(Family Friendly) Halloween Horror: Return to Halloweentown

Hello, my darling readers!
Let’s talk about the final movie in the Halloweentown franchise, Return to Halloweentown. Shall we?

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

On the eve of Halloweetown’s 1000th anniversary celebration, Witch University student Marnie Piper (Sara Paxton) must enlist the aid of two close friends in order to finally reveal a long-buried secret hidden in an ancient prophecy. Marnie has just won a full scholarship to the prestigious Witch University in Halloweentown, and she’s eager to begin studying up on alchemy, amulets, and magic potions. While Marnie is all set to become Witch University’s most popular coed, the new ban on magic at the school poses something of a problem for the young witch eager to realize her true powers. Later, Marnie discovers an ancient prophecy that holds the key to unlocking a legendary secret. Now, in order to ensure that Halloweentown’s Millennial Celebration goes off without a hitch, Marnie will call on her old friends Ethan (Lucas Grabeel) and Benny the Skeleton in addition to seeking out the wisdom of new pals Professor Periwinkle and Aneesa the Genie. Will Marnie and her friends be able to fend off the evil that threatens to consume Halloweentown, or could it be that this strange and supernatural town has been marked for destruction since the day it was founded?

Return to Halloweentown on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

So, the story isn’t that bad and the movie has it’s moments but there are some huge issues we need to discuss.

First of all, they recast Marnie for no fathomable reason whatsoever. What I gathered from interviews and stuff is that even the original actress Kimberley J. Brown was surprised. It’s not that Sarah Paxton is doing a bad job, but the Halloweentown franchise kind of hinges on Marnie and just recasting her without rhyme or reason is weird, annoying, and pissed of a good amount of fans.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Hello, my lovely readers!
Last week I published a review on The Babysitter. As I quite enjoyed this freaky little horror-comedy flick, I was all ears when Netflix announced the sequel. Let’s see if that’s worth watching as well.

The Plot (according to Rotten Tomatoes):

Two years after defeating a satanic cult led by his babysitter, Cole once again has to outsmart the forces of evil when old enemies unexpectedly return.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

I am angry. I am thoroughly pissed of. The first movie was kind of quirky, stupid, and predictable but still a ton of fun and immensely enjoyable.
This sequel is an insult. It’s bad. So very very bad that it almost hurt to watch it.

Gone is the at least partly smart humor of the first part, the nods to other famous horror movies or tropes. This is just stupid, annoying, and boring.

(Family Friendly) Halloween Horror: Halloweentown High

Hello, hello!
Welcome to my review of part III in the Halloweentown franchise. After this, we have one more movie to go and that’ll conclude my family-friendly alternatives for Halloween.

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

Marnie and her friends from Halloweentown are back in this made-for-cable feature. Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) is a teenage witch living with her family of supernatural beings in the village of Halloweentown. Marnie and her pals are interested in attending high school in the nearby mortal community, where they’ll be able to spend more time with kids their age, and with the help of her grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), she’s able to convince the town council to go along with the suggestion. However, there’s a catch — if anything dangerous happens as a result of their presence in the mortal school, Marnie and her friends will lose their magical talents. Trouble does make its way to the school, but not in a way anyone expected — the Knight of the Iron Dagger comes to the mortal world determined to wipe out Marnie and her magical companions. 

Halloweentown High on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

FINN WITTROCK is in this film and I completely forgot about it.
I thought this is some important info all of you should have. Now back to the review.

I actually quite enjoyed the story of Halloweentown High and we’re finally getting somewhere. The number of plotholes is decreasing and this movie was slightly less cringe-worthy than the last one!

The Babysitter (2017)

Hello, hello!
I have another horror movie for you this month. After hearing quite a lot about The Babysitter I basically clicked on it by accident when browsing Netflix. Let’s find out whether it was a happy accident. 😉

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

The Babysitter, directed by McG, follows Cole (Judah Lewis), who is madly in love with his babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving). She’s cool and awesome in all the ways Cole is not. One evening while Bee is babysitting, Cole witnesses the unthinkable. Now he must survive a night full of first kisses, first broken hearts, and first encounters with homicidal maniacs (played by Bella Thorne, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, and Hana Mae Lee).

The Babysitter on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

Oh my, this was something.
I know quite a lot of people were hating on the movie but I found it rather enjoyable!
That is if you treat it as a hilarious take on the genre instead of watching it as an earnest horror film.

(Family Friendly) Halloween Horror: Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge

Hey guys!
Today I bring you another family-friendly alternative to the usual horror movies I review in October. Let’s see how the second installment of the Halloweentown series fares in comparison!

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

Witches are on the warpath in this sequel to the original hit movie about Marnie, a girl who learns on her 13th birthday that she comes from a family of witches. Debbie Reynolds again stars as Marnie’s grandmother Aggie, as the family returns to its native Halloweentown to find that all the magic seems to have gone. It seems that Aggie’s spell book has been stolen by an angry warlock, who’s going to turn every human into whatever creature’s costume they are wearing at midnight on Halloween.

Halloweentown II on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

Okay, I think I like the story for this one better than for the first, or at least the idea. I can’t help but wonder whether every character is supposed to be this daft.

Most of the problems could have been prevented if somebody had paid a little attention and had connected the dots, but apparently, nobody here notices even the most obvious signs.

The Covenant

Hello, hello!
I might have been a tiny bit infatuated with Sebastian Stan after watching the MCU movies. When I found an interview with him talking about that film I decided to check it out for myself, even though I was aware that it would probably suck. A lot.

The Plot:

Was there even a plot hidden somewhere?
The Covenant features some power-hungry high school boys who come equipped with special powers thanks to their ancestry…

The Rating:

I am sorry, Sebastian but this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. The rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 4% and now I know why.

What can I even say? There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this film at all. It was meant to be a serious horror movie but I kept laughing the whole time through.