10/31

There really isnt a lot to recommend in this movie.

There are 5 stories, none of which are compelling, or even well written. In fact, the only reason I gave it a 3 was because it was at least competently shot and edited.

These stories do not have a resolution. It's just some evil monster or person killing a victim or two with no motivation or back story. There isn't any tension and I didn't have sympathy for any of the victims. In fact, by the 3rd story, I was actually cheering for the characters to be killed, but not even this was very satisfying.

The only reason Im writing the review is to try to spare horror fans the regret I felt.

I could not wait for it to end.

"10/31" is a portmanteau style horror film, made as a showcase for five independent writer/directors and largely crowdfunded. It's hard to be too harsh on the films, given the budgets, some of which look decent and occasionally have good effects, but generally it's a collection that includes performances that are too amateurish and stories that are confusing. I've detailed more about each episode below.

The Old Hag - Two aspiring filmmakers, Tyler (Nick Edwards) and Kevin (Mitchell Musolino) arrive at Kathy's (Cindy Maples) bed and breakfast to produce a promotional video. Though the hotel specifically doesn't have any guests - Tyler has an interaction with an elderly guest on the third floor. Performances are a little amateurish and the prosthetic for said old hag are a little too clean and over lit to convince it's anything other than prosthetics. Story is a sadly predictable and the only scare is the cheap one right at the end.

Trespassers - After an underwhelming Halloween date Stephanie (Sable Griedel) takes new in town Jeff (Chad Bruns) to a local farm where, legend has it, decades ago the farmer went mad and killed his family after a scarecrow was put up on his land. Performances are a little better in this one and shooting in a cinema helps production value - but the creature at the end looks like a shop bought mask and the story is muddled. Better, but not good.

Killing the Dance - On her last night before leaving home, Ashley (Bailey Ingersoll) takes her brother Mikey (Noah Howland) to work at a roller-skating rink. After dark, the rink switches to a roller disco and secrets are revealed. Then a masked character begins to attack the other patrons with a straight razor. This felt much longer than the previous two entries. There were some nice early moments, including a tracking shot that was more ambitious than anything seen so far, and shooting on the rink is well done. Storyline wise though it's a little obvious, way too long and the budget betrays the effects somewhat.

Halloween Blizzard of '91 - During a snowstorm that seemingly cancels trick or treating, a family is visited by three small characters in old style costumes. After giving them candy, they leave, but not before leaving a sleigh bell on the porch. This was the worst episode of the four. Really amateurish performances, with the exception of the mother Katie (Katie Walgrave), bad choppy cutting and a story that didn't make much sense.

The Samhain Slasher - Peter McNeely (Greg Fallon) is haunted by horrific dreams. His daughter Mary (Jordan Phipps) goes to a Halloween party but both have ignored TV reports about an escaped murderer in the area. Performances and effects were a lot better this time, but the story was confounding mixing supernatural and slasher elements but never making clear what was what.

Provided you accept this for what it is, it's not the worst collection you'll ever see - but go in expecting anything more and you'll be sorely disappointed.

10/31 is an indie horror anthology partially funded by Indiegogo from the director of The Barn, the composer of the same film, and a few others with stories that are based around Halloween. The film begins with two children watching "Malvolia's Halloween Monster Marathon" where an Elvira type character introduces the audience to four shorts. First up is "The Old Hag" from Justin Seaman. Two guys arrive at an old home to shoot a promo video to help it rent out a few rooms. One guy keeps seeing a creepy looking old woman and learns about how the locals call it the Gingerbread House where apparently an old hag chokes out victims. Is he seeing things or is it all in his head?? Overall it's a fun segment with appealing leads and a decent story (3.5/5)

Up next is "Trespassers" directed by Zane Hershberger. After a disappointing movie a cute purple-haired chick takes her lame first date boyfriend to an abandoned murder house where legend has it a scarecrow appeared and possibly cursed those living there. She wants to find out the truth about what happened. This is another fun entry and features a decent synth score while the story and it's conclusion are great (3.5/5). Director John William Holt takes over for the third story called "Killing the Dance." A teen girl has to babysit her younger brother while she works Halloween night at the roller rink where things turn out horrifically wrong. This segment is a bit too long and repetitive with too many scenes of skating, but is still fun with it's retro feel, another good synth score, and ridiculous ending (3.5/5)

The last entry is easily the weakest and is the directorial debut of Rocky Gray and it's called "The Samhain Slasher". It's a bit of a jumbled mess that is probably a bit overambitious in trying to jam too much into its short run time. It's basically a cult film and slasher jammed into 20 minutes that suffers a bit from some weak CGI as well (2.5/5). Things finish up with the wraparound and while it doesn't do anything particularly memorable it's decent overall (3/5).

The budget limitations of this film definitely show sometimes, but it's all a part of the charm and it's easy to look past most of the wrinkles because of the obvious love and passion put into it all. There are so many bigger budgeted anthology films that may look cleaner and shinier, but tell the same old stale tales that we've all seen too many times. The stories here do a good job with some good old Halloween look and feel and each story feels like it's trying to do something familiar yet original. If you love horror anthologies then 10/31 is definitely worth seeking out. It doesn't and shouldn't look like Trick r Treat, but it's a small budget indie horror that both needs and deserves our support.

Additional notes: I viewed a festival version of this film for this review that is missing one segment directed by Brett DeJager (Bonejangles) titled "The Halloween Blizzard of '91" which is still going through some post-production work, but will appear in the DVD release of the film. There are still some fixes coming to the film itself too with some of the audio. I put some money towards the film during its campaign, but I am in no way associated with the film other than that.

A fellow horror fan recommended this on a forum I frequent and when I saw it was on Prime, I figured "why not?" I'm also a sucker for Halloween themed horror films. I was impressed by "The Old Hag,","Trespassers" and "Killing the Dance" despite their budget limitations. The namesake character in Old Hag was indeed "creepy"! Also the wraparound hottie horror host was serviceable, though some more could've been added to the wrap around "ending".

What hurts this movie from being great are the final 2 stories, "Halloween Blizzard '91" and "Samhain Slasher"...these looked REALLY cheap and the story and direction seemed rushed and unpolished compared to the first 3 stories. April in the 'Blizzard" sequence was easy on the eyes though! Yummy! Sadly no nudity.

I would've given this a 5/10, but since I enjoyed 3 out of 5 of the stories, I figured I'd give it an above average rating. If you're in the mood for a decent Halloween anthology, I recommend 10/31

10/31 (2017) is currently available for free on Tubi and features a collection of six short horror stories. Like many anthologies, there are inconsistencies in the acting, story quality, and special effects across the segments, but a few of the stories are genuinely entertaining.

Each segment has a different director, including Brett DeJager (Bonejangles), Rocky Gray (making his directorial debut), Zane Hershberger (Force to Fear), John William Holt (Volumes of Blood), Hunter Johnson (60 Seconds to Die 1 & 2), and Justin Seaman (The Barn).

This isn't a top-tier horror anthology, but if you're in the mood for something new with some unique twists, it's worth a watch. Overall, it's an average horror collection. I'd recommend watching it once and would rate it 5.5/10.