Spirit Halloween: The Movie

Spirit Halloween: The Movie is a 2022 American supernatural horror film directed by David Poag in his feature film directorial debut, and written by Billie Bates. Produced in partnership with the Spirit Halloween retailer, the film stars Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook, and follows three middle schoolers who find themselves locked in a haunted Spirit Halloween store on Halloween night.

Spirit Halloween: The Movie was released theatrically on September 30, 2022, before being released on video-on-demand (VOD) platforms on October 11, 2022. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot
In the 1940s, Alec Windsor threatens a woman so he can purchase her land. The woman reveals herself as a witch and casts a spell that kills Windsor.

In 2022 three teenage friends - Jake, Bo and Carson - are having quarrels over their growing older. Jake has lost his father to bone cancer and has not moved on, causing friction with his stepfather, his daughter and his recently remarried mother. Carson is eager to grow up and find more exciting things to do. Bo cautiously agrees with Carson. The three friends go to a Spirit Halloween pop up store and shortly afterwards Carson suggests they hide while the store closes Halloween night and spend the evening in the store overnight.

As the three friends play with products inside the store, an animatronic comes to life. Carson's sister Kate, who Jake has a crush on, has found to have stayed in the store as well. The friends discover Windsor is able to return to life as a ghost and possess objects and people.

Windsor possesses various animatronics in the store as the teens avoid his attacks or disable his bodies until he leaves the final robot and his spirit takes over Kate. In an argument Bo says that Jake needs to move on from losing his father but Carson should focus on helping his friend recover. Kate expels Windsor and he is defeated.

With the friends having made up, Jake apologizes to his family. The Spirit Halloween employee returns to find the store in shambles. Finally a witch, Grandma G, casts a spell that seems to revive Windsor's ghost before the credits roll.

Cast

 * Donovan Colan as Jake, a young teenager whose father has passed away.
 * Dylan Frankel as Carson, Jake's maturing friend.
 * Jaiden J. Smith as Bo, the friend of Jake and Carson.
 * Marissa Reyes as Kate, Carson's older sister.
 * Rachael Leigh Cook as Sue, Jake's mother, and a recently remarried widow.
 * Christopher Lloyd as Alec Windsor, a wealthy land developer who is killed by a witch Halloween night. His spirit haunts the town one hour every Halloween.
 * Marla Gibbs as Grandma G, a local witch.

Production
Production on Spirit Halloween: The Movie began in late 2021 and wrapped in February 2022. While casting auditions were held in fall 2021 and while Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook were in negotiations to play roles in the film. The film was not publicly announced until April 11, 2022, when Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook were confirmed to star in it. The film is produced by Strike Back Studios, Hideout Pictures, Particular Crowd and Film Mode Entertainment in an official partnership with Spirit Halloween.

Noor Ahmed, president of Strike Back Studios, stated, "One of the reasons I immediately connected with the script is it is very much inspired by some of my favorite kid adventure films growing up, from The Goonies, Gremlins, Monster Squad, and so many great films made by Amblin Entertainment".

The film was shot in Rome, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee. The film was also shot at an actual Spirit Halloween store in Rome, which was formerly occupied by Toys "R" Us.

Distribution
The film was released theatrically on September 30, 2022, by Strike Back Studios with the film being released on video-on-demand on October 11, 2022.

Marketing
A trailer for the film premiered at the opening of Spirit Halloween's flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, on July 30, 2022. The trailer was also shown at Midsummer Scream, a Halloween- and horror-themed convention in Long Beach, California, on July 31. On August 1, 2022, the trailer was released albeit a different version followed by a second trailer on September 8, 2022.

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 54% based on 26 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's consensus reads: "Neither a trick nor much of a treat, Spirit Halloween: The Movie is a decent but overall unmemorable choice for families seeking spooky season viewing options". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on eight critics' reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a score of two-and-a-half out of five, writing that it "serves as an effective showcase of the store's catalog", but "never fully utilizes its store setting to its advantage, though. The feature opts to spotlight only a handful of items in what amounts to an endless chase between the boys and a ghostly villain instead of using the setup to build an atmosphere or a haunted funhouse feel." Navarro concluded that, "it's not the story or its characters that linger in mind once those end credits hit; it's the items that'll fill up your Spirit Halloween wish lists." Jordan Hoffman of The A.V. Club gave the film a grade of "C–", likening the experience of watching it to the experience of visiting a Spirit Halloween store: "Most of the stuff in there is, let's face it, mass-produced crap. [...] It's all smiles going in, which turns quickly to boredom, before an unsatisfied exit." Hoffman called the film "harmless and less than 80 minutes if you turn it off before the credits are done. It's just so embarrassingly thin. The few chuckles are all the more depressing when you realize that this could have been a winner with a clever screenwriter and a competent director."