I followed the production updates on the Halloween fan film The Spirit of Haddonfield pretty closely and I'm actually pretty upset with myself for not checking the film out as soon as it was live on YouTube. But here we are, on the fifth of November, and I finally watched the short film this morning.
My quick knee-jerk reaction? I liked it. There were some things that I would have personally done differently, but it's mostly preferential stuff. I wasn't a huge fan of the color grading of the film. I felt like it was almost too washed out. Coming from someone who has lived in the Midwest his whole life, there are greens in autumn.
The music was good. There's one spot early on where I felt like the theme "The Shape Stalks Laurie" was a little out of place -- but maybe only because it was recycled near the end.
My last complaint: Michael Myers' mask. More specifically: the hair. The mask itself was fine, a Trick or Treat Studios' Halloween II mask. But the styling of the hair kept bringing me out of the feel of the film when Myers was onscreen. The positive: Never Hike Alone's Vincente DiSanti and his portrayal of The Shape was great. Felt a little more Warlock than Castle, but I'm not complaining.
Something I didn't understand: the film was marketed as a direct sequel to Halloween H20, but I didn't see the connection. It feels more like it fits before H20.
In all, the film is very well made and it's very apparent that a lot of hard work and effort went into the production. I liked it very, very much.
The closing moments hint at a follow-up and I eagerly await that film's release -- one in which I will watch as soon as it's released.
Side note: I've been asked whether or not I'm going to post a review of Halloween (2018), and the answer is probably not. However, I didn't like the film, I loved it. I gave it 4/5 on Letterboxd.
My quick knee-jerk reaction? I liked it. There were some things that I would have personally done differently, but it's mostly preferential stuff. I wasn't a huge fan of the color grading of the film. I felt like it was almost too washed out. Coming from someone who has lived in the Midwest his whole life, there are greens in autumn.
The music was good. There's one spot early on where I felt like the theme "The Shape Stalks Laurie" was a little out of place -- but maybe only because it was recycled near the end.
My last complaint: Michael Myers' mask. More specifically: the hair. The mask itself was fine, a Trick or Treat Studios' Halloween II mask. But the styling of the hair kept bringing me out of the feel of the film when Myers was onscreen. The positive: Never Hike Alone's Vincente DiSanti and his portrayal of The Shape was great. Felt a little more Warlock than Castle, but I'm not complaining.
Something I didn't understand: the film was marketed as a direct sequel to Halloween H20, but I didn't see the connection. It feels more like it fits before H20.
In all, the film is very well made and it's very apparent that a lot of hard work and effort went into the production. I liked it very, very much.
The closing moments hint at a follow-up and I eagerly await that film's release -- one in which I will watch as soon as it's released.
Side note: I've been asked whether or not I'm going to post a review of Halloween (2018), and the answer is probably not. However, I didn't like the film, I loved it. I gave it 4/5 on Letterboxd.