I had been waiting for some time to watch the WNUF Halloween Special. I'm a sucker for found footage, and this seemed to be playing up the "found" aspect to a T. It is presented as a lost Halloween newscast from Halloween night 1987 - complete with commercials, VHS dubbing effects, poor film quality and all. In order to promote it, the filmmakers actually left tapes around VHS conventions to be found. I was saving it for *The* Halloween movie this year. Unfortunately, I think I had psyched myself up too much for it. I was expecting "amazing" and instead got "pretty good."
The WNUF Halloween Special plays as if recorded on October 31st, 1987. We start off with a local newscast from a presumably smallish town. Our news anchors are dressed up in their Halloween costumes, giving us short stories about what is happening locally (the town is never called by name, if I recall) on Halloween night - police telling kids how to stay safe, dentists warning parents about the ills of eating too much candy, and the local religious groups rallying against Halloween. They also hype up the titular special, where reporter Frank Stewart (Paul Fahrenkopf) will be reporting live from the Weber house, which has been closed for 20+ years after a horrific crime - a man killed his parents there claiming to be possessed by the Devil. Stewart will be searching the house with two paranormal investigators, as well as a priest, to see if the local legends of hauntings are indeed true.
Intercut throughout the newscast (and eventually the Halloween Special from the Weber house as well) are a series of commercials advertising (fake) local businesses and TV shows. These commercials are extremely well done and a lot of fun. But the sheer volume of them kind of weighs the whole film down - in a weird way, they are the best and worst things about the film. Just like a real TV program, they cut to commercial breaks every 5-8 minutes... so while the commercials themselves are awesome, it takes the momentum away from the main story of the Weber house.
The bulk of the movie is the Weber House investigation - and if you took away the commercials you'd get maybe 30 minutes of raw footage. I won't go into details - there isn't a lot to spoil, but any sort of explanation would ruin the fun. But if you are expecting some sort of Paranormal Activity-type craziness with people and objects being flung around you'll be disappointed. Yes, there is some good tension, but this is still a low budget film. Ultimately, it's (barely) satisfying as a horror film - the comedy elements are front and center here. Think "comedy-horror" instead of "horror-comedy"
But writer/director Chris LaMartina said in an interview with Vice last year that the WNUF Halloween Special is to "make people remind themselves why they fell in love with VHS and blatant localism in the first place... [it's] a love letter to VHS and public access TV." And on this front, it's a rousing success. The commercials have the look and feel down (I kind of geek out over fonts, and had a *lot* to love here) - honestly, I got pretty smiley and nostalgic just watching them. And the actors in the newscast/special do a great job playing their roles with a 1987 sensibility - they are just corny enough to enjoy without being annoying.
On a side note, I always had trouble with people thinking found footage movies were real. I get that the filmmakers want to present it as such, but it's just the current generation's version of "based on a true story." I mean, even the granddaddy of them all (Blair Witch) is obviously not "real." Not that it isn't very well done or realistic, but you just have to recognize that the powers that be would NOT release a film that has people die in it. You don't see a lot of legit police evidence on 2,000 screens nationwide, you know? So I don't think there was any intention to make WNUF seem real, but I think it could pass to the non-discerning viewer. The big tell for me was the sound - it was just way too crisp and clear. But the footage had the right look, and I didn't see any cell phones or any other technology that would give away the fact that it was shot in the present.
Ultimately, I really thought this was a lot of fun. While the horror elements are sort of left in the background, there is enough comedy to keep you entertained. But really, it's all about the nostalgia - I think viewers aged 30-45 are really in the sweet spot for this one. If you don't mind getting a little bored by the sheer number of commercials, I think you'll find a lot to like about the WNUF Halloween Special. It should make it's way into my October rotation.
I would recommend this film.
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