If you’re a Halloween lover and you follow Halloween happenings year-round, you likely saw some social media posts last December around a Spirit Halloween movie. The news surfaced via local news outlets in Georgia where filming was reportedly taking place, but official reports at the time were lacking. At the time, it was unclear if the film was officially tied to the popular Spirit Halloween stores or if it just by chance shared a name, but now thanks to an exclusive story from Variety, we now know the movie is in fact tied to Spirit Halloween and that many of the things we learned last year are true.
The movie has been in the works since at least 2018
The film’s original screenplay was submitted by writer Billie Bates to the Nashville Film Festival and Atlanta Film Festival screenplay competitions in 2018. Bates’ script won the Family/Animation Feature category in Nashville and was optioned by Turner/Warner Media.
Production on the script began in November 2021
Casting for a film based on Bates’ script was posted to the casting website backstage.com late in 2021. From this, we learned that Hideout Pictures was casting the four younger leads in the film with shooting tentatively slated for mid-November in Rome, Georgia. Rome News-Tribune, a local news source for the town, did a short feature on the film when filming began on November 19.
The film will star Christopher Lloyd and Rachel Leigh Cook
When filming began, the Rome News-Tribune reported that Producer Michael Haggerty said actors Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”) and Rachel Leigh Cook (“She’s All that”) were both tied to the project in leading roles with David Poag reportedly directing. The Variety exclusive confirms Lloyd, Cook, and Poag are all tied to the film, with “Spirit Halloween” being Poags directorial feature debut.
Joining Lloyd and Cook are Donavan Colan (“Zoe”), Dylan Frankel (“Raven’s Home”), Jaiden Smith (“Blue Bloods”) and Marissa Reyes (“Raven’s Home”). Marla Gibbs (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”) is also set to star in the film.
The synopsis of the film is as follows: When a pop-up Halloween Store opens in a deserted strip mall, three middle school friends, Jake, Carson and Bo decide to spend Halloween night locked inside. But when an evil spirit targets the kids, along with Carson’s older sister Kate — the object of Jake’s longtime crush — they are stalked by horrible animatronic creatures come to life, turning their night of fun into a wacky night of survival that leverages their combined ingenuity and tests their friendship to the max. Unless they can defeat the spirit trapped inside before midnight, it will possess one of them for all eternity.
The film is slated for a 2022 release
The Rome News-Tribune originally reported the film was slated to be released sometime in 2022. According to Variety, the film has wrapped production and is aiming for an October 2022 release.
Filming reportedly took place in an actual Spirit Halloween location in Rome, GA
Another local online news source for Rome, GA, Hometown Headlines, reported in early December that filming was taking place inside a local Spirit Halloween that takes over an abandoned Toys R Us store each year. The outlet also reported that the store was “restocked to resemble pre-Halloween as part of the movie shoot.”
Additional details on the film and its storyline were made available as part of the character descriptions posted for the four leading roles of Jake, Kate, Carson, and Bo.
Jake’s intelligent, emotional, and overthinks everything. Lives for Halloween, monster movies, ghost stories, etc. Jake’s primary hang-up is accepting the recent death of his father. He is a Halloween junky and a lot of those traditions are tied directly to memories with his dad, which is why he doesn’t want to give them up. Jake seems to be stuck in the past, unable to accept his new stepfather and stepsister, even though they are trying their best to bond with him as a family. Jake’s upset when his two best friends Carson and Bo tell him that they are too old to join him in trick-or-treating this year. However, the guys agree to spend Halloween night with him in a spooky Halloween pop-up store. But when the trio are stuck in the store, along with Kate—Carson’s older sister and Jake’s secret crush, they soon learn that spirits do exist, as they are stalked by an uneasy trapped spirit who needs to possess one of them by midnight in order to be free. When Kate falls prey to the spirit, Jake must conquer his greatest fear in order to rescue her from a grim fate — but time is running out and the odds are not in his favor.
Kate’s lively, confident, attractive and athletic, but also pragmatic and tough, she’s the older sister of Carson, Jake’s best friend. Jake has had a crush on her for quite some time, but she is older and way out of his league. When Kate is told to bring Carson’s phone to him, she tracks her brother and his friends to the spooky old Halloween pop-up store, where horror awaits. Trapped inside with Jake and the others, she proves courageous and resourceful. Her gymnast abilities definitely come in handy (general athleticism is a plus). However, when the angry spirit possesses her body, she turns into an all-powerful sorceress on a rampage. It is only Jake who can save her — if only he can conquer his greatest fear before the clock runs out.
Carson is the scrappy one, slightly edgier and ready to grow up and be a “man.” He has a chip on his shoulder and a need to be seen as tough. Comes from a more blue-collar family, and his Dad’s not in the picture. Carson and Kate are at odds because they are brother and sister, but the fact that they have both been through some family hardship together strengthens their bond later in the story. Carson, Jake, and Bo have grown up together as close friends, but he’s the first one to understand that people change, as they get older. Much to Jake’s dismay, Carson thinks he’s too old to go trick-or-treating this year. However, he does agree to join Jake and their other friend Bo in spending Halloween night in a creepy Halloween pop-up store. Once trapped inside, the three boys realize that they are being stalked by some very spooky entities — and that unless they can figure out how to defeat their tormentors by midnight, one of them will be possessed forever by the uneasy spirit who needs a “sacrifice” in order to be free.
Bo is a lovable nerd and science freak with a photographic memory, he prefers to keep the peace amongst his friends. Tells corny jokes. Through the course of this film, he is forced to take charge and get off the sidelines to survive. He is braver than he realizes and has great protective instincts. A sweet guy, he doesn’t want to hurt Jake’s feelings, but he’s really not into trick-or-treating anymore. He’s also not into spending the night in the creepy pop-up store, but under pressure from the guys, he reluctantly agrees. Bo soon regrets that decision, as the three friends are trapped in the store and stalked by terrifying animatronic creatures come to life. However, during the course of this ordeal, Bo finds a backbone he never knew he had and battles the supernatural creatures with newfound courage.
The “Spirit Halloween” film will be a family-friendly adventure in the vein of “Goosebumps,” or “Hubie Halloween.”
*This article was originally published on December 30, 2021, and has been updated to include details shared in an April 11, 2022 Variety exclusive about the film.
