All Hallow's Eve

Director - Damien Leone (Terrifier, Frankenstein vs. Mummy)
Starring - Katie Maguire (Gold Star, Search Party), Catherine A. Callahan (30 Rock, All My Children), and Marie Maser (Terrifier)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Come out and play"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's almost daily that I'm reminded about how strange and unusual my tastes in movies are.  Several years ago I was browsing movies at Wal-Mart in October when I came across the DVD for the horror anthology All Hallow's Eve.  The movie looked painfully generic but I grabbed it anyway. A few years later I picked up the sequel as well on DVD but never got around to watching it. After all the hype last year with Terrifier, the spinoff from the first film, I thought I would give these films a shot with Halloween approaching.  Boy, I wish I would have fucking went with another movie.
     The film begins with a babysitter and the two children she is watching as they explore their Halloween treats they got from trick or treating when one of them spots a VHS without a label.  She doesn't want the kids to see what's on it before they watch it.  She tosses it in and is greeted with a story about a girl who is abducted by a clown and taken somewhere where there is other women in chains.  They try to escape but find some far more menacing than the clown.  The second tale follows a young woman who is unpacking in her new home when something sounds like it has crashed nearby.  She frantically looks and soon finds herself face to face with something out of this world.  The third and final tale follows a woman as she is stalked and terrorized by the clown from the first segment.
     I went into this one after hearing it's praises for years.  So many horror fans proclaim this as their favorite Halloween movies and many more have included it in their annual Halloween viewing.  However, after throwing it in I'm curious if my blu of the film is different than what everyone else is watching because this was one of the worst movie experiences I have seen in recent years.  It took me two days to finish it.  The acting in this one is my biggest turn off.  The cast is just spitting out dialogue with no conviction or dedication to their role.  When I started the first segment I had to turn it off after a few moments because I was laughing at the cast.  The stories for this one are interesting to say the least but their execution and pacing is just wrong.  The first segment is very cliched, predictable, and boring but the second story was out of place but interesting.  I was not expecting an alien tale in the middle of a Halloween movie but I actually enjoyed it.  The third segment would have been my favorite but the slow pacing and lack of suspense really made it not as enjoyable as it could be.  Finally, the film has some solid practical effects but the viewer pays little attention to them by that point because they are waiting for the film to end.  I feel that if these effects were in a better film you would remember them for years to come but because of how bland this film is the viewer will not remember these come several weeks from now.  Overall, All Hallow's Eve was the biggest disappointment of the Halloween season. I know I said that earlier with The Lingering but this film surpasses that.  If you like this movie then good for you but nothing you say will change my mind about this one.  Skip it.