a lasting impression, much like the rest of the film.
And that is the main issue with Spirit Halloween. The film is based on a store and mainly on the non-licensed products it sells. It feels a bit like an ad for the place, something that is absolutely not surprising really. The acting for the adults is decent, the kids do their part decently well too. Christopher Lloyd is the reason to watch this, but he gets very little screentime. The film’s nostalgia and novelty factor wear off pretty early on for adults watching and it’s definitely aimed at younger, but not too young, audience. It’s an ok film, but entirely forgettable.