Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s October the 8th and time for another entry into our K-O-Ween 31 Days of Halloween feature. Today we are looking at something entirely different – Chris LaMartina’s Out There Halloween Mega Tape from 2022. This movie is a completely different take on Halloween horror and a massive change of pace from what we have been previously looking at. If you like your movies extra quirky, you need to check this out.
For those of you who don’t know, which may be rather a lot of you given this movie’s extremely limited release. Out There Halloween Mega Tape is the follow up to the fantastic 2013 movie WNUF Halloween Special. Whereas the original was pretty easy to find. LaMartina decided to release this one solely on DVD to hopefully impede piracy attempts. I am not sure that LaMartina understands just how easy it is to rip a DVD but it has resulted in this movie being hard to find so I guess he succeeded.
To describe these titles as movies seems a little bit disingenuous. In fact, they are actually rather difficult to categorise entirely. The best way might be to describe them as an experience or a vibe. Think BBC’s brilliant reality style horror movie Ghostwatch but American.
The original WNUF Halloween Special was an 80’s style television broadcast of a Halloween news special. Complete with ads and political messages all presented as if it was recorded off of the TV and played from a VHS. It perfectly captured the feeling of watching terrible news specials on local broadcast channels while also managing to be a hugely funny and genuinely entertaining horror story at the same time. Out There Halloween Mega Tape is more of the same but moving things forward a decade.
Hard to Describe
Imagine yourself as a child sitting in front of the television and being forced by your parents to sit through an awful talk show’s Halloween episode. Remember Ricki Lake? That type of thing. Guests are dressed up in horror garb, endless spooky puns are made, and your only respite from the boring topics of cheating and deception are the commercials featuring the best new toys around. You zone out and picture yourself playing with the next big Hasbro creation on Christmas morning. Only for your excited daydreaming to be interrupted by a boring message from your area’s local political candidate. Then its back to the talk show but, never fear, hope is on the horizon, an unexplained mysteries show is coming up with the promise of aliens. Awesome!
This is more of the same when it comes to what Chris LaMartina does best. Talk shows, cheesiness, news segments and commercials. Everything here has a distinctly 90’s vibe to it and the commercials follow a bunch of rip off products of things that were popular back then. Roller blades, super soakers etc. It is incredibly nostalgic if you are a 90’s kid.
It’s brilliantly well done throughout and lends the movie a genuinely authentic television broadcast appeal. Some people will be put off by this. There are a lot of ads and they take up a bunch of the running time. But, like I said, these movies are almost an experience rather than actual movies. If you don’t like the commercials there is probably very little for you to get from the movie as a whole.
A New Approach
The original’s news broadcast format has been switched to a talk show followed by an “unsolved mysteries” style program surrounding aliens. The two shows are broken up by a gap in the recording. Suggesting that one of them was recorded a number of years later. The talk show is hilarious and perfectly lampoons those crazy mid 90’s shock fests. The set feels authentic, the audience reactions are spot on and the awkwardness of the format is perfectly captured. It’s hilarious stuff and a massive throw back for anyone that grew up on this type of stuff.
For the second segment, the host of the talk show, Ivy Sparks (Melissa LaMartina), has had her show cancelled after a scandal. Hence why she is now co-hosting an unsolved mysteries program called “Out There”. Not that anyone around her will let her forget her history in television, with co-workers and guests alike reminding her of her famous catch phrase “Be nice”.
She speaks to a group of cult members who are awaiting the arrival of an alien ship to take them away. Only for disaster to unfold as the night goes on. Naturally this is a very clear take on the Heaven’s Gate religious group who committed mass suicide after awaiting the Hale-Bopp comet. It is very apt for the time period and hilarious throughout.
A Common Link
Out There Halloween Mega Tape takes place in the same world as The WNUF Halloween Special. While you can watch them independently of each other. It does help to check out the original first as the sequel does reference the things that happened in its predecessor. I actually really appreciate this little touch as it adds to the “local cable broadcast” feeling of the movie. You really do get the sense that this is a community show with a small audience that are mainly concerned with local affairs.
You will see familiar faces from the original. Veronica Stanze is still around. People who were running for office last time are now running for the Senate and the same old people shilling products are still here. It’s familiar and very self referential. Watching The WNUF Halloween Special followed by Out There Halloween Mega Tape would feel like you were simply flipping through old VHS tapes. They would both flow together nicely. The themes are similar, the presentations are similar and many of the personalities from the original appear in the sequel.
Hilarious But Not Scary
Much like its predecessor, Out There Halloween Mega Tape is not supposed to be scary. Its horror themes revolve around aliens and cults rather than the paranormal subject of the original. But the main story doesn’t really kick in until half way through the movie. WNUF Halloween Special had a much keener focus on the main investigation whereas this one pushes that to the background. There are more commercials, more variety and a larger focus on the talk show segment which is rather disconnected from the main story.
You really have to go into this movie knowing what to expect. If you are expecting a horror movie, you will be disappointed. It’s best to look at it as a Halloween night in front of the television back in the 90s. That would be the most apt way to describe it and the most reasonable way to set expectations. It’s hilarious, cheesy, unique, quirky, weird and absolutely fantastic all at the same time. To be honest, this one might be more of a Halloween evening watch than the beginning of October. But I wouldn’t want to suggest something so strange for Halloween itself just in case it doesn’t appeal to you.
Should You Watch Out There Halloween Mega Tape?
Out There Halloween Mega Tape, much like The WNUF Halloween Special, is not for everyone. Its strange presentation, lack of scares, and strong comedy focus will put a few people off. It definitely isn’t a movie to turn down the lights and try to enjoy. It is a movie to throw on when you have just put on your Halloween outfit, poured some drinks and grabbed some snacks with friends and family. This is the perfect opener to Halloween. As well as being a brilliant flashback to 90’s television for anyone who wants a hit of nostalgia.
It isn’t going to scare you. In fact, it doesn’t even feel like a movie. But you will definitely remember it and if you are one of those people who the movie was made very specifically for. It will become a Halloween mainstay and a must watch every October. I would say the original is slightly more cohesive and slightly better. But both movies are fantastic and Out There Halloween Mega Tape is an absolute ton of fun.
