WNUF Halloween Special (2013): A Retro Review

The WNUF Halloween Special has often been ignored or excluded. However, people are missing a fantastic throwback for horror hounds of all ages. If you grew up on horror movies, you would understand. The plot is chaotic by the end, even if it is a found-footage movie. I am not much fan of found-footage films, but certain ones changed that view, and now I love them. Sometimes, they get too real, and it scares me off. I watch horror to escape from reality, and some movies want to push me to the edge. The WNUF Halloween Special checks in on me; it’s one of the movies I turn on for comfort.

Synopsis

In a special Halloween news episode, reporter Frank Stewart (Paul Fahrenkopf) reports in front of a haunted house. His goal is to enter the house as he hypes up the crowd. Eventually he enters the house with a psychic and priest.

As they explore the situation gets darker and darker throughout the tour. It turns into a chaotic scene created by spirits. Between commercials the news anchors are still dumbfounded on how this went so wrong. Who will make it out alive?

A Golden Movie

Watching the WNUF Halloween Special is a complete trip back in time. From the settings to the visual presentation, you can feel like you are back lounging on the soft carpet and watching this unfold. There was a great mix of knowing the perfect time for a break. I enjoyed the commercials in between because, although funny, the visual presentation was perfect once again. The WNUF Halloween Special will keep you entertained.

Just when you think nothing will happen, everything starts happening at once. You can feel the unscripted terror in your soul. What begins as a great special becomes everyone’s worst fear while they watch this unfold. The whole team can do nothing but stare at the screen helplessly. They constantly take breaks, fearing the situation and trying to protect the kids watching the special. They do their best to report the news, never knowing what will happen next. Trauma owns everyone involved with this in one way or another.

The movie doesn’t drag on and on, as it is kept to about an hour. It gives you a break to laugh with hilarious commercials. Then, it returns to chaos when they think it is OK to go live again. The actors do a great job with their emotions and keeping it simple. There isn’t much blood, and it isn’t a gore fest; instead, it’s fun and pretty safe, minus the murders and all. Realism worked in this movie.

As a kid, I could see myself sitting like all the other horror fans. We were a special breed and are well seasoned with late-night horror movie marathons with your friends. That is precisely what this movie is: a homage to all those late-night channel surfing and seeing who had the best movies playing at the time.

In the End

This is a movie everyone should watch just once; it may save your view of entertainment. Maybe you’ll get sucked right in; perhaps you’ll have a jaded view. We all need movies like this to help us feel comfortable again. Sometimes, we need to laugh at horror movies; it’s therapeutic. Sometimes, we need a chainsaw-wielding maniac. There are plenty of horror comedies to change your mood for the day, especially if you are a weirdo like me.

You can find The WNUF Halloween Special on YouTube; give it a look and decide for yourself.

 

 

About Craig Lucas

I hail from rural PA where there isn't much to do except fixate on something. Horror was, and still is my fixation. I have 35 years of horror experience under my belt, I love the horror community and it loves me.

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