HELLOWEEN (2025)

3 stars

Miracle Media. Digital. Out Now. 101 Films. Blu ray 13th October

The film opens Halloween night 1996. A young boy in hoodie and clown face knocks at the door of healthcare worker Hannah Smith (Samantha Loxley). He says nothing, so she close the door on him. Back to her glass of wine and a file on Carl Cane. 10 years old – born on October 31st. Child Trauma. Psychotic ideation.

Another knock at the door but no one there – back in the house she spots a trail of sweets from her kitchen… the young boy attacks with his axe. An effective opening. Guess who the boy was…

The pre title sequence fills in the background of Cane the Killer Clown – who went on a bloody trick or treat rampage and is drawn from a documentary made investigative reporter John Parker (Michael Paré) on ‘Why Kids Kill’.

20 years later: Cane is now in Morton Downs Maximum Security Hospital and under the care of Clinical Psychologist Dr Ellen Marks (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott). She has spent ten years trying to understand him and the next ten years ensuring he suffered, as he is evil. If this is starting to sound familiar, and with a title like HELLOWEEN, it is clear that writer/director Phil Claydon is a fan of a certain Carpenter classic.

To add some variation to this familiar setup there is a wave of creepy clown incidents across the U.K. They are all wearing the same make up a la Cane. Despite growing in numbers the Police say they pose no danger. The various goings on seem to be co-ordinated by Cane… but how? He has no access to the outside world. Dr Marks and Parker start to work together to fathom what, if anything, Cane is up to.

It isn’t long before both the doctor and her somewhat histrionic daughters find themselves trapped in their house and are under attack…

Producer Jonathan Sothcott – yes that’s his wife in the lead role – is best known for all those Brit gangster thrillers, starring people like Danny Dye and Larry Lamb. Though I suspect making horror films is more in his wheelhouse. Ronan Summers gives an effectively manic performance and makes for a creepy clown, without aping other movie menaces like IT or TERRIFIER – plus this is more interested in building tension than being a gore fest like Damien Leone’s movies. Nerissa Sothcott is fine as the Dr Loomis substitute and Paré is a touch hammy. The film is stylishly directed within its budgetary limitations, with much of the film taking place either within the confines of the Doctor’s house or the facility. And at 80 mins it is efficiently told.

Steve Kirkham

EXTRAS on Blu ray

Commentary with director Phil Claydon

Making of featurette

Deleted scenes

Trailer