The trailer for the upcoming horror flick, Spirit Halloween: The Movie, displays a group of five kids embarking on an overnight journey inside a Spirit Halloween store, hoping they might enjoy one night of fun against the rules once it closes. Little did the kids know, their unusual location of choice to spend an adventurous night— inside the popular Halloween pop-up store —is the habitat of an enraged wicked spirit who doesn't appear to be welcoming.
The popular Halloween retailer that only shows up for a few months a year is replicated in perfect detail for the film, with three young boys daring each other to spend a night inside what seems to be a normal, everyday store. But the boys soon discover that the creepy lot the retailer took up space in was actually the site of a horrifying tragedy, and that something dark is haunting the shelves and aisles of the beloved pop-up shop. The animatronic characters fans have come to know and love from Spirit Halloween stores — including Buzzsaw, Nightcrawler, and Mr. Dark — are possessed by the ghost of an "angry evil spirit", and it's up to the boys to find a way out...if they can.
Directed by David Poag, Spirit Halloween: The Movie also young talents Donovan Colan, Marissa Reyes, Jaiden J. Smith, and Dylan Martin Frankel. The movie is written by Billie Bates, and other cast members also include Rachel Leigh Cook, Marla Gibbs, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Carter. Produced by Strike Back Studios, Hideout Pictures, and Particular Crowd (and Spirit Halloween, no less), Strike Back president Noor Ahmed shared that he felt "immediately connected" with the script because it is inspired by some of the films he loved as a kid, such as The Goonies, Gremlins, and Monster Squad.
The family-adventure film may not appear to be a bloody battle on the surface, but its genre-bending concept makes it worth seeing. The movie will soon "possess" video-on-demand this upcoming fall, on October 11, a perfect kick-starter for Halloween. But while it's still August, you can check out the first trailer and synopsis for the film below.
"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 find out 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 in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves."