All Hallows' Eve

Never heard of this flick until I watched Terrifier (2016). And seeing this cover I immediately picked it up because this was the original flick with the scary clown. It isn't as good or say, gory as Terrifier but still worth watching.

The story you will have seen a thousand times. People watching an old VHS to see some story on it, and by the end they are on the VHS. So it starts off rather on a low base of scares and horror and effects are one the cheesy side but it's until the last story that this low budget turns intoa gory flick. Naturally Terrifier is based on the last part and killings and slaughtering are the same. Nevertheless, it's worth to see how a flick can evolve in 3 years time.

So a flick that starts way below mediocre but the further it moves the better it gets, recommend it for horror geeks, gorehounds better skip it and move towards Terrifier.

Gore 2/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

I gave it a 6. don't watch this expecting much and you might enjoy it. I liked the idea of this film, but not the execution. most if the actors were really bad. The one actor that really impressed me was the clown. He's very funny. It's a shame he's in this movie. I would have liked to see him in a well done slasher film. So this is an anthology film. the first part is OK. it's starts off cheesy and boring but ends very well. would have also liked to see the villains in that part a bit more. the second part is awful. definitely the worst part of this movie. the acting, the story, the aliens....all boring. also the clown wasn't really in that one. the third part is the best part of this film. it's like the ending of a slasher film where the villain follows the last surviving girl. the clown here plays a big part and doesn't disappoint. it tries to look like a grindhouse film and fails but that's OK. the babysitting story where the babysitter is watching these films is OK. what I didn't like is that it ended very quickly. the clown taunts her a bit and then the movies ends. so this is not the worst way to spend 80 min. also the effects are very good. old school. no cgi. blood, decapitated heads, and the usual. watch it for the clown and lower your expectations. it's cheesy fun, if you're into that.

If you're going to close your mind off to the fact that this is supposed to be a cheesy, low-budget creepfest with some silliness mixed in, then you aren't going to enjoy it.

However, if you want something twisted, demonic, and just flat out sick at times - I say you'll enjoy it. Do yourself a favor, unlike others, don't go into this thing with high expectations. It is supposed to make you cringe, be creeped out, and laugh all at the same time. It is not supposed to be taken seriously.

For an independent low-budget horror film, it did a solid job. Did I roll my eyes? Absolutely. Did the Carpenteresque score, isolated atmosphere, and one helluva creepy character balances this out? Yes. Give it a shot, especially around All Hallows' Eve. 7/10 on entertainment value alone.

Given the overwhelming popularity of shockfests like Martyrs and the Saw series, the nearly universal disapproval of this film is itself shocking. It's strange how some films can make their mark for the very things that cause others to be rebuked. All Hallows' Eve is low budget and has its mistakes, but overall is a wonderful, very scary exploitation horror film with a memorable villain and surprisingly good production values.

All Hallows' Eve is an anthology film. Like most horror anthologies such as Tales From the Darkside: The Movie, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Trick R' Treat, All Hallows' Eve has three main stories plus a wraparound story that ties them together. Director Damien Leone chose this format to showcase his pre-existing short films ("The 9th Circle" and "Terrifier"), so only the second story and the wraparound are totally new. The film opens with a woman babysitting two children on Halloween night and the discovery that someone has sneaked a VHS tape into one of the children's trick-or-treat bags. Reluctantly the babysitter plays the tape and the first of three stories begins.

With regard to reputation, there seem to be three primary complaints about the movie: 1) The director used previously created material, 2) The film is excessively gory, and 3) The acting is bad. Each of these is easily negated. First, most people have not seen the two short films, so the director seized his chance to have them viewed by a large audience. Completely understandable. Second, yes the film is graphic, but certainly no more than a hundred others released in the past decade, many of which were very popular. Third, the acting is actually pretty good. It's definitely strong enough to let the audience suspend their disbelief, which is after all the name of the game.

If there's one thing I've learned from reading reviews and posts on IMDb and elsewhere, it's that people will complain about anything. The truth is that All Hallows' Eve is a tense, entertaining horror film alive with creativity, realistic effects, and inspired direction. Its rating on IMDb (as of this writing) is unfortunate and unfair. If you want a polished horror film that's long on plot and every shot perfectly framed, see something else. If you want to have a good time and be scared, see this.

This movie is basically the original Terrifier (which is just a diabolically tremendous short) with two pretty terrible stories beforehand.

The first one, the 9th circle features some pretty gnarly-low budget but effective imagery. But that's it.

The second may as well be an Ed Wood short minus the humor. Just god awful.

Then the reason this movie exists: to propel Art the Clown into an icon

(which they have succeeded with the balls to the wall blood fest that is Terrifier 2 and 3 coming this year)

The only reason I'd recommend watching this and not just the original Terrifier short is the wrap around story. I won't spoil that---but the ending outside of the shorts reminds us were watching a film by Damien Leone who's seemed to corner the "breaking every rule torture rampage" market atm.

Lastly, I found both actors who played Art to be utterly terrifying but it was interesting seeing minor aesthetic differences.