Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Hack-o-Lantern Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 29, 2017

Horror is synonymous with Halloween, but a few productions tend to take the connection literally. 1988’s “Hack-O-Lantern” (a.k.a. “Halloween Night”) is one of many slasher experiences set during the famous night of evildoing, and it makes an honest attempt to embrace the atmosphere of the evening with occult interests and the piling of dead bodies, looking to give fans a pleasing ride of creepy, campy encounters and some bloodshed. “Hack-O-Lantern” isn’t always the most professionally crafted picture, but director Jag Mundhra (who passed away in 2011) has his heart in the right place, building a chiller that’s full of diseased characters, Satanic panic (all the rage in the 1980s), and a climatic Halloween party, setting up a rudimentary but appropriately distracting genre offering. I don’t think anyone will walk away from a viewing with a feeling of awe, but the movie is charmingly goofy and eventful.

When he was a young boy, Tommy (Gregory Scott Cummins) was gifted a pentagram by his wily Grandpa (Hy Pike), who sense something evil growing in the child, making him a prime candidate to join his coven when he matures. Killing Tommy’s father, Grandpa keeps the boy’s mother, Amanda (Katina Garner), on guard, looking to protect her children, including Vera (Carla Brown) and Roger (Jeff Brown). Now a man, Tommy is ready to pledge his life to a new master, expecting a lively Halloween night, hoping to fulfill his wildest dreams, including rock stardom. As Grandpa prepares a ceremony in his barn, a local party collects all the kids in town, with Vera attending alongside best pal Beth (Patricia Christie), while Roger, now a local cop, elects to watch over the revelry. As the day wears on, trouble begins coming for certain people involved with Tommy’s family, keeping Amanda on edge, fearful that something will happen to her children on the anniversary of their father’s murder.

Grandpa truly is the main character of “Hack-O-Lantern.” He’s a man who influences all lives in the story, emerging as a disgusting creep who’s sexually assaulted Amanda, his own daughter, and has built a Church of Satan in his barn, killing trespassers while waiting for instructions from “The Master.” His attention remains on Tommy, a troubled kid with a special aura of evil Grandpa hopes to develop one day, with the upcoming holiday finally granting him permission to welcome his grandson into a tradition of evil. The way Pyke plays the character, it’s surprising Grandpa has been able to make it to his twilight years at all, spending his days driving around the community flashing devil horns at everybody, giving off a serious troublemaker vibe. Pyke is broad, practically a cartoon in the role, but his energy is valuable to “Hack-O-Lantern,” giving it a feel of exaggeration and menace, making evil hissable, although there’s really no sense of heroism to balance out the mood.

“Hack-O-Lantern” is a bit scattershot when it comes to storytelling, resembling a picture that was made up on the spot, with periodic gore zone visits tying the effort together. It follows a distinct formula when it comes to the offing of young people, with sex always followed by death. One tryst takes place inside a graveyard on top of a mound of loose dirt, which is far more disgusting than any severed head or pitchfork to the face the killer, a masked ghoul, provides. It’s predictable in a way, but also compelling, with Mundhra’s delivering some wacky filler to keep the run time sellable, including stopping the film to permit a stand-up comedian a chance to do his act for a gathered crowd outside of the Halloween party. And Tommy’s dreams of a better life find him cooking up a fantasy where he plays guitar in a hair metal band, which performs a song created to inform the troubled youth that he’s the son of Satan. Helpful!

Hack-o-Lantern Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is advertised as a "New 2K restoration from the original camera negative," which helps to give an obscure title a new life on Blu-ray. While dealing with obvious production limitations, the viewing experience is quite appealing, offering a level of clarity that brings out compelling facial particulars, identifying make-up work and masked mischief. Locations are open for study, and set decoration is appealing, setting the party and occult mood. Distances are preserved. Colors are tastefully refreshed, sustaining Mundhra's interest in deep primaries and spookier hues. Town greenery is also bold. Delineation gets about as far as possible, with a few softer evening engagements. Grain is heavy but filmic. Source displays light emulsion scratches throughout, but mostly avoids heavier points of damage.

Hack-o-Lantern Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disappointing but functional is the 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix, which doesn't bring out genre impishness with any sort of enlivening clarity. The track remains intelligible, picking up on dialogue exchanges without disruption, but dullness remains, lacking precision when it comes to voices and levels of panic. Music suffers the same fate, emerging loud but blunt, without defined instrumentation to perk up scoring efforts and give heavy metal songs their intended thunderous presence. Sound effects are basic, mildly detailed. Hiss is soft, but carries throughout the listening event.

Hack-o-Lantern Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features producer Raj Mehrotra.

• Isolated Score is presented.

• "The Power is in the Blood" (11:24, HD) is a brief look back at the making of "Hack-O-Lantern," with actors Gregory Scott Cummins and Katina Garner reflecting on the punishing production schedule, which required them to shoot on the non-union job for 20 hours per day, seven days a week. Creative hurdles were common, including director Jag Mundhra's inability to understand English during the casting process, and his accident-prone ways, eventually falling into an open grave and breaking a significant amount of bones, forcing key personnel to scramble to make their days without a helmer around. Cummins also discusses the strange energy of the set, suspecting that actor Hy Pike was truly interested in the Satanic lifestyle, keeping his eye on the details. While the pair don't seem particularly impressed with "Hack-O-Lantern," they're open to talk about it, sharing amusing anecdotes.

• Public Access Interview (28:27, SD) is an undated chat with Mundhra, Garner, and actress Mayra Grant, who sit down to discuss their career highlights with Georgette, a senior citizen who could use some work on her questions. It's an odd show, taped during a Valentine's Day celebration, offering numerous clips of upcoming projects for all the guests, a cameo by Georgette's young grandson, and brief trombone performances from Garner.

• Behind the Scene Photos (4:50) showcase the production in gear, along with providing visual evidence of Mundhra's post-accent direction, where he arranged scenes from the comfort of a wheelchair.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Hack-o-Lantern Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Hack-O-Lantern" is pretty silly, but it's colorfully shot, permitting the effort to be visually compelling. Characters are thinly drawn, but they remain on the move, keeping the feature active as suspicions are raised and lives are lost. And Satanic energy carries throughout, giving Mundhra something to work with as the aforementioned devil horn salute is used repeatedly, and Grandpa's barn-based portal to Hell is returned to time and again, home to genre requirements such as torture and nudity (for those playing at home, adult film star Jeanna Fine, billed here as "Angel Rush," has a small role as Tommy's doomed girlfriend, who also sports a pentagram brand on her rear end). It hardly redefines holiday horror, but "Hack-O-Lantern" is surprisingly palatable. Of course, it's as dumb as can be, but when dealing with B-movie expectations, it's easily digestible.