Playing during the opening night of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest is a big deal. When that opening night also begins the 25th anniversary, it becomes an even more daunting task. The first evening of FrightFest helps set the tone, showcasing to attendees exactly what they can expect from the days to come. This year the team have used their Thursday evening opening spot to give FrightFesters a taster of a smorgasbord of varying horror content, with Brittney Greer’s Happy Halloween providing the slasher thrills.
After having relocated for some time after a personal tragedy, Hadley (Emma Reinagel) returns home just in time for the one year anniversary of the event that changed her life (coincidentally also Halloween). Her reintroduction into society is made even harder due to her overbearing mother, but thankfully her BFF, Peyton (Aline O’Neill), is on hand for moral support and quarterback Kagan (Graham Weldin) fulfils the role of potential suitor. What neither knows though, is that Hadley is harbouring a dark secret about her past that might just have landed them all in very serious danger.
Happy Halloween, gleefully stalks and slashes a small midwestern town’s teenage population.The murderous mayhem begins almost immediately as a young man is drawn out to a deserted corn field under false pretence. As an opening kill goes, this one is less gratuitous, but far more malicious. The calling card of the killer in Brittney Greer’s film is that they enjoy turning their victims into Halloween decorations, and so this primary victim, and many after him, has a holiday appropriate greeting carved into his chest. As Happy Halloween progresses, the ‘decorations’ become more vicious, and by the film’s end there are a pile of interesting deaths for the slasher-loving crowd to savour.
Greer has clearly grown up on a diet of Scream and Halloween as DNA from both franchises can be found within Happy Halloween. From Scream comes the gossiping teens, those who bitch about Hadley and the recent deaths with little compassion for either. Although supporting characters, their inclusion forms a neat nod to Wes Craven’s classic. Hadley’s angst and burden could also be likened to that which is endured by Sidney. From Halloween, Greer’s film borrows the time setting and also elements of that iconic score. Amongst the original arrangement are the very familiar occasional note, just enough to nod to John Carpenter’s classic without veering into plagiarism territory. Whilst Happy Halloween borrows from the best, it doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of either. Though the thought and hard work is there, Happy Halloween’s ideas remain somewhat grounded by its modest budget.
Although the partially crowdsourced film struggles to match up to the much bigger movies it is reaching for, Happy Halloween does still manage to engage and entertain the audience. The reveal of Hadley’s secret is important, and once out in the open, paves the way for a dynamic end-confrontation between killer and prey. As with any great slasher, the reveal of the killer is paramount, and although the identity of the mask wearer isn’t a massive surprise, it is a world within the framework of the story. Plus, an end credits sting paves the way for an interesting sequel.
Having previously worked in short film and television, with Happy Halloween, Brittney Greer makes her first steps into features. Although not quite as polished as it could have been with extra money in the kitty, there are lots within Happy Halloween that proves Greer to be a deft and safe pair of hands within the world of horror cinema.
Happy Halloween
Summary
Happy Halloween mixes elements of two horror titan franchises with varied, but entertaining results.
Happy Halloween was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
