Spirit Halloween (2022) - Movie Review

What if I told you Spirit Halloween produced a feature film, shot after-hours at one of their temporary locations after hours?

Intriguing, right?

What if I told you it’s a decent horror movie for kids?

Let’s discuss.

Spirit Halloween: The Movie is a 2022 children’s horror movie brought to us by first-time director David Poag and first-time writer Billie Bates. For people who’ve never had feature experience, this film isn’t as rough around the edges as you’d expect. Yes, it’s not a complex story, and the budget was minuscule, but this is a better kids movie than the Disney Channel has done in years.

The film focuses on Jake, a thirteen-year-old struggling with the loss of his father a couple of years earlier. He has been in a depression since his father’s passing, and his emotions run hot on Halloween. His father loved Halloween and always made it their special night to go trick-or-treating together. His happiest memories are from that time, but unfortunately, his mother has remarried, and not only does he have a new stepfather to clash with, but he’s now a big brother to his young step-sister. These additional stresses on top of his grief are compounded by the fact that his lifelong best friends no longer want to do anything on Halloween as they think they are too grown up. So, to entice them to hang out with him in his time of need, he comes up with a scheme. They will hide in the local Spirit Halloween store on the outskirts of town and spend the night inside the store. Unfortunately, their town has a dark secret, and it’s buried right under their feet. So when the clock strikes midnight, an evil rises to drag them down into the darkness. Will the kids escape the grips of their town’s sins, or will they be forever trapped inside Spirit Halloween?

I feel like other reviewers were far too harsh on this one, as it’s made 100% for kids. There aren’t any sexual jokes or adult humor in the background in an attempt to keep parents entertained. This is a straight-up kids’ affair similar to classics like 1997’s Under Wraps and 2000’s Little Vampire.

I watched this with my nine-year-old and my two-year-old, both of whom are hyperactive, and both were absolutely mesmerized by the movie.

My daughter was asking me questions, trying to solve the simple mysteries in the movie, and for one of the rare times since she was born, she sat still for the entire runtime and put her tablet away. My two-year-old is extremely advanced for her age (she started talking at 1, much like my eldest child and very much like I did), and prefers to watch shows that have story beats she can cheer for. She’s an absolute whirlwind of destruction every day, but this movie also kept her attention.

It’s not that it’s a good movie, because it’s not a great watch for an adult. I enjoyed it because my kids enjoyed it, and I will watch and root for Christopher Lloyd in anything and everything he does. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the most likable actress on the planet, and PSYCH alum, Rachel Lee Cook, but outside of these two stars, the film is carried by actual children. It’s so weird to see actual kids making up the majority of the cast of a film.

The child actors aren’t going to win any Oscars anytime soon, but they do a solid job of connecting with their target audience.

My daughter was so excited to watch a scary movie with kids her age, behaving like kids her age.

It’s so much fun to see my kids get excited for a dumb popcorn flick, like I did for Ernest Scared Stupid back in the day.

So, the question is: Is it a good movie?

No, not for adults. This is 100% a movie for children. It is similar to classic Disney Channel fare, plenty of spooks, but little true scares. It’s a family movie. I’ve seen people raking it over the coals due to the low budget special effects, threadbare script, and wooden acting. But I thought it was perfectly executed for what the filmmakers were aiming for. Yes, the special effects are not Industrial Light and Magic, but they don’t need to be. The film has heart, a message, and a brief runtime.

Exactly what a parent would want to put on, after getting the kids cleaned up after trick or treating.

If you have little ones or you just want some mindless fun after a hard day, give this one a look.

It’s streaming free on most streaming services, including Prime, Shudder, and Tubi.