13 Days of Halloween: Horror Movie Review: The Legend of Fall Creek (2021)

Released in 2016 under the name ‘Bloody Bobby’, The Legend of Fall Creek was re-released in 2021 and serves as a prequel to the 2018 film Black Pumpkin. Many won’t know this going in at all, especially as Bloody Bobby is listed on IMDB. Although it hardly matters. What links the movies is the titular character of Bloody Bobby and that is it. Both Black Pumpkin and The Legend of Fall Creek are tiresome slashers. Not terrible movies but not good movies either.

Directed by the pair of Anthony Hall and Ryan McGonagle who co-wrote the film along with Jen Mathiasen. Bloody Bobby is an urban legend surrounding a young kid named Bobby who was bullied and chased into a place called Devil’s Den. Where he promptly disappeared, presumed dead.

The Legend of Fall Creek picks up 20 years after that event. It’s Halloween and someone is on a murder spree! Is it Bloody Bobby returning for revenge? Meanwhile, Reggie (Curt Clendenin) has just returned to town after his family left 20 years before and he’s had his own dealings in the past with Booby and his tormentors.

His story, as well as many other side plots, will all culminate at the big Halloween party as Bloody Bobby arrives to spoil the fun.

Not only is the plot of The Legend of Fall Creek hilariously lazy, it’s also extremely slow and boring. Most of the film’s runtime is taken up by talking and character side-plots. There’s nothing wrong with more detailed characters in a slasher but here, they just aren’t interesting or likable enough to hold the attention and the acting is just so-so.

The bigger problem though, is that aside from some deaths at the very start and the deaths at the very end, there’s no actual horror here. Bloody Bobby sure likes to take his time and when he does met out some punishment, it’s always disappointing.

Perhaps the worst thing about The Legend of Fall Creek though is the stylistic choice to go into ‘grindhouse mode’ at times. Distorted imagery and sounds, colour changes and added scratches. It’s baffling the first time you see it and annoying every time after. Why do this?

Hell, why even bother putting this film out? Who watched Black Pumpkin and thought that they really wanted to see a sequel/prequel? The Legend of Fall Creek is a bog-standard slasher with limited horror and odd choices that drag it down even more.