Horror Movie Review: Halloween at Aunt Ethel’s (2019)

The rumours about Aunt Ethel says that on Halloween she takes kids who trick or treat at her house and makes Halloween candy out of their bodies. Rumours that turn out to be true so some of the local young adults decide to put a stop to her once and for all.

A Halloween horror should embrace the holiday in every way and happily Halloween At Aunt Ethel’s does this. It’s silly, cheesy and a lot of the time very bad but has flashes of fun too. Going down the comedic route, writer/director Joseph Mazzaferro has a clear idea of what he wants the movie to be but doesn’t quite hit the benchmark.

The problem is pacing. Almost immediately we’re shown that the rumours about Aunt Ethel (Gail Yost) are true. There’s no slow build where we think she’s just a misunderstood old lady, instead she’s cooking up locals as if it’s an every day thing. She also loves to narrate herself which can get a bit jarring the more it goes on.

In between the Aunt Ethel moments we’re introduced to the cast who will be both her victims and foil. A cast that includes Chris Cavalier, Melissa Daddio, Stephanie Town and Sean Michael Gloria. No-one really stands out here but no-one really has to try. The constant attempt to jam jokes in doesn’t work as the cast play a lot of it with a deadpan style. That could have been funny but for most of the cast they’re just not capable of it.

It might be a comedy horror but it’s not a good comedy and just an alright horror. A bit more focus on the latter would have served this movie better as when we do get some more gruesome moments, they’re decent. Especially for a movie with a low budget. It’s just a shame they’re so far and few between.

Ultimately by time the end credits begin to roll, few will have much to say about this. It’s forgettable and unremarkable but far from the worst you’d watch this spooky season.