The Night Before Easter (2014)

                                                                                                                                                          


Directed by Joseph Henson and Nathan Johnson

Written by Joseph Henson and Nathan johnson

Starring April Sinclair, Emily Chidalek, Alyssa Matsiuk, Bonnie Marilyn Jean, Eric Wyatt, Nelson Flint, Michael Seragon, Gemma Hardy, Chelsea Regina, Madeleine Hicks, Jason Gonzales, Barbara Prince, Nathan Johnson, Rick James Willis, Joseph Henson.

Many thanks to the guys behind new holiday slasher The Night Before Easter for sharing it with me - much obliged! Just like the best of the 1980s stalk and slash ‘em's, this movie features a legendary killer who stalks his victims in a costume befitting to the time of year - naturally a bunny costume in this one.

Two separate murder spree's at hands of the same mad man still haunt a small town and this year a group of its young teens are going to meet the sharp end of his axe as they hunted through an old storage facility. Has the same killer returned for another outing, or does another maniacal bunny have an axe to grind?

There is a lot of obvious heart and soul poured into this film, it’s very evident that the film makers love slasher films and had a great time making this fun love letter to horrors best (in my opinion) decade. They have also thrown in some new and original ideas such as the hilarious and clever opening which I enjoyed immensely.

The characters are not a melting pot of total dicks so you do have some interest in what is going to happen to them. I have to admit that some horror films such as Sleepaway Camp work for the exact opposite reason, such awful characters BUT also entertaining and just ripe for a mean spirited death scene. But truthfully, a lot of films have become so generic and dull because of poorly written ‘mean’ girls or boys and so you don’t care about them and by the time they are killed you are ready to switch off anyway. So it is a nice refreshing change to have some well-drawn characters with some depth to them. It also helps that the main actors do a great job in their roles. On that note I thought that the young couple just after the opening scene may be main characters because I thought that the two actors involved were so natural - very impressive.

All in all The Night Before Easter is a fun watch with good characters, a great killer, a bit of mystery and a promising indication of what might come next from Joseph and Nathan. Recommended especially for fans of the all-time great holiday slashers!