I guess if they can make movies about toys and video games, then they can make a movie that takes place in a retail store – yes, the one you know that pops up in vacant spaces in malls or shopping centers. That one.
Spirit Halloween the Movie isn’t great, but it’s not great in the same way that the Saturday morning shows I faithfully watched every week weren’t great. I was 9 years old—who cared? Not me.
And I think that will be the same for audiences from about 8 to 11 years old. It will be good enough. As for grown-ups? Everything from the font style to slightly yellowish thin sheen will bring back a flash of nostalgia, but they’ll quickly leave it to the youngsters to make it through the 80 minute adventure.
Three guys who are at that age where they want to stop doing “kid things” and move up to the next level of growing up – but do they really? Giving up Trick or Treating? That’s a split decision for Jake (Donovan Colan), Bo (Jaiden J. Smith), and Carson (Dylan Martin Frankel), but sneaking into the Spirit Halloween store, hiding away until after closing time? They’re all in,
Honestly, I only vaguely stayed interested in their overnight, frightful adventure. I think I spent more time saying to myself, “Holy crap! Rachel Leigh Cook is now old enough to play a Mom!”
Nice to see the great Christopher Lloyd is still around, I’m sorry that he’s not getting better offers than this, but a gig is a gig.
Oh, one more thing- you can see from the exterior shot (if your memory serves you) that a former Toys R Us building is where the Spirit Halloween has popped up. I think I got dust in my eyes, lamenting the demise of brick and mortar toy stores.
Not for me, but hopefully a nice diversion for the narrowly targeted audience. Spirit Halloween the Movie is now streaming on On-Demand platforms and may still be in limited release near you.
p.s. I thought you might want to see an excerpt from a press release about Spirit Halloween store:
Spirit Halloween is the largest Halloween retailer in the country, with over 1,450 locations in strip centers and malls across North America. Celebrating nearly four decades of business, Spirit has cemented its position as the premier destination for all things Halloween. Known to many as a fun and interactive event for shoppers, Spirit stores offer complete selections of costumes and accessories for infants/toddlers, children, ‘tweens, teens, and adults, along with exclusive jaw-dropping animatronics and décor you won’t find anywhere else. In fact, Spirit knows how to have so much fun, it’s scary!
Spirit Halloween has been offering a one-of-a-kind experience that is unmatched in the industry since 1983. Stores begin to open as early as July, marking the highly anticipated start of the Halloween season. Die-hard fans who prefer to celebrate around the clock can visit Spirit’s online store available year-round.