Members of fandoms express their love of a property in different ways, with fan films being one of the most expressive declarations of passion. A Halloween fan movie, titled simply Halloween Night, has now been released online in its entirety and is viewable above.
Made for $10,000 and funded through Indiegogo, the film is the creation of writer-director JP DeStefano, and is set in Haddonfield in the modern day, where Michael Myers and his night of stalking and murder over 40 years previously have become a distant memory. However, the past never stays at rest and the knife-wielding incarnation of pure evil has returned to wreak havoc once again.
The movie is clearly made from a position of affection for and familiarity with the original, as its atmosphere and visual style are perfect imitations of John Carpenter’s slasher classic. Numerous tropes are invoked and played with, such as Michael being seen out of focus in the distance standing motionless, a refrigerator door being closed to not reveal the masked killer standing behind it, and Michael silently vanishing from where someone thought he was just moments previously. It provides a connection to the original movie by its nominal protagonist John being the grandson of Dr. Loomis, but doesn’t dwell on the subject beyond the revelation of his apparent obsession with that fateful Samhaim night.
Other touches include a metafictional discussion of older horror movies seeming tame by today’s standards, and largely bloodless violence keeping the content suitable to be watched on YouTube, but shot in such a way that allows your mind to fill in the gaps. The subdued banality of the kills make them all the more sinister due to their unembellished matter-of-factness, and the film even goes so far as to recreate moments and shots lifted directly from its progenitor.
Halloween Night is a straightforward and simple movie, but also a meticulous love letter to a horror classic, and well worth the mere hour it takes to watch it.