In a year that just seems to take more and more from everyone, whether it be financial stability or a loved one, its hunger seems endless. While it is obvious why children shouldn’t be accepting candy from strangers during a global pandemic, there is a sad loss of wonder for children and adults alike to miss a beloved holiday. From being unable to trick or treat and houses just not being dressed for the holiday, it just feels like 2o2o claimed the life of Halloween along the way. Goodnight, Halloween takes that symbolism and sets it in an eerie alternate Earth where the government won’t stop until it has claimed the lives of very real Halloween creatures.

It is September 13, 1986, and the government has just raided and killed the biggest encampment of “kreatures” on the run in central Detroit. Konal, a sentient jack-o-lantern, awakes to the news of the carnage and speeds up his plans to reveal the truth about the kreatures to the world. However, it seems there the government was tipped off about the encampment and the two suspects are the witch Ellie or the vampire Rafferty. As tempers flare amongst the group and time begins to run out it is clear that none of them are safe from the ever-encroaching government.

As silly as the premise may sound, Goodnight, Halloween handles it with a completely straight face and a very bleak tone. The story hits very close in a year that has not only been a struggle to survive a deadly virus, but it has also been one of the marginalized people fighting against a corrupt system. It is a film that could have been played silly but instead stays serious and is all the better for it besides Konal’s face prosthetic looking a little too joyful. Well worth a watch if you don’t mind seeing harsh realities befall some of your favorite Halloween iconographies. Watch below and see for yourself!

7 out of 10