Rather, he posits Halloween as a night when a celebration of the darker impulses can erupt into real terror, with the “Satan Man” (as he’s called in the credits) an even more explicit embodiment of the bogeyman than Halloween’s Michael Myers. Thankfully, Lieberman doesn’t use his scenario to take easy shots at violent media’s corrupting influence on kids-he’s making a gruesome entertainment himself, after all. Douglas, who’d like nothing more than to punish Alex (Stephen Graham), the new boyfriend who has accompanied his college-age sister Jenna (Katheryn Winnick) home for the holiday, appoints himself as the murderer’s right-hand kid, not realizing that the mayhem that ensues isn’t part of a “game” come to life. And who should he encounter near his suburban New England home as the evening approaches but Satan himself-or rather, a hulking killer (Joshua Annex) wearing a grinning devil mask. In this case, the focus is on a little boy named Douglas (Alexander Brickel), who is obsessed with the eponymous video game, and plans to dress up as its title character on Halloween night. It plays like a movie made by an upstart young newcomer anxious to show off his rebellious, anti-politically correct streak, and the result is the first film I’ve seen in a while that seems tailor-made for the midnight circuit, without the pandering that afflicts so many wannabe “cult movies.” The fact that Helper is premiering at New York’s high-toned Tribeca Film Festival just seems like part of the sick joke.Īmong other things, Satan’s Little Helper is the most original Halloween-themed horror film to emerge since the ill-fated, underrated Halloween III: Season of the Witch like that movie, Helper incorporates a dark satire of mass media and has no compunctions about involving children in the mayhem. If it’s hard to believe that he hasn’t directed a genre feature in the over two decades since Just Before Dawn, his new Satan’s Little Helper doesn’t feel at all like the work of someone with 30 years in the movie business-and I mean that in a good way. Say this for Jeff Lieberman: He hasn’t mellowed with age. Editor's Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on May 4, 2004, and we're proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
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