SATAN'S LITTLE HELPER

It's the eve of All Saints' Day and little Doug is eager for his sister Jenna's return from college, whom he is morbidly attached to. Doug is fascinated by a video game that his father gave him "Satan's Little Helper" and for Halloween he decided to dress up as the "hero" of his video game to go "trick or treat" with his sister. But Jenna shows up with Alex, her new boyfriend; so Doug, disappointed and jealous, goes around the neighborhood looking for Satan, whom he would like to ask if he can kill Alex and be his little helper, as in the video game. Doug comes across a dangerous serial killer wearing a grotesque demon mask, busy hiding a corpse, and immediately identifies him as Satan. The killer, having heard the boy's proposal, accepts with enthusiasm; so Satan and his little helper will go around the neighborhood sowing death and terror. Released in Italy with the uninspiring title "Halloween Killer" just the weekend before All Saints' Day, this film is none other than the long-awaited "Satan's Little Helper," the return behind the camera after many years of Jeff Lieberman, already director of small cult films of horror cinema like "The Beasts" and "Satan's Little Helper." "Halloween Killer" is an atypical slasher that winks at black comedy and has an ambiguous underlying message; the young protagonist is a video game enthusiast and his favorite game (Satan's Little Helper, precisely) is a concentration of violence and amorality certainly unsuitable for an innocent and suggestible child, so much so that the child himself, seeing the killer in action, will believe that it is just a game. Therefore, at first glance, the film seems to condemn the improper use of violence in video games and their tendency to desensitize the young audience; but as you watch it, you realize that this film tends to mock and ridicule all the clichés of American society: the authorities are attacked, considered incapable and totally absent (just think about what the killer manages to do alone in the police station), ending with an obvious ridicule of religion (highlighted in the last quarter of the film, when the killer wears a costume that reproduces the features of Christ, leading the film's protagonists to fall into a funny mystical confusion). Clear, then, are the references to the forefather of all Halloween movies, that is "Halloween - The Night of the Witches": as in Carpenter's masterpiece, here too the action takes place on October 31 and frames the childish universe under an unusual, unsettling perspective; moreover, in "Halloween Killer" we also have a masked and silent killer (although much more ironic than the lethal Michael Myers) who never shows his true face. Technically, the film has no flaws, nor particular merits: professional direction, simplistic but effective screenplay, good musical commentary (which refers to the already mentioned Carpenter film) and valid cast, in which stands out Katheryn Winnick ("Hellraiser: Hellworld"), in the role of Jenna, but above all Amanda Plummer (unforgettable "Bunny" in "Pulp Fiction") in the role of Doug and Jenna's mother. Although the dose of gore is not abundant, a quite disgusting disembowelment scene is signaled. In conclusion, "Halloween Killer" is a fun and irreverent slasher filled with black humor and references; fast-paced, mean and with a good underlying idea. It definitely deserves a watch.