Before you ask, no, this is not a delayed April Fools joke. Strike Back Studios, Hideout Pictures, and Particular Crowd is making a full-length feature based on the costume retail outlet Spirit Halloween. Framed as a family-kids adventure movie, Spirit Halloween has attached Christopher Lloyd (Nobody, Back to the Future) and Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) to star.
Here’s the official logline for the Spirit Halloween movie project:
“When a new Spirit Halloween store appears in a deserted strip mall, three middle-school friends who think they’ve outgrown trick-or-treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night. But they soon discover that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters. The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves.”
I’m not going to lie; I think this sounds like fun. It feels like a spooky story lifted off the pages of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series.
Joining Lloyd and Cook for the Spirit Halloween movie are Donavan Colan (Chapelwaite), Dylan Frankel (Raven’s Home), Jaiden Smith (Blue Bloods), Marissa Reyes (Raven’s Home), and Marla Gibbs (El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie). David Poag directs based on a screenplay written by Billie Bates. The film has already wrapped and will release in October 2022.
“One of the reasons I immediately connected with the script is it is very much inspired by some of my favorite kid adventure films growing up from ‘The Goonies,’ ‘Gremlins,’ ‘Monster Squad’ and so many great films made by Amblin Entertainment,” said Noor Ahmed, president of Strike Back Studios.
The Spirit Halloween chain is directly involved with the making of the movie. Expect plenty of cross-promotion when you visit the one-stop-shop for your Halloween costume needs later this year.
I wholly expect people to clown on this movie, but I’m going to reserve my judgment until I see a trailer. Halloween is my favorite holiday, bar none, and I’ll see Christopher Lloyd in almost anything. I say bring it on!
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