By Geno McGahee
Every once in a while, I stumble upon a film that brings a unique approach and does it the right way. WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL is a 2013 film that contends it is from 1987 and if you didn’t know it, you would assume that it truly is from that year. From the fashion to the look of the video to the expressions from those speaking, this film screams the eighties and you can tell that the filmmakers of this movie loved that decade. I also loved it and this film won me over quickly. Released by Camp Motion Pictures, with many features including the making of, this DVD is a must own for all horror fans.
There’s a bunch of writers and directors of this film and that is because there is a lot of commercials and segments. For the record, it is directed by Chris LaMartina, James Branscome, Shawn Jones, Scott Maccubbin, Lonnie Martin, Matthew Menter and Andy Schoeb. The writing credits include much of the same as the directing credits and the idea for this story came from Chris LaMartina, Jimmy George and Jamie Nash.
WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL brings us back to a great time. There was in internet, no reality TV and cable was limited. We didn’t have a huge selection but it made us appreciate what we were being offered. Local stations would have their own holiday specials and they were compelling. There was always something special about public access television. We have YouTube today, which is the new version of it, but in the 80’s, it gave us something different and most people found great joy in it.
We begin with the evening news on Halloween with Gavin Gordon (Richard Cutting) and Deborah Merritt (Leanna Chamish), as they prepare us for the Halloween special and fill us in on the news, which includes a dirty political race and some holy rollers vehemently against the holiday. The stupid humor between the newscasters is very funny. It’s so bad it was good and both Chamish and Cutting do a great job selling this.
Frank Stewart (Paul Fahrenkopf) is hosting the live Halloween special through the Webber house, a place that is rumored to be terribly haunted. He will enter with his crew and some paranormal investigators, including a husband and wife team: Dr. Louis Berger (Brian St. August) and Claire Berger (Helenmary Ball), which is obviously based on Ed and Lorraine Warren. Father Joseph Matheson (Robert Long II) is also there for support, just in case the demons arise and the house needs an exorcism. Long II has a long history with one of the best low budget filmmakers of all time, Don Dohler. Dohler is responsible for GALAXY INVADER, THE ALIEN FACTOR and FIEND to name a few. We also see one of Dohler’s most famous actors, George Stover, in this as a horror host known as “Dr. Bloodwrench.”
The investigation begins with the producer, Veronica (Nicolette le Faye), in the van, monitoring the action. She makes quite the impression as she lunges out with a chainsaw and a mask on. This is exactly the corny stunts that you would see around this time and it was nice to see them again. Frank pretends to be shocked by her antics and then heads into the house and Claire immediately senses evil. Her husband sets up his gadgets and gets some white noise and the group begins to get a little scared, with the exception of Frank who doesn’t seem to really believe any of this. He is just trying to do something sensational for ratings.
As the investigation continues, things get stranger and we begin to get some revelations regarding some of the experts in this group. This is a “found footage” sort of film, but done in the right way. We have suspense and this aura of darkness from the opening and the further the show goes along, the more intense it gets. This is also the first film that I have seen that actually captured the 1980s. So many “80’s throwback” films did terrible jobs representing this decade. If I saw this film and didn’t know it was shot in 2013, I would have assumed it was from 87, as advertised.
I highly highly highly recommend WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL. If you enjoy the 80’s and want to experience something familiar but new at the same time, this movie is for you. Camp Motion Pictures keeps putting out great titles and this is just another one to add to the list.
Rating: 9/10
