A horror movie centered on the Spirit Halloween store, the ubiquitous spooky season retailer that often takes up part-time residence in abandoned big-box storefronts, is coming soon to theaters.
The film’s title, of course, is Spirit Halloween.
It stars Christopher Lloyd (The Addams Family, Back to the Future) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Amityville: The Awakening, Fast Times at Ridgemont High).
That’s according to Variety, the Hollywood trade outlet that reported on Monday (April 11) that Spirt Halloween is a family-friendly adventure-horror instead of a more adult-oriented gore flick.
It is planned for release this October, and filming has already wrapped. It follows a group of kids who lock themselves inside a haunted Spirit location overnight.
A Spirit Halloween synopsis explains, “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 [on] Halloween night.”
But they “soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters,” it adds. “The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure [to] survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves.”
The cast further includes Donavan Colan, Dylan Frankel, Jaiden Smith, Marissa Reyes and Marla Gibbs. It is filmmaker David Poag’s directorial debut, with a screenplay by Billie Bates. It was produced by Shannon Houchins and Strike Back Studios’ Noor Ahmed in partnership with Hideout Pictures, Particular Crowd and Film Mode Entertainment.
“One of the reasons I immediately connected,” Ahmed said, “is it is very much inspired by some of my favorite kid adventure films growing up, from The Goonies, Gremlins, Monster Squad and so many.”