Halloween: The Babysitter Murders

 



Director - Jack Norman (Friday the 13th: Curse of Jason, Knock Knock)
Starring - Christy Faulkner (Scarewaves, Watch This!), Amanda Collins (Season's Greetings, Midsummer Nightmares), and Jack Norman
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "He came home"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

     Fan films are something I'm fairly new to.  I always found the idea of a fan film to be extremely silly.  Why take so much time and money to make an unofficial sequel, prequel, remake, or original story?  I just could not wrap my head around the concept.  That changed when several no budget directors reached out to me to cover their fan films.  It was then that I realized that they make fan films because they are fans of the original content.  They don't wish to change the original.  They simply want to build upon, or in some cases, offer up a "what if" scenario.  Several years ago director and actor Jack Norman completed his short Halloween: The Babysitter Murders.  I thought I reviewed the film but I apparently only reviewed the first scene.  Jack completed it and finally released it for the masses.  Thanks Jack for reaching out to me with the finished product. 

     The film follows Michael Myers who escaped a mental health facility and makes his way back to Haddonfield in search of his babysitter who has now been adopted.  He breaks into a hardware store and steals a Emmett Kelly before setting his sights on his little sister and her friends as they babysit some children before heading out for a Halloween party.

     I try not to judge a fan film against what inspired them.  They will never be as good as the original in most cases so I try to keep them separated.  Tackling Halloween is a big task but I like how Norman and crew tackles it.  The acting in this one is solid but there was plenty of room for improvement.  Christy Faulner is no stranger to my reviews.  She's been in several Concept Media and Studio 605 flicks along with a Henrique Couto movie here and there.  She does a solid job in her role but there was several times throughout the short I feel that she lost track of what was going on around her and her emotions were not genuine.  The supporting cast is does a solid job as well but there is several times throughout the short where they almost seem distracted by something happening off camera.  For most of the film they are all fully dedicated to their roles and do a solid job but there is a few scenes where it seems like they are preoccupied.  The story for this one pretty much flows like the original with a few minor changes.  In this take we get less Dr. Loomis and more Myers action.  This makes for an interesting take on the story we all love especially when you watch the action unfold while Myers wears a different mask and not his iconic white Bill Shatner mask.  Finally, the film doesn't offer up memorable kills but it does give the viewer kills in the same manner as the original film.  They fit the story very well and require minimal effects which works in their favor.  They are fun but does lack the gore most expect with the slasher.  Overall, Halloween: The Babysitter Murders is a fun fan film that offers up an alternate take on a classic slasher.  It doesn't entertain to the extent the original does but it still a fun watch. Check it out.