Halloween Candymare, written, directed, produced and starring the Wright family, reminds us of the real reason for the season—of Halloween, that is. When tween Jessica expresses her desire to participate in Halloween festivities, her mother lovingly offers a candid, no apologies reason for Christians to excuse themselves from the dark side party. Seeing the truth in that, Jessica eventually agrees to substitute Halloween celebrations with fall festival painting and activities with her friends, Cleo and Scarlett.
Much of the story is told through partially animated dream sequences, and many of the characters experience dreams that jolt their consciences. Jessica’s battle with earthly whims is developed in a dream sequence. Shocked by her bad dreams, she runs to her mother, who reminds Scarlett and her to resist the flesh, putting Christ first. Cleo’s father, Mr. Perry, is also encumbered by nightmares and “treats” his plague with Halloween candy, so much so that it becomes an obsession. Seeing that her father suffers sleepless nights, Cleo passes on advice from Jessica’s mother—to read the Bible. A man with an awareness of God, Mr. Perry dives into the Word and realizes his strength through Christ can overcome his nightmares, empowering him to tear down the candy idol he has constructed. (And before he goes into a sugar-overload coma!)
Because there are not many Christian movies about Halloween, Halloween Candymare helps fill that gap in the Christian entertainment market. We are reminded of the truth about the dark side of Halloween’s origins, and given solid biblical teaching that supports focusing on things above instead. Regarding the scary scale, Mr. Perry’s dreams include stock footage of spiders and bugs, but nothing too scary. A shot of a wicked-faced doll is the scariest image. The figures in some of the dreams punch and grab each other, but not violently. The overall message is inspirational; the quality, not so much. But keeping in mind the video was created to support the message of a healing Gospel makes it easier for us to tolerate its low production values. (However, I should add, in this day of social media, kids are obviously not picky about production value!) Dove awards it the All-Ages Seal of Approval.
The Dove Take:
This Christian “home-movie” video addresses concerns of celebrating Halloween while offering a biblical healing solution.
