Spooky Night - Nachts im Horrorladen

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 sat down with my 12 year old son to watch this 2022 family Halloween-themed movie titled "Spirit Halloween". I hadn't heard about the movie prior to sitting down on All Hallows' Eve to watch it, so I wasn't really sure what I was in for.

Writer Billie Bates churned out a fair enough script and plot for the movie, though "Spirit Halloween" wasn't really the most enjoyable or interesting of family Halloween-based movies out there. Sure, it was watchable, but this is hardly going to become a Halloween classic. The story was just simply too mundane.

The acting performances in the movie were fair enough. I was only familiar with Christopher Lloyd and Marla Gibbs on the entire cast list here.

The special effects in the movie were actually fair enough for a movie such as this. Not scary though, as it is a family-friendly movie.

Watchable for what it was, but you're not in for a particularly outstanding, memorable or ghoulish Halloween-based family movie here.

My rating of "Spirit Halloween" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Well its a film based on the ultra cool Halloween store. Its alright but visiting the actual store is much more fun. Its about 4 kids who get themselves locked in the store after hours on Halloween. Not sure why they dont just break a window to get out when trouble starts. The spirit of a evil Christopher Lloyd possess the store items and tries to get the kids. Basically it looks like a big ad for the store but the store (although looks cool) lacks because the big name horror properties are nowhere to be found. However Night of the Living Dead plays on TV but that film is public domain. Rachael Leigh Cook plays the mom. She is still all that!

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!

Every classic horror movie is contrived, tropey, filled with recognizable genre cliches. I love those cliches-dumb characters, haunted houses, body snatchers, poltergeists, jump scares, creepy clowns, all of it. These are bricks to build a house, and they need concrete told hold them together.

Spirit Halloween The Movie is just the building blocks and a blueprint of a horror movie. It's not real. I can't think of a more soulless horror film. It's the bare minimum needed for a plot, character arcs, and themes, along with the typical horror tropes, yet nothing is remotely original. An hour long commercial.