The Spirit of Haddonfield (2018) A Great Canon Piece to the Original Halloween Franchise- Fitz of Horror Review

The Spirit of Haddonfield is No Budget Fan-Fiction / Not-For-Profit short fan film. It was made with pure passion out of respect to the greatest horror classic of all time, Halloween.

This project was made for entertainment purposes only, and will never be monetized or have any financial gain. This project in no way shape or form claims to be associated with Trances International or Blumhouse, nor does it claim to own any of the rights associated with such properties.

I was given the privilege by director Rene Rivas, of watching The Spirit of Haddonfield before it’s October 1st YouTube release and I was blown away. I take great pride in saving the Halloween franchise as strictly October viewing so I know my personal 31 movies in 31 days has officially begun but I feel like Rivas has popped my seasonal cherry and after watching Spirit, my Halloween season has officially begun early, and what a way to start!

With a running time of 20 minutes the film establishes a very effective fall/Halloween feel, which is key for me because that is what the original film/franchise captured so perfectly. With set pieces and homes that looked like they were straight from the original film I was extremely surprised to find out that TSOH was shot entirely in Flagstaff Arizona, which makes the capturing of the season that much more impressive.

The film follows Hannah who is apparently on her way home from school but she is soon to have a run in with a very familiar slasher (played by Vincente Disante, Never Hike Alone) who is hell bent on making sure the only place Hannah goes is under the tip of his iconic kitchen knife.

That is where I am going to stop because the events that take place in this film after these two meet, is enough to make any fan of the Halloween franchise jump for joy. Rivas has sprinkled several Easter eggs throughout the film that call back to past franchise films, many that can be spotted by the casual Halloween fans and a few for the more die hard population. After watching it 4 times now I have seen something new each time.

Taking place somewhere after the events of Halloween H20, The Spirit of Haddonfield pays near perfect homage to the franchise as a whole and I highly suggest that come October 1st you kick off your month long horror marathon with this gem of a fan film that deserves to be mentioned in the same conversation as the original Halloween franchise much as Never Hike Alone is with the Friday the 13th franchise.

The Spirit of Haddonfield is a labor of love for Rivas who is a devoted fan of the original franchise, so much so that he was finished filming in January 2018 and had a completely finished film by February and as much as it has killed him to wait until October 1st to release this to the fans, the horror gods were smiling down on him because just 18 days after the official YouTube release of his film, the new Halloween (2018) film will hit theaters and no doubt revive our slasher heroes of yesteryear.

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