Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (October 20, 2024)
Occasionally you hear about places that attempt to “ban” Halloween for a variety of reasons. With 2024’s The Town Without Halloween, we find a supernatural look at this concept.
Set in the quaint town of Niamiss, Halloween exists as a big deal. However, Mayor Wembly (Sonny Burnette) cancels the holiday and all related affairs.
This decision comes with nefarious desires, as Mayor Wembly wants to find and utilize an ancient artifact for his own ends. Some teens discern the Mayor’s goals and fight to stop him before he dooms the locals.
As I watched Town, I figured it came from a neophyte filmmaker in his early 20s. To my immense surprise, a look at IMDB reveals credits that go all the way back to 2005 and Town represents his sixth feature.
At no point during Town did I get the impression it came from a director with nearly 20 years experience. Everything about this film comes across as the work of a rookie.
One on a tight budget as well. I couldn’t find out how much Town cost, but “27 cents” becomes my guess.
Scarce funds doesn’t doom a movie to failure, of course. The problem with Town is that everything about it looks and feels cheap.
We get actors with no talent. The performances veer from “over the top” and “painfully flat”, with nothing between those poles.
Effects that seem like somebody’s cousin made them in his garage over a weekend - and somebody’s unskilled cousin at that. While I don’t expect ILM-level material, the work here comes across as laughable.
The omnipresent score telegraphs everything, and editing joins scenes in an awkward manner. Shot choices seem perplexing and stiff.
Heck, the titular ban on Halloween barely even plays a real role in the movie. Honestly, it seems like Ennis involved that story element just to give the movie a snappy title, not because the plot needs it.
This concept doesn’t even make sense. The Mayor tells us that the town budget can’t afford the usual festivals and parades, but he also cancels trick or treating and tells homes they can’t put up decorations.
Huh? What does any of that have to do with the town’s finances?
Nothing, but Ennis won’t let logic get in the way of his silly “plot”. Nothing about the Mayor’s scheme actually requires him to cancel Halloween, but Ennis needs to justify that movie title somehow.
Town wants to offer a family-friendly holiday movie that gives us a mix of Goonies and Gremlins. It ends up as a nearly unwatchable mess.