Halloween Party – Movie Review (4/5)

HALLOWEEN PARTY is a horror movie from Canada. It utilizes a lot of creepy elements in impressive ways. Also, it never takes itself too seriously which means some humor is included along the way as well. Read our full Halloween Party review here!

HALLOWEEN PARTY is a horror movie that begins its story with a Halloween horror meme. Or is it a virus? Maybe even something supernatural? Maybe it’s all three. The point is that this story actually makes for a very interesting and entertaining horror movie.

The movie is from Canada – which means the dialect alone will probably make you chuckle several times – and the runtime of just around 90 minutes is perfect.

Continue reading our Halloween Party movie review below.

Tell the truth and stay alive

The idea of an interactive meme killing people is hardly new. In many ways, this is exactly the same concept as The Ring where you will die seven days after watching the videotape. However, Halloween Party does manage to make it feel very fresh and new.

Especially since the meme asks you to write in your biggest fear. Somehow, the meme already knows your biggest fear, so if you lie, it won’t accept the answer. If you do tell the truth, then it will accept your answer and you’re safe.

Basically, it’s all about the old proverb “Honesty is the best policy”. Unfortunately, many people are too embarrassed to reveal what they’re most afraid of which is at the heart of this story. Sometimes their biggest fear seems silly to other people and other times, it reveals deep childhood trauma.

It’s an ingenious way to work with the concept of how far people will go to hide something – especially while also rewarding honesty. 

The ending of Halloween Party 

While the meme is the main plot device for most of the movie, we do also find out how this meme was even started. This is when things get really dark. The actual ending of Halloween Party includes a lot of creepy scenes and moments of pure horror.

In many ways, I was impressed with the direction the storyline took again and again. It’s always so refreshing when a story can evolve and surprise in various ways.

For me, the Halloween Party ending really delivered on so many levels. And yes, a sequel is entirely possible – in fact, I would really enjoy it if this could be a new Canadian horror franchise!

Don’t miss out on Halloween Party

Halloween Party was written and directed by Jay Dahl. This isn’t the first horror movie by Jay Dahl and I have to admit I’m very intrigued about his previous movies now. Especially since he tends to both write and direct, which clearly worked well with this one.

What really works for Halloween Party is the way it takes some rather simple creepy elements and gets the most out of them. The timing is simply spot-on and working with darkness and the unknown is a perfect way to get the most out of a smaller budget.

Most importantly, this movie never takes itself too seriously which means the focus is always on bringing entertainment to its viewers. While some humor is included along the way, this is by no means a horror-comedy. In fact, the horror elements are very dark and brutal which is exactly why they work so well!

Halloween Party is available in select theaters and on VOD October 2, 2020.

Details

Writer/Director: Jay Dahl
Stars: Amy Groening, T. Thomason, Marietta Laan, Shelley Thompson, Jeremy Akerman, Zach Faye, Scott Bailey, Taylor Olson, Murlane Carew, Jason Daley