Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Baron Von Laugho's Halloween Spook-A-Thon


Director(s) - Jeff Everhart (The Karvers, On the Rocks) and Dylan R. Nix (The Hallowed Sin)
Starring - Dylan R. Nix, Jeremy Corso, and Dan Mahoney (Law and Order: SVU)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The scariest show on Earth!"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     We are just 9 days from Halloween.  Nine mother fuckin' days!  With it vast approaching I'm in full holiday spirit.  Got my stack of essential Halloween flicks by my television to check out.  Movies like The Midnight Hour, The Worst Witch, the Halloween series, Trick r' Treat, Mr. Boogedy, Bride of Boogedy, and many more.  Recently I was on Instagram and came across a post for the indie horror anthology Baron Von Laugho's Halloween Spook-A-Thon.  This one looked perfect to toss into my Halloween rotation.  I did some looking and was able to track down the director and secure me a copy of this fantastic throwback to Halloween specials of yesteryear.  I want to thank Dylan for hooking me up with a copy.
     The film follows television host Baron Von Laugho as he shows the viewer several short horror films.  The first, That's No Bear!, follows a hunter who is mistaken for a monster and is hunted by a master huntsman.  The second short, The Karvers, follows a classic American family with only one difference - the patriarch is a living jack-o-lantern that kills during the day and a father figure at night.  The third and final segment, The Hallowed Sin, follows a young and troubled babysitter who is visited by a devout Christian and they have a serious conversation.
     I love the look and feel of a Halloween flick especially if its authentic.  Several indie films have been able to pull this look off in recent years with movies like WNUF Halloween Special and There's Something Following Me.  These films really get you in the Halloween spirit.  You can toss these on and carve a few pumpkins.  Baron Von Laugho's Halloween Spook-A-Thon may not be as well written and put together as other Halloween films but it still delivered some quality holiday entertainment.  The acting in this one isn't the worst I've seen in an indie horror film but there was plenty of room for improvement.  The cast was given some pretty fun characters to bring to life and they did a pretty damn good job at that but there was a few scenes where the acting didn't feel natural.  The cast was great and I can't wait to see what they can accomplish after they gain some experience.  The stories for this one were fun and perfect for the Halloween season but they don't seem finished.  They all have a great beginning up until the middle and then just comes to a close.  I don't know if the film had bigger ambitions than they could pull off or something prevented them from finishing the way they wanted but the closing of each segment fell flat.  I really enjoyed where the stories were going and would have loved to see even more of that.  Finally, the film is extremely low budget so the few kills  we do get rely heavily on old school camera tricks that require very little effects.  This isn't a blood soaked horror film to watch late Saturday night.  Instead, it is an atmospheric piece intended to give the viewer that nostalgia feeling.  Overall, Baron Von Laugho's Halloween Spook-A-Thon is the gritty Halloween inspired film you want for your Halloween movie marathon.  It has that used VHS look and has some great stories.  Though the film does feel unfinished it still satisfies which is more than I can say about my ex.  Check it out.  




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