“All Hallows’ Eve” is a 2013 anthology horror movie written and directed by Damien Leone. The wraparound story involves a babysitter and two kids on Halloween night – classic, right? When the young boy, Timmy (Cole Mathewson), dumps his trick-or-treat bag, an unmarked VHS tape falls out. Sarah (Katie Maguire), the kids’ babysitter, doesn’t want them to watch it since there’s no telling what’s on the tape. Once she starts to screen it, Timmy and his sister Tia (Sydney Freihofer) get excited about it because it appears to be a horror film, and all three of them watch it.
The first story follows a young woman in a dingy train station who is being bothered by a creepy clown (credits show he is known as Art the Clown and played by Mike Giannelli). She gets drugged, kidnapped and chained up further underground in the station with some other women. What happens to them after that is mysterious and disturbing.
After that, Sarah sends the kids to bed and continues to watch the tape by herself. The second story is about a woman unpacking in her new home, alone. All of a sudden, there’s a bright light right outside and the power goes out. Her cellphone ceases to work and it seems like someone might be in her house. This suspenseful story goes in a direction you might not expect.
The final story on the tape is about a young woman on the long drive home at night. When she stops for gas, she sees the attendant kicking Art the Clown out for vandalizing the place. The attendant later begins to give her directions to get back to the highway but they’re interrupted by a strange noise; next thing you know, the attendant is being dismembered by Art the Clown and the woman witnesses it. As she tries to get away, she keeps being followed by the creepy clown and it seems there is no escape.
This is a low-budget movie with ups and downs, in terms of acting and narrative. Many scenes in “All Hallows’ Eve” are gory and disturbing, and the special effects team definitely did their job. Giannelli as Art the Clown is truly terrifying – he even got his own film this year, “Terrifier.” If you’re looking for something a little different this Halloween to get your blood pumping, maybe “All Hallows’ Eve” is one to check out.
Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, Jackie has called Austin home since choosing to attend the University of Texas, where she graduated with a degree in multimedia journalism. She loves spending time with her dogs, writing about pop culture in all its forms and spending time with friends – eating, drinking and doing trivia.