Weedjies! Halloweed Night

Full Moon’s Deadly Ten, of which Weedjies! Halloweed Night is the first one released, is a rather intriguing idea. Ten feature-length films being produced live before subscribers’ eyes. Logging on during the production of any of the titles gives the viewer the entire behind-the-scenes process, in real-time, while shooting is underway. Charles Band has always been an innovator, though that hasn’t also led to success. Which begs the question, is there more to Weedjies! Halloweed Night than the unusual production setup?

The Danny Draven directed comedic creature feature begins when cash-strapped college students Madison (Brett Hargrave), Dallas (Victoria Strange), and Frankie (Yo Ying), with help from Claude (Johnny Lee), prepare for their Halloween party. Frankie was able to rent the entirety of a hotel, at which the friends will throw the first annual Halloweed Bud Bash. For a cover fee, revelers can join the festivities full of music, alcohol, and of course, a whole lot of reefer. Plus, a scavenger hunt with a special prize to be awarded the winning team.

“…capture and send the murderous Weedjies back to the other realm… and they won’t be turned into such creatures themselves.”

While the costumed partiers are following the clue, the friends are celebrating that this night has proven better than expected. That is when the Baroness (Denise Milfort) shows up and offers to play a game. Marijuana loving, demonic creatures, known as a Weedjies, spring forth from her spirit board. If Madison, Dallas, Frankie, and Claude can capture and send the silly but murderous Weedjies back to the other realm before Halloween night ends, they won’t be turned into such creatures themselves.

The 2018 Dragon Con Film Threat Podcast Live was all about shared cinematic universes. The panelists, of which I was one, were to discuss the current trends of cinematic universes and discuss an overlooked one they enjoy. My fellow movie buffs brought up the Universal Horror Monsters or Quentin Tarantino‘s films. I discussed Full Moon’s interconnectivity and how it clearly inspired certain aspects of the MCU. So, to say I am a fan might be a bit of an understatement. However, I am not a sycophant.

Full Moon’s last two narrative films (excluding their greatest hits Bunker Of Blood compilations) were Puppet Master: Axis Termination and Evil Bong 777, neither of which I was that fond of. Both of them were boring, with the seventh installment of the Evil Bong franchise feeling especially unnecessary and pointless. But even in those failures, the roots of Full Moon do shine through. That is to say, a commitment to practical effects and animatronics as much as possible. Special effects studio 1313FX has designed and created some very memorable and gnarled looking creatures. They are just the other side of cute and move pretty well. A sequence involving one of them eating a cake and killing a party-goer is both absurdly hilarious and a bit creepy as well.