Spooky Night - Nachts im Horrorladen

This was much better than I was expecting or anticipating. This has all the great compliments of a great fun-filled Halloween flick for kids but has the adventure of like The Goonies. Yeah some parts are a little cheesy but it's a good kind of cheesy. Some of the animatronics coming to life can be a bit on the lower end but the story, premise, and characters aren't half bad. Like I said earlier I was expecting something not nearly as good or fleshed out. It's definitely made for kids but it can be fun for the whole family to watch on Halloween night and not get too scared but just to enjoy the vibes. It's like hocus pocus, meets the goonies, meets Scooby-Doo all wrapped into a really nice Halloween spooky adventure!

My daughter and I recently watched Spirit Halloween (2022) on Shudder. The storyline revolves around a group of teenage friends who feel they've outgrown Halloween and seek a new, eerie ways to celebrate the holiday. They stumble upon a Spirit store and decide to break in, spending the night inside, unaware that an evil spirit from the town's past has taken over the store with dark intentions.

Directed by David Poag in his directorial debut, the film stars Donovan Colan (Theatre Camp), Jaiden J. Smith (Blue Bloods), Dylan Martin Frankel (Life & Beth), Marissa Reyes (A Little Family Drama), and Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That).

The child actors in this film deliver solid performances, and it incorporates meaningful coming-of-age elements. It evokes a Stranger Things vibe in terms of relationships and perspectives. Spirit Halloween is clearly aimed at younger audiences, offering more "fun" than genuinely frightening horror. It includes some effective jump scares and well-executed CGI that adds a creepy atmosphere without going overboard. Christopher Lloyd's performance is enjoyable, and the monsters in the film are visually appealing. However, the ending falls somewhat flat.

In conclusion, Spirit Halloween is a suitable horror movie for kids who are beginning to explore the genre. I would give it a 3.5/10 and recommend watching it once.

IN A NUTSHELL:

If the name "Spirit Halloween" sounds familiar to you, it's because it's a real store in the United States and Canada. It's open every year from August to October to get customers in the Halloween mood and sell them all the costumes and decorations they'll need for the creepy holiday season. The store must look odd to viewers in other countries that don't celebrate Halloween!

The story definitely has a "Stranger Things" vibe. When a new Spirit Halloween store appears in a deserted strip mall, three middle school friends who think they've outgrown trick or treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night. But they soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters. The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves.

The movie was directed by David Poag and written by Billie Bates. Hey, Billie! My maiden name was Bates! I wonder if we're related!

THINGS I LIKED: It's always fun to see Christopher Lloyd in anything. He gives a fun over-the-top performance as the villain in this flick. He's looking pretty old in the movie, yet he still has incredible energy and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, we don't get to SEE him but for a few minutes in the beginning, but we do get to hear his voice as a spirit during much of the movie.

Rachael Leigh Cook is so cute. It's hard to believe she's getting roles as a mom.

The trio of adventurous boys is played by Donovan Colan, Jaiden Smith, and Dylan Martin Frankel.

Fun fact: Do you remember Toys-R-Us stores? Me too. My 4 sons and I spent a lot of time in money in those while they were growing up. It's sad they all closed. They still sell toys online though. The big building in the movie where the Spirit Halloween store is set up was a previous Toys-R-Us store in Rome, Georgia.

The scary movie has plenty of jumps and scares, creepy moments, and adventurous moments that kids will get a kick out of.

One of the characters' names is Bo. I have a son named Bo!

Question: So, how old do you think is too old to go Trick-or-Treating?

Fun soundtrack.

There are several side stories that parents will appreciate because they teach valuable lessons.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Ultimately, the movie feels like an Infomercial for the store. Did you know the Spirit Halloween store also has a YouTube channel?

Some of the visual effects and acting aren't that great.

None of the acting is Oscar-worthy; however, it fits this type of movie and budget.

It would have been fun to have a little bonus scene after the final rolling credits.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Like all movies geared toward teens, there is farting.

Some "mild" profanity Destruction Kids trespass in a store There are some scary images and moments that could easily frighten young children. Ages 10 and up is probably best recommended.

THEMES: Second marriages and blended families Death of a loved one Tradition Halloween Trespassing Spirits of the dead Friendship Curses Growing up Accepting change Possession

I do not know how the Spirit Halloween store got a movie, but now we have Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022). The main plot to the movie sounds interesting but it is not executed in a clever way.

The main characters are standard, and the acting is not that great. Christopher Lloyd is not in the movie that much and I do not know why he is in this movie; it feels weirdly random.

The animatronics that come alive sometimes look creepy, but you can tell they are people in suits. The animatronics are barely in the movie and when the animatronics are chasing after them once in the movie, they are not used again which is a waste it is supposed to focus on this part of the story.

There are some damaging effects and there are scenes that were funny and not scary. I would have wanted more out of this plot and more of an explanation on what is happening.

I do not think I would recommend watching this. If you do the movie is short and I would hope you could find anything that would be entertaining or worth watching. I guess you can watch it for the plot, but you will not get much out of it.

Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022) had an interesting idea that could be entertaining, but it was standard and wasted potential. The acting, less use of the possessed animatronics, and the execution of the plot is what brought this movie down for me.

These are the consequences of IT and Stranger Things being so commercially successful. Every film studio now wants to make a "a group of goofy kids on the brink of going to high school get caught up in something spooky" film, and they always forget to add anything else remotely interesting to the movie. IT and Stranger Things work because each kid is unique in some way. They can't ALL be the annoying one. Even if I was able to look past the annoying main characters, there's not much to like about this movie. The animatronics are vastly underutilized and serve more as a commercial for the real product than an actual plot element. I'm sure if you're a kid trying to get into horror then this is slightly entertaining, similar to Goosebumps, but it feels so soulless and empty. This would've been so much better had they gone for an R rating and an older set of main characters in a legitimately high-stakes story.