Film Review: Goblin (2010)

SYNOPSIS:

Every Halloween, a small hamlet in the deep woods is visited by a fierce goblin, intent on capturing infants and brutally murdering anyone in it’s path.

REVIEW:

Director – Jeffery Scott Lando
Starring – Gil Bellows, Tracy Spiridakos, Camille Sullivan

Brought to you by the good folks over at the SyFy channel, Goblin is a decent little creature horror movie that while not really scary in anyway, manages to keep the viewer entertained. Sure the clichés abound as in any horror movie but they are done right, if you will. You have your family issues, a crazed local that shouts out the warning, a cabin in the woods, an ancient curse, a mystical object that can end it all and the list would go on further if I had the room. Rest assured it all fits together rather neatly and I have to give writer Raul Inglis props for that. This isn’t a movie that requires any deep thinking. You’ll even find yourself laughing at the cheesiness of it all. Call it comfort horror. No surprises but fun all the same.

The year is 1831 and something shady is going down this Halloween night. A small group of residents from the town of Hollowglen have gathered around a bonfire to perform a yearly ritual. Each year they throw into the fire “all that is unclean” so that the town may prosper the following year. This can range from rotten apples from a bad crop, a locust and let’s not forget a deformed child. What? You read that right. Seems the good people of Hollowglen won’t put up with anything that could throw a wrench into keeping the bad vibes away. Even if that means throwing a baby into the fire. One problem, though. Seems the baby’s mother is a witch. Uh oh. She wastes no time in putting a curse on the town that no child shall be safe on Halloween. To enforce this she brings forth a goblin from the flames and it wastes no time in taking a child.

Cut to the present day where we find the Perkins family headed to Hollowglen on Halloween eve. In the car is the dad Neil, mom Kate (2nd wife and now stepmom to older child Nikki), Nikki’s best friend and last but least, baby Nathan. The purpose of this outing is for Neil to meet with the townsfolk to discuss future development of the town. If only someone had told him about the curse first. But wait, a crazed local does just that, but like any good horror warning, it is quickly dismissed. Nothing stands in the way of progress, dang it.

The next day, on Halloween, the goblin rises out from the very same bonfire ring and promptly goes after any babies that happen to be out and about. And it isn’t long before it sets it sights on little baby Nathan.

Goblin is your basic horror movie that can be lots of fun to watch if you aren’t thinking too hard. As mentioned above, clichés abound but that’s okay in a film like this. You even have one really fun homage to John Carpenter’s Halloween which was great to see. There are some good “loud bangs that make you jump” moments.

I do wish that the kills were a little more varied. The goblin pretty much uses the same method over and over and even that method doesn’t quite fit with what my mind thinks of when it comes to a creature like a goblin. The blood that is spilt is plentiful enough, though. As for the goblin itself, the CGI isn’t all that bad considering the budget. Sure it can look awful darn funny at times but it scares the crap out of our main characters so who am I to argue? It’s not like I come face to face with goblins on a daily basis.

I would recommend seeing this if you catch it on the SyFy channel. Of course, you also have to have a certain affinity for these kinds of movies in the first place. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting your time.

DVD Release from Lionsgate Home Entertainment – now available

Goblin (2010)