The Halloween streaming season began a little early this year with the release of the new holiday-set horror film, Creeping Death, which made its debut exclusively on Screambox on September 10th, 2024. Much to the disappointment of old-school metalheads everywhere, the film has nothing whatsoever to do with Metallica’s song of the same name. 

In the small, seemingly rural town of Ashville, Tim (Matt Sampere, who also wrote, directed, co-produced, and even recorded songs for the film) is forced to spend his Halloween evening looking after his terminally-ill, but yet still very much Halloween-obsessed mother (Monique Parent, who appeared in 1993’s Night Eyes 3 and Body of Influence, 1995’s Night Visions, and numerous other erotic thrillers that I’d religiously watch on late-night cable during the early/mid 1990s) instead of going out partying with his friends. As his friends want him to serve as their designated driver for their evening’s activities, Tim isn’t overly saddened by the prospect of missing out. That is, until he learns that Danielle (Delian Lincourt, who’s appeared in two entries of the fan-made “Halloween Inferno” film series), the girl he’s secretly been crushing on for years, will be accompanying them.

Reports from local news stations warn of vandalism, disappearances, and other strange incidents occurring throughout the town. The sites of these events have been marked with a bizarre symbol, which authorities believe to be cult related. Meanwhile, Tim’s friends are out partaking in some rather juvenile Halloween night mischief, such as toilet papering houses, completely oblivious of what is taking place in their town. After witnessing the town’s incumbent “grumpy old coot” mysteriously dump a burlap sack on his porch, the group of pranksters steal the bag and make their way to visit Tim.

Little do they know that by pulling off this little prank, they have angered an ancient malevolent being called the Aos Si; a creature from Irish mythology that appears on Halloween night to seek offerings, leaving carnage in its wake when it does not receive its “treat”. Although the creature is little more than an actor in a mask (in this case, creature actor and stunt performer Alan Maxson), the facial design of the appliance is really quite neat, if not overly original. When first revealed, the Aos Si is surrounded by Halloween yard lights, yet still obscured in shadow, its hollow eye sockets aglow. The moment proves to be highly effective and probably the most powerful and memorable image from the film. Soon, Tim and his friends find themselves on the run from this sinister spirit of the holiday.

Creeping Death is a fun dose of moderately gruesome Halloween horror, albeit one with its fair share of blemishes that don’t necessarily keep the film from being enjoyable, but lacks polish and hinders the film from being as memorable as it potentially could be. Sampere is clearly a serious fan of the holiday and its history, and it is evident that the filmmaker did his research on Halloween’s origins as the legend of the Aos Si is very much grounded in real legends and folklore. It’s just as apparent that Sampere is also a fairly devout fan of the Halloween film franchise as there are numerous allusions to the series scattered throughout Creeping Death‘s runtime. These include smaller nods, such as the Thorn tattoo visible on Sampere’s wrist or the symbols that the Aos Si leaves behind, to much “less subtle” references like naming a few of Creeping Death‘s characters after actors and characters from the franchise, such as Tramer, Danielle, and P.J. Much like the P.J. (actress P.J. Soles) from the legendary 1978 film, this P.J. (Elise Rackemann) also goes topless, but stops short of asking if we see anything we like.

There’re some impressive visuals on display in Creeping Death, as Sampere and his crew demonstrate fantastic use of lighting and shadow. Just as impressive is the use of location and set decoration to help fully sell the belief that this is truly occurring during the Halloween season. Filmed somewhere in the Syracuse region, the film’s fictional town of Ashville features not only at least one pumpkin farm, but also sprawling stretches of fields and woods; the leaves of the trees having already turned those wonderful autumnal shades of red, orange, and brown. There’s clearly some emulation of the opening sequence to Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers taking place here, but as many like me consider that film’s opening to be one of the most iconic encapsulations of the “look” of the Halloween season ever featured on film, any attempt to re-create that feeling is most certainly welcomed.

As mentioned earlier, while Creeping Death does provide a fun dose of Halloween-season horror, the film is not without its flaws. Despite demonstrating some skill for setting up shots prior in the film, camerawork does tend to get shaky later on, particularly during more action heavy sequences (of which, there actually aren’t all that many). It often felt like watching a “found footage” film as it was a little difficult to tell just what was happening in a few scenes. While not something that truly “breaks” the film, the fact that this bit of inexperience slips through is a minor disappointment.

As the “creeping death” of the film’s title refers just as much to Tim’s mother’s illness as it does the ancient evil that is stalking him and his friends, the dramatics do tend to get a little heavy at times, but never to the point where it detracts from the experience or upsets the tone of the film. Although her role is really quite limited, Parent gives a strong performance as Tim’s stricken mother. However, the same can’t be said for all of the cast as a few of the performances do feel more than a little lacking. Thankfully, these roles tend to be limited to lesser characters, although one particular comedically-intended sequence late in the film involving an Uber driver proves to be a total misfire and probably would have been better off excised from the film completely.

Inevitably, Creeping Death does begin to devolve into something of an extended chase sequence late in its running, before closing out in fairly predictable fashion. The door is very much left open for a sequel, and the film even concludes with some on-screen text stating that the Aos Si will indeed return. While I’m not quite sure that Creeping Death really needs a sequel, I wouldn’t object to watching one. Honestly, I wouldn’t be too surprised if a sequel pops up on Screambox next Halloween. If it does, I’m sure I’ll be reviewing that film too.