We all rolled our eyes when Spirit Halloween The Movie was announced, right? I mean, it’s a movie based on a retail store. What could it possibly be about? Let me tell you.
A long time ago, Alec Windsor (Christopher Lloyd) was an evil man trying to steal the land from an orphanage. However, the woman running the orphanage is a witch who kills Windsor with a curse. Years later, three teenagers - Jake (Donovan Colan), Bo (Jaiden J Smith), and Carson (Dylan Martin Frankel) - are trying to figure out what to do for Halloween. They decide to spend the night in the Spirit Halloween store that just opened in the abandoned strip mall. Little did they know that Windsor’s spirit haunts that plot of land every year on the anniversary of his death.
Despite having acting heavyweights Christopher Lloyd, Marla Gibbs, and Rachael Leigh Cook on the roster, the three adults get very little screen time. Instead, we are focused on the three boys and Carson’s older sister, Kate (Marissa Reyes), none of whom have more than ten acting credits to their names. Thankfully, the movie doesn’t require A-list acting. Most of it is spent with Lloyd’s character, Windsor, possessing various animatronics around the store and chasing the kids. Nothing particularly scary, to be honest. I’m not really sure why the movie earned a PG-13 rating over PG. Maybe the idea of ghosts scared the rating board.
Spirit Halloween The Movie would be an ideal Halloween movie for the younger crowd. Probably in the pre-teen to early-teen age range. Unless they are already terrified by the animatronics in the store, they aren’t likely to be scared by much in here. But, if you aren’t sure your kids should watch it, it is only 80 minutes long. You can easily give it a quick watch before showing it to the younger kids.