Satan's Little Helper
Smile like you mean it
Ahh another movie based around Halloween. I had actually sought out this movie based on the ridiculous name and good trailer. Rarely do I purchase of a movie based off of a trailer, but there was no way I was going to see it on TV and I don't download movies. I have purchased some horror movies in the past based on a whim and have been deeply, deeply disappointed. Lucky for me, this movie broke the curse.
Satan's Little Helper follows young Dougie Whooly on Halloween. Dougie is obsessed with a new video game called “Satan's Little Helper” where your character creates all sorts of mischief and mayhem in the name of the dark lord. He's even dressed up like the character from the game. Dougie's sister, Jenna (Kathryn Winnick, Bones, Hellraiser: Hellworld) has returned home from college to go trick-or-treating with Dougie and has brought her new boyfriend Alex. Alex offers to go with them, but Dougie, who has a crush on his sister, runs away. He sees somewhere dressed as Satan, setting up what looks like to be dead bodies in humorous positions. He asks Satan if he can be his helper and Satan silently agrees. Dougie sets up a plan for Satan to knock out Alex, pose as him, and scare Jenna and Dougie's mom. Jenna thinks Satan is actually Alex and goes along with the game, not realizing that she is in real danger. Satan run around town, injuring and killing people, while Dougie thinks it's all a game. Dougie and Jenna finally realize the truth when Satan kills their father in gruesome fashion. Satan kidnaps their mother (Amanda Plummer, Pulp Fiction, So I Married an Axe Murderer) and takes her to the town's big Halloween party. It's up to Jenna and a revived Alex to stop Satan from killing mom and hurting more people.
Cheese!
Plain and simple, I really enjoyed Satan's Little Helper. It has a great mix of dark humor and slasher horror. The movie definitely draws on inspiration from Halloween and Michael Myers, with the villain never being heard or really seen. Despite being in a mask the entire movie, the actor portraying Satan actually manages to emote in a very convincing way. The excellent-looking mask is always smiling which makes every slow shake and nod of the head extra creepy. Satan is also the basis for much of the humor in the movie, whether he's hamming it up with a corpse to pose for a picture or flipping the bird to someone making fun of his costume. Winnick does very well in her role as both a damsel in distress and as a strong heroine towards the end. Plummer is delightful in her kooky mom role.
Things get a bit trickier when talking about the young actor playing Dougie. Dougie is either the stupidest kid in movie history or possibly an evil genius. No kid could be so stupid as to think a character from a video game is real and that all the people being murdered are just playing around. There is either something seriously wrong with him or he knows exactly what is going on and is more evil than Lex Luthor, Voldemort, and Dick Cheney combined. It's not the actor's fault, they just wrote him to be dumber than dirt.The movie is shot in HD, but at times it looks somewhat cheaper than more mainstream movies. It's possible that it is due to me watching on a pre-HD television or because the technology just wasn't there yet. All that being said, the movie still looks good despite being made for cheap.
You'll never survive middle school, kid
Satan's Little Helper has plenty of scares, both the startling jump-at-you-from-the-dark kind and the deeper, psychological kind that creeps up on you. There is some willing suspension of disbelief needed to believe the entire story, but not enough to cut in on you entertainment. It has a good amount of dark humor that will elicit some real laughs. This movie has the potential for multiple viewings and is definitely worth your time.
8.5/10