Director – Jag Mundhra (The Jigsaw Murders, Night Eyes)
Starring – Hy Pyke (Vamp, Blade Runner), Gregory Scott Cummins (Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, Caged Fury), and Katina Garner (Cannibal Hookers, The Tomb)
Release Date – 1988
Rating – 4/5
Blu Release – 4/4
I absolutely love Halloween movies. Most genre fans dive deep into horror and typically completely miss the point of the holiday. During the month of October I enjoy Halloween movies and avoid most horror flicks unless it’s for review. Last year I let the Halloween season get away from me so this year I placed several Halloween themed flicks in my review stack to ensure that I got to watch some films for the season.
Sometime last year Massacre Video released the Halloween Satanic slasher Hack-O-Lantern on blu. When Cinema Wasteland rolled around I made sure this was my first pick up while I was there. Sadly, I completely forgot about it until this holiday season. With October finally here I had to check out the film for the first time and review Massacre’s blu release.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows Tommy (Cummins) who is a disciple of his grandfather (Pyke) who is the leader of a Satanic cult. His grandfather has been grooming and training him for years to take over for him in the cult and this year was going to be his first year taking over. However, Tommy is just a teenager and keeps getting distracted by beautiful women and family affairs. Grandpa decides to stop that before it becomes a bigger problem and goes around killing everyone that gets in Tommy’s way but this only pushes Tommy further away resulting in a showdown between the two. With grandpa’s last breath he realizes that the power is in the blood.**Spoiler Alert**
I had heard a lot of negative things about this but I could not wait to check it out. The film was flawed and laughable at times but I can’t deny how much fun I really had with it. It really was a fun Halloween watch.
The acting in this one is inconsistent. Some dial it up while others go for the cheese. Hy Pyke who had several memorable roles over the years is over the top and cheesy. He made the film as fun as it was. Sadly, who was not utilized as much as I would have liked. The rest of the cast attempts these bigger than life characters but are unable to do so in such an entertaining way. Some fail miserably which creates awkward scenes while others don’t do too bad.
The story for this one is perfect for Halloween especially when you consider the year it was made. The late 80s was smack in the middle of the Satanic Panic movement where several churches turned on metal and horror movies with claims it was satanic. Many blamed murders and abductions on fans of both resulting in a witch trial of sorts. Soon after we saw several day time specials on the subject. This story seems to almost make fun of all that with the grandfather in the satanic cult with a special ritual on Halloween. This was everything that got those middle-aged housewives all in a tussey. I love that. There is some plot holes and unintentional comedy but I really do enjoy the story for this.
Finally, there is several kills that embrace the slasher legacy that was in place almost a decade before. We get some standard slasher kills with trick weapons and clever camera angles with a little blood. This isn’t a gore filled slasher but it does feel like the slashers of the early 80s. Overall, Hack-O-Lantern catches hell for some reason but I absolutely loved it. It was a solid slasher and very in tune with Halloween. Check this one out!
Special Features:
Collector’s Slipcover
2K Restoration
Commentary
The Power is in the Blood Featurette
Rare Public Access Interview
Behind the Scenes Photos
Trailers for other Massacre Releases
