All Hallows’ Eve

Directed by Damien Leone, All Hallows’ Eve follows a babysitter (Katie Maguire’s Sarah) as she and her two charges watch three short films off a mysterious videotape. It’s a tried-and-tested setup that’s employed to increasingly underwhelming and interminable effect by Leone, which is a shame, ultimately, given that the movie admittedly does kick off with a fair degree of potential – with the wraparound story initially faring better than one might’ve anticipated. It’s clear, too, that the first story’s opening stretch, revolving around a young woman’s creepy encounter with Mike Giannelli’s Art the Clown, seems to be setting the stage for a solid slasher, and yet the segment eventually devolves into an incoherent mess after said young woman is abducted and left to fend for herself within a dank, dimly-lit underground cavern. Beyond that point, All Hallows’ Eve slowly-but-surely transforms into an endless disaster that progresses into a hopelessly uninvolving midsection and second half  – with the Art the Clown-centered final tale, as a result, hardly able to pack the entertaining, visceral punch one might’ve anticipated. The final result is a mostly off-putting endeavor that contains few attributes and elements designed to sustain the viewer’s interest, and it’s hard to believe that Leone was able to get more movies off the ground after this amateurish misfire.

* out of ****