Director: Richard T. Wilson

Starring: Catherine Kustra, Christie Parker, Nicholas Zoto

Ten years after losing her daughter Charlotte (Catherine Kustra) on Halloween, Marie (Christie Parker) begins to see her in nightmares. In an eerie coincidence, Marie’s young son Luke (Nicholas Zoto) begins telling her about a new friend he’s made – also named Charlotte. Haunted by these happenings, Marie is forced to reexamine the awful night on which she lost her daughter.

The Halloween Girl has its fair share of chills, but it’s not anything that I would label as “scary”. I’m someone who frightens easily, but the thrill of this film is more like curiosity about the situation. Although there were a couple of nitpicky things about the dialogue that bothered me, overall the script is a fresh concept. In addition, the unpredictability of the plotline is excellent and makes for an exciting time. The standout player in the film is surely Christie Parker, as Marie. Worried and wide-eyed, Parker perfectly conveys the guilt that Marie feels over her daughter’s death, as well as the struggle she faces in deciding whether or not to tell her son about Charlotte. Wilson, who wears the hats of producer, writer, cinematographer, digital effects, and others in addition to director, does a fantastic job with the editing and digital effects of the film. The transitions are seamless and the lighting and sound effects used add a surreal element to the nightmare scenes.

The one thing I had difficulty getting past was some of the camerawork. In many of the conversational scenes, the camera zooms in so close to the speakers that parts of their faces don’t fit into the frame. When this happens once or twice in a scene, it may have a dramatic effect, but in The Halloween Girl these close-ups happen so frequently that it’s nearly nauseating. Despite that one drawback, The Halloween Girl has so many other great qualities working for it.

Bottom Line: The Halloween Girl is an entertaining, and thoughtful short that’s absolutely worth a watch.