By Keri O’Shea
Psst – want some help getting into the Halloween mood?
You may not need any; it might well be enough that the nights are drawing in, the evenings are getting colder and the cutesy trappings of death and the supernatural are hanging in shop windows. Or, maybe you’re still feeling a little grounded – a bit too caught up in rational, grown-up concerns to be as excited as you used to be about what Conal Cochran from Season of the Witch refers to as the modern practice of “kids begging for candy” and all the attendant fun and games. Still, however the season is making you feel this year, Marc Roussel’s mini-excursion into a very warped Halloween landscape should be to your tastes. We’re pleased to be able to show you The Last Halloween…
What I loved about this film, on first impressions, is how it made me do an about-face. I was initially going to talk about how it’s crazy, in a way, that we’ve come up with a tradition whereby we send children off to harangue strangers, people who could be anyone. It’s already different to how it was when I was a kid – when you would just be left to your own devices for a few hours to hammer on doors – and you usually see parents in tow nowadays. A rule also seems to have developed where trick or treaters tend to only go to houses that are decorated, i.e. they know the people inside don’t mind them turning up, but all the same, it’s still an odd practice in many ways, and I was struck at first by the fact that the kids in The Last Halloween seemed to be on the threshold of something dangerous. Even within ten minutes, though, Roussel messes with this expectation and shows that all is not as it appears. The suspicious householders, the revolting ‘treats’ offered…well, there’s more to it. I loved that, and it feels fresh and fun in the way it’s handled.
I also like the way this film raises a few interesting questions as it plays with our expectations, but has economy and sense enough to let them hang, rather than feeling it has to resolve everything. Based on a comic of the same name, The Last Halloween retains that cartoonish vibe, offering a glimpse of what’s going on outside via a short burst of narrative, with some human interest thrown in there like a curveball. All of this is topped off with some nicely nightmarish FX and just enough of a punchline to make this an effective and enjoyable horror short. All well shot, lit and realised.
Keep your eye out for Mr. Roussel in future. As calling cards go, The Last Halloween promises good things to come.