Hallows’ Eve 2013
Hallows’ Eve
is another movie I am on the bubble with. (Ladies, I want to apologize now for some of the sadly shallow sexist comments I am going to make about this film.) I can’t help it. My life sucks, I am single, I’m middle aged and movies that tease and don’t deliver, piss me off. I hope to better explain my shallowness as this review continues so please bare with me.
Okay, here’s the deal. This movie starts out with acting so bad I almost stopped watching it. I was already in a stop watching mood because I had just stopped watching a movie called The Cemetery (2013) because it started out with heavy metal music overlapping what some monk type people did back in the 1700’s or maybe it was the 1600’s. It was so annoying but by the time it finally stopped and went to present to day I was just so bored and uninterested in the few minutes of seeing the current day characters I just had to stop watching it. I may go back and give it another chance at a latter time. But, Hallows’ Eve has Danielle Harris in it. And for her, I will give it a chance.
After the horrible acting of the intro to the film, the acting got better. The styling of the opening scene I guess was meant to imply that we’re watching the past. We are being given the background to the story. Unless I blinked and missed the part where it said, sometime several years ago, it failed. So I am watching this opening thinking, the film they used sucks. The high contrast sucks, and to top it all off the acting sucks. Bad, bad, bad.
Once into “present day” the acting got better as I mentioned and so did the visual presentation of the film. My problem doesn’t come so much from the story. Though it’s a typical story. There is at least a little mystery to it, not much but there is some. And, the ending did throw a little surprise at me that I didn’t see coming. I won’t get into the surprise because if you do watch this movie, I don’t want to spoil it for you.
So what was it that pissed me off so much about this film? Well, I don’t like being teased. If I am going to be teased, there better be a payoff for it later in the movie. All the teasing this movie does and it all goes completely without payoff. By teasing, I mean sex. There’s a few horny characters, there’s some nudity, but nothing ever happens with it.
Ashley C. Williams Hallows’ Eve 2013
One example of this is when one of the films protagonists shows up at the “sluts” place. She is played by Ashley C. Williams pictured above. She is really so attractive and her character gives off a good sexy, slutty vibe. She wants to have sex with this guy. This guy wants nothing to do with her sexually. He’s even mad at her for trying. Ashley (also her characters name) get’s as far as being on her knees and undoing his belt. He let’s her get this far and then stops her and acts all offended. He mentions his girlfriend. The guy is trying to take the high road and yet just stands there looking at her with content as he allows her to unzip his pants. He’s a dumbass! Very few guys wouldn’t have had sex with her, she’s that hot. But, I reluctantly accept it, his girlfriend must be pretty damn special is all I’m sayin’.
Well, we meet the girlfriend and her characters is pretty simple, not super bright and not as attractive as the “slutty” girl. Not saying that because her character isn’t as attractive as Ashley’s character. That’s not a reason for him not to date her. It’s just that you have to like the characters. You have to root for them. They are the protagonists of the film and if their characters don’t stand up to that calling, then it’s hard to care for them. It’s completely unrealistic to life and the genre that anyone is going to have Ashley hitting on them and not hit it when the male lead isn’t coming coming off as the hero. Instead I am left shaking my head at what in the hell this guy was thinking in being with the girl he’s currently dating when he could have Ashely all day long. And, it turns out that he prior to dating this girl, he was dating her sister. The only reason the sister and him aren’t still dating is because she broke up with him.
It just wasn’t done well. If you’re going to do that in a movie, you have to believe the guy is a good guy. That he loves his girlfriend, that he truly cares about her. I wasn’t feeling it. It was suggested that’s how he felt but I wasn’t buying it. To me, he just came off as a dumbass. Later, the sister, his ex-girlfriend, hits on him. Completely throws herself at him. His current girlfriend is off getting high with some other asshole and he knows it. Yet, once again this guy isn’t going to take advantage of yet another hottie throwing herself at him? Sorry, horror movie wise, he’s a dumbass.
The film teases with sex and never delivers. From a young girl in the tub starting to masturbate but is stopped by the phone ringing to a fantasy scene where some hottie wiccans in lingerie dry hump a dude. I mean, not even in a the fantasy scene does anyone have sex in this film. As far as I know the “slutty” girl is actually a virgin. It’s a slasher film, it’s one of the basic rules, kill the sinners! Nope, no sins here. If you are going to tease sex in a movie and don’t later pay it off with sex then you’re cheating your audience. It’s just makes the character look shallow, stupid and realistic. It makes what could be a decent horror film a bad horror film.
Danielle Harris as I stated is the reason why I continued watching the film. Her part in it as it turns out is so small. I don’t even really know how she relates to anyone in the story. It’s implied that she is maybe the mother or step-mother of one of the characters but it’s not clear either way. It’s as if the script was written and they said, “Oh we can get Danielle Harris? Okay, let’s add this useless character so she can be in the movie!” She’s a good actress and the role offered her nothing. No depth of character. No reason for that character to be there at all. Well, no reason for her to be that character. It was nothing part for her.
This is another movie that I have to say is on the bubble. Most of the acting is okay once you get past the horrible acting at the beginning. The story, though simplistic isn’t bad. For a gory slasher film the special effects are decent and at times, pretty good. There is a slight surprise towards the end that I give it points for. But, overall I am disappointed with it. The movie could have been sleek, sexy and scary but it seems to have been written and directed by people that have no earthly idea what is sexy or scary. They missed so many beats in this film. I just can’t recommend it. As always though, watch it for yourself and let me know if you agree or disagree.
Cast of Characters:
Danielle Harris – Nicole Bates
Raymond Mamrak – Matthew Bates
Courtney Baxter – Eve Bates
Ashley C. Williams – Ashley
Tiffany Shepis – Sarah
Chance Michael Corbitt – Tommy
Josh Flitter – Marty
Ricky Rude – Kerone