I remember watching Halloweentown many times as a child. A strange Halloween themed film that I recall being very short, but somehow found its way onto our boxed television every October. I remember being very young watching it, often never really capable of enjoying the Halloween holiday and staying inside. Finding ways to enjoy the season through films and television shows. We owned Halloweentown on VHS, making it a frequent option every year as even VHS purchases were few and far between. I don't recall the last time I saw Halloweentown, I was definitely a child the last time. Having some nostalgia for the film, though with very vague memories of what actually happens in it's roughly 80 minute runtime.
Having watched it as an adult now, I'm not so sure I hold that same nostalgic feel I once had for it. I found this viewing to be slightly off. Not sure whether I hated the film or enjoyed it for its attempts at displaying a wholesome look at the Halloween genre. Where horrors aren't horrors, and the various creatures that we consider to plague the night are in fact regular citizens within a regular world similar to our own. I have to admit, Halloweentown is a very weird film. One that makes Halloweentown look like a fever dream of oddities rather than a fun town full of witches and living skeletons. Much of this is down to the very cheap effects and use of physical effects that seem more nightmarish than effective at portraying various creatures associated with Halloween.
Particularly alongside a very short narrative that feels rushed at the film jumps from attempts at establishing world building and character development. Not quite sure where it is going, Halloweentown seems more like an unintentional psychological horror than a family film.
Halloweentown
Being a family film, Halloweentown shows a world in which a group of children get to see their grandmother around Halloween. Not seeing her often, and with their mother not having much interest in the whole idea of Halloween, this is supposed to be somewhat of a great event around this time of year. Though the grandmother has to leave shortly after arriving otherwise she misses the only bus back to wherever she lives. Overhearing a conversation, one of the children hears that their family come from a line of witches. They follow her as she leaves and thus end up in a strange Halloween themed town, you guessed it, known as Halloweentown. The narrative surrounds this idea of a villain threatening the town, wanting to return the idea of Halloween back into the mortal world with a genuine reign over it. Of course, our children are thrown into this and attempt to stop it under a very fast development of character as they're thrown into a world of magic.
Everything in the film feels instant and very much rushed. Where the film attempts to display areas of the world and its themes to the audience, but over quick and seemingly pointless scenes that feel more like sketches suddenly than having any actual weight. Most of the attempts at jokes are mere connections of everyday life for us, but with monsters instead of humans. As if the idea of a skeleton being a taxi driver is funny. But Halloweentown fails to be funny and immersive and instead falls into the area of weirdness. Where much of these attempts at world building feel more horrifying than interesting. I found myself noticing how strange of a film this is, particularly from the visuals alone. Cheap makeup and effects with very odd directing that give us uncomfortable close-up perspectives of the masks and makeup, very blatant in their falseness.
Then suddenly we switch from these attempts at comedy with a more serious narrative. But we jump constantly from these moments to the next without much connection or chances to really get why things are important. Nothing feels very authentic and as if there is any weight to it. Though the performances aren't terrible, it really is just weird directing and visuals. For a family film much of these does make sense, where strong character development isn't really necessary given the general audience isn't going to be paying much attention to it, but that's where we fall back into the more unsettling nature of the film; where its ugliness and weird attempts to show comedic everyday life seems more like a horror show. I have to say, I felt like just not watching the rest of the film due to how uncomfortable it kept making me feel. Ironically not even intentionally given its more family film nature. It surprises me that this film even has a sequel; though the idea of Halloweentown is interesting, it is something that could be done very well under the right people. Though Halloweentown is a film shot in the late 90s, when Disney was constantly throwing out cheap and short films aimed at going straight to television, with very small budgets. Ultimately aimed at filling some spaces during the programming hours. Somewhat similar to today's streaming service originals. Halloweentown tries to be something joyful, showing a child and a fun world connecting through the idea of Halloween. Showing mythical creatures as something not that scary, with its own world and full of magic. Of course the total opposite in practice.
Alongside this is comedic music throughout the film in its attempt to seem more upbeat and joyful. More comedic sound effects are to be heard over the moments of actions, which I think adds to the whole weirdness of it. I suspect Halloweentown was used in my household in attempt to scare me into not wanting to care for missing out over Halloween. I feel uncomfortable even thinking of the film and its scenes. As if I woke up in a cold sweat after a nightmare that felt so real, so I comfortable and strange. Not sure if it was really real or not.
Much of the narrative doesn't even really make sense. It's all shoehorned in right towards the end of the film, as it roams the idea of becoming a witch to this young girl, then jumping to historical drama between the mother and some other guy from Halloweentown, then the idea of returning to the mortal world to haunt everyone. With weirdly much of the town supporting the idea only to go about celebrating the stopping of it all. I suppose I feel traumatised like a very self-aware German citizen after World War 2, knowing the war is over but that the people you're now supposed to live with and drink coffee with and eat around were the people that voted for the Nazi Party in the first place.
I don't even suggest watching it. Definitely not with your family, you're more likely to end up giving them nightmares, yourself included. It is available to watch on Disney+, but yeah, don't bother. I think I'll now cleanse my mind of the oddities I just witnessed by watching American Horror Story, which is funnily enough less of a traumatising series of visual events than this.
