The Spirit of Haddonfield

Review by Nick Patten:

There are a lot of fan films put out into the horror community today, and most of those fan films are misses. The recently released a short film, The Spirit Of Haddonfield. This film is one of those fan films not to miss. The Spirit Of Haddonfield has been talked about ever since the trailer dropped back in July. The trailer has totaled close to 15,000 views. With the new Halloween movie coming out this month, this fun short film fuels the excitement for die hard Michael Myers fans. Being produced by Vincente DiSanti, Director/Producer/Writer of Never Hike Alone, many horror fans will speculate similarities between the two. The Spirit Of Haddonfield doesn’t quite match up with Vincente’s Never Hike Alone. The Spirit Of Haddonfield, unlike Never Hike Alone, didn’t go to Kickstarter to raise money. The Spirit Of Haddonfield was actually made with a micro budget.

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With a budget like that, Rene Rivas (writer and director) creates an impressive short film. Rene Rivas also serves as the cinematographer and doesn’t disappoint. Each frame was detailed and the way he tracked the chase scene was phenomenal. While I was watching it, I did seem to get 1978 Halloween vibes. Maybe because the similar soundtrack? Switching the focus over to the cast, I noticed the man who portrayed Michael Myers did a remarkable job. Looking through the credits I had noticed that The Shape was actually portrayed by Vincente DiSanti! He also portrays Jason Voorhees in his Never Hike Alone. The actress, alternatively, had an inferior performance. Actress Hannah Owens, who portrays Hannah in the short film, didn’t have much dialogue to work with so it couldn’t have been easy. Still her performance fell short and didn’t seem to click with me. Another flaw I pointed out immediately was the Myers mask. Being a microbudget fan film I understand the mask isn’t going to be the best. But I still think most of the work should’ve been put into that mask, especially knowing that The Shape is the core of the film.

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I’m not the biggest on fan films but this one had me intrigued. Watching this makes me countdown the days to October 19th. Overall it’s an entertaining, suspenseful, and rewatchable fan film . I definitely say give it a watch and support Rene Rivas, who I think can make something pretty amazing if given a good budget and cast!

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