All Hallows' Eve

I just got done watching All Hallows' Eve and I have to say that even though it's not a great movie, I did enjoy it. The movie is a series of three short stories with a wrap-around story as its' tie-in. It's a low budget movie with mediocre acting and some decent gore effects but when it is over you'll be glad you watched it. I wont tell you what the stories are about. I'll let you find out as you watch it but what I WILL tell you is that you'll NEVER look at a clown the same way again!!! The first story is just okay, the second story is just plain awful but you'll LOVE the third story and the wrap-around story starts off slow but you'll LOVE it by its' end. Again, it's a low budget movie and most of the time they are painful to watch but there ARE exceptions and All Hallows' Eve is one of the exceptions...........and NO, I'm NOT associated in ANY way with this film. I am just a horror fan who enjoyed this movie.

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.

I sat down to watch this movie, expecting the absolute worst, based on the 4.6 rating. What I found instead was actually a pretty decent movie, with a creepy atmosphere, an even creepier clown, and entertainment worth more than such a low rating.

I admit, along with everyone else who liked it, that the acting was somewhat stiff and awkward at times and some scenes seemed to drag on way too long, but the fun cheesiness of the movie far outweighed a little bad acting.

If you can enjoy a campy, low budget movie and/or are terrified of clowns, you shouldn't overlook this one. Just don't sit down with high expectations or you'll probably be disappointed.

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.

This film starts with a grainy, realistic 90s feel, I loved the elements of vulnerability with the babysitter and two children. However, after the initial unveil of the VHS it began to slip Into a much softer variation of Terrifier.

There are three short stories shown from the VHS however, all are reminiscent of an anthology of short stories, crafted into one feature film, and too be honest it is confusing since it has limited foundations.

Not only do we not know what any of the creatures are, from the cultists in masks, a demon, a scuba- diving alien, and Art the Clown himself, there is no motives it seems other than to capture, torture, kill or rape which leaves a gaping hole on trying to discover any meaningful connection to anything other than an evil entity.

The VHS scene involving a baby being cut from someone's stomach to a leathery faced demon about to have a sexual ritual with a girl sensed it had inspiration from the cult classic Rosemary's baby.

Otherwise, what starts as an old-school Halloween horror fest gradually loses interest, and while the are some macabre scenes, nothing really jumps out and grabs your attention.

Art the Clown played by Mike Giannelli doesn't have the same charisma and clever comedic expressions as David Howard Thornton in Terrifier, and so Art doesn't seem have the same unique spark, or feature improvements such as make-up affects which makes him feel more delightfully "Terrifying"

A notable dislike comes from the fact that Art is a supernatural character and that while being whacked, stabbed, and shot doesn't seem to mortally wound, or impede the crazed psychopath whatsoever. Therefore, Art manages to catch up to his victim on every occasion with little effort or hinderance leaving no likelihood or genuine possibilities for escape. I for one like to see survival, and the arduous journey of self-discovery, but with this franchise the predictability of seeing everyone slaughtered leaves nothing to chance and therefore leaves no legitimate surprises.

It's a shame that an intriguing idea gets caught up too much is the sacrificial gore instead of solid storytelling. There is much we don't know, but also don't understand. While I don't think All Hallows Ever is a completely meaningless gore-filled slasher, I don't think it serves a hell of a lot of purpose at this point other than to shock and terrify the audience on different and resourceful ways to showcase brutal acts of violence.

5/10.