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Designed to burnish a US retail chain’s brand, this tame entertainment won’t scare children too much, but it should bother the rest of usWhen is a Spirit Halloween store branding exercise not a Spirit Halloween store branding exercise? When it’s a film released in the UK, where Spirit Halloween stores just aren’t a thing. In the US (where this film was titled Spirit Halloween: The Movie), consumers are blessed with more than 1,500 of them, and this pre-teen Halloween yarn set in a store built over the final resting place of evil property developer Alex Windsor (Christopher Lloyd) presumably registers more immediately as an attempt to shift some All Hallows’ Eve merch.As far as weird IP inspirations go, it’s not the worst, but it’s also far from the best. Suitable for pre-teens too young for genuine horror movies, it’s a safe watch for a family Halloween movie night, with one or two fairly creepy moments slotted in amidst the more hokey stuff. The notional plot sees a trio of best friends pondering their Halloween options now that one of their number has grown a couple of chest hairs and considers himself too old for traditional trick or treating. They opt for a night sneaking around a deserted costume store with a dark past. Continue reading...