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Review – For The Love of The Boogeyman: 40 Years of Halloween

The latest in a long line of Halloween documentaries, For The Love of The Boogeyman: 40 Years of Halloweenn is gearing up for release in the near future. Shot under Bloody Flicks and Lightbeam Productions, the documentary examines the love and fanaticism that the franchise commands to this very day; only it’s unique because the commentary is delivered by independent film-makers who have been inspired by John Carpenter’s original masterpiece. The film chronicles their opinions as to why Halloween has stood the test of time and is arguably the best slasher film in movie history. Halloween is put under a microscope, in a way that only independent film-makers would understand, and every fundamental department is discussed; piece by integral piece. This is the independent documentary for independent horror film fans! And it’s going to get audiences buzzing about the new installment in the series slated for release this October!

Familiar faces who appear on screen include Liam Banks, Brett Dejager, Troy Escamilla, Phil Escott, J Blake Fichera, Rick Gawel, Rocky Gray, Dave Hastings, Johnny Holt, Darren Jones, Dave McRae, James Morrissey, Jack Norman, James Plumb, Nils Reucker, Justin M. Seaman, James Secker, Kevin Somerfield, Richard Stringham and Daniel Mark Young. For The Love of The Boogeyman: 40 Years of Halloween is written, directed & produced by Paul Downey and produced & edited by David Hastings. It features narration by Troy Dennison and acting by Evan Tapper and Chris Johnson. Acting? In a documentary? Oh, yeah! For The Love of The Boogeyman contains a fun fan-film that sees a creative take on Michael Myers’ activities between escaping from Smith’s Grove and first discovering Laurie Strode’s whereabouts. It was certainly a delightful treat that I didn’t expect, and a cool edition to the universe that hasn’t been tackled yet.

Overall, For The Love of The Boogeyman: 40 Years of Halloween was an enjoyable documentary. But, as I mentioned above, it is independently produced and, alas, it is a little rough around the edges. It’s on the shorter side, too, just under 43 minutes long, so the madness ends just as you’re really starting to get engrossed in it. Still, covering a subject we’re all interested in and featuring the built-in short and other original content (like artwork, decorations, homages, and scores), it’s heartwarming to see that Halloween is still reaching new audiences and inspiring new film-makers in 2018. Perhaps the best thing about the documentary is its roughness, that Hollywood has kept their hands off it; resulting in an honest, genuine, gritty, frightening and heartwarming look at Haddonfield – a place we all wish we could call home!

I encourage all Halloween fans to check this one out when it’s released. Follow it on Facebook for future updates: https://www.facebook.com/40yearsofHalloweendoc/.

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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