Blu-ray Review: HELLOWEEN (2025)

HELLOWEEN

Written & Directed by:  Phil Claydon

Distributed by:  Miracle Media / 101 Films

  For those that suffer from Coulrophobia, I suggest you don't walk, but run away from this one!   For those that don't know, Coulrophobia is the scientific term for the fear of clowns.    This is something I have never suffered from, but after viewing Phil Claydon's HELLOWEEN, I can now completely understand why some people suffer from that phobia!

 Here is the basic plot synopsis from the 101 Films website:

At the height of the ‘killer clown’ phenomenon, psychiatrist Dr Ellen Marks (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott) and investigative journalist John Parker (Michael Paré) uncover a terrifying conspiracy masterminded by maniacal incarcerated serial killer Carl Cane (Ronan Summers), plotting an anarchistic, uprising from his cell deep in the bowels of the Moreton Downs Psychiatric Hospital. With a murderous army of clowns awaiting his signal to kill, Cane escapes, intent on unleashing his vengeance. Ellen and John face a desperate race against time to avert a bloodbath and stop Cane unleashing his own personal hell on Halloween.

 You might remember back in 2016, that there was a slew of clown sightings all over the U.S.   This was a real thing that came on so quickly, and I thought at the time it was just something happening in the U.S.   Apparently, these clown sightings happened all over the world and were very prominent in the U.K.   That whole clown sighting thing is something that needs to be studied more.  It was very strange and seemed very professionally coordinated.  HELLOWEEN builds on this phenomenon, and shows you some of the connections between all these sightings.   In this film, incarcerated killer Carl Cane seems to be behind it all, and is masterminding it from this cell in the psychiatric hospital that he's been confined to for the past 30 years. 

 This film is very well made, with some great effects and an overall creepy vibe to it.   The acting is a little lacking to be honest, but is made up for with the cool story and plot twists.   Although I do need to point out that the actor that played the adult Carl Cane did a tremendous job.  He had a top notch performance that really gets under your skin.  There are also some jump scares (which I usually see coming), that actually got me a few times.    My one complaint about this film are the kills, most all of which happen off screen.  This type of film would be perfect for some cool, gory effects, but I probably feel every movie should have more of that!   

 If you are looking for a new movie to watch this Halloween,  this is one I'd recommend checking out.  It's entertaining and creepy enough to be a good addition to your Halloween movie rotation!

HELLOWEEN is being released on Blu-ray on October 13 from 101 Films and will contain the following Special Features:

*  Commentary with writer/director Phil Claydon

*  Making of Featurette

*  Deleted Scenes 

*  Trailer

CLICK HERE to watch the HELLOWEEN trailer

CLICK HERE to order the Blu-ray