WNUF Halloween Special Review

 

We're back with more horror movie reviews. This time I'm reviewing something I didn't know existed until I saw it as a thumbnail from an old Doctor Wolfula video.

WNUF Halloween Special is a comedy horror analog film produced by Midnight Crew Studios and was distributed by various companies and various formats. Camp Motion Pictures was for DVDs, before companies like Shudder & Terror Vision distributed it on formats such as VOD, video, and Blu-Ray. But fun fact, before that the filmmakers would self-release via a guerrilla campaign by hiding copies of the movie in places like thrift shops, conventions, and bathroom stalls. They hoped it'd start a successful whisper campaign. Chris LaMartina primary directed both the real story and some of the fake commercials along with other various writers and directors. It'd list them but it'd be a looong list and this part of the review is long enough.

The story is, TV station WNUF airs a Halloween special on Oct 31st, 1987. The special has Reporter Frank Stewart investigating the Webber house where a husband and wife were brutally murdered. But as filming continues Frank along with the others in the group quickly realize they made a horrible mistake.

• Negatives

The only downside with the movie are the commercials. Now they are really well done. They actually do feel like ads for things you'd expect to see on local channels of the 80's. So if the commercials have a good craft to them then why isn't this in "Mix" portion of the review? Well it's simple. Despite the well done craftsmanship there's just far too many. It doesn't help that some of them interrupt Frank's investigation when things start to get interesting.

• Mix

I've got nothing.

• Positives

First let me praise how authentic this looks. The movie looks like something that was from the 80's. But other than hair and clothes, LaMartina and co. went one step further and made the movie look like something that somebody recorded on their camera. It's really good look that helps the movie standout.

Then there's the humor. There's a lot of good jokes regarding spoofing old 80's commercials as previously mentioned, but the humor is mostly subtle. The primary jokes are the news anchors trying to be funny with their quips but they just come off as corny or the awkwardness one would expect from local TV. It's not only funny if you're someone who frequently watches local television, but it also circles back to that authenticity.

Now there's actually not that much horror up until the last couple of moments. Usually that'd piss people off but WNUF does it effectively because they were building up to the big explosive finale for quite a while. And it works due to how the movie has an almost uncanny realism to it.

The last thing I'll praise is Paul Fahrenkopf as Reporter Frank Stewart. Paul at first makes Frank come off as your quirky neighbor or corny uncle depending on how you view the character. But what Paul also does is when the terror gets more and more real, Paul has Frank's real persona as a self-important man. It's great acting from a very unknown actor.

WNUF Halloween Special should definitely be watched as a Halloween viewing essential along the likes of The Thing, Halloween (1978), Trick 'r Treat, among others. It's a fun watch despite the numerous commercials.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Oct 29th, for a horror edition of Looking Back at the Films of 2025. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.