In 2019, Full Moon Features announced a new project called “The Deadly Ten,” a series of ten brand new films. Each would be either a sequel or related in some way to a pre-existing Full Moon movie. The titles announced included sequels to Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Subspecies, and Head of the Family. For the first film in this series, filmmaker Danny Draven decided to work on a spiritual successor to 1985’s Ghoulies. In 2006, Full Moon released the stoner comedy Evil Bong, which started a top-rated franchise spanning eight films by 2018. Draven has a history of working with Charles Band, having directed Horrorvision, Hell Asylum, Cryptz, and Reel Evil. His contribution for The Deadly Ten would combine the stoner humor of Evil Bong with the mischievous monsters of Ghoulies. The resulting film saw its release in late 2019 as Weedjies: Halloweed Night.
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Synopsis
Friends Madison (Brett Hargrave), Dallas (Victoria Strange), and Frankie (Yo Ying) are planning on throwing the biggest Halloween party ever. Their socially awkward male friend Claude (Johnny Jay Lee), clearly infatuated with Dallas, joins to help them out. Once the party starts, it becomes a huge success, with many people showing up for a good time. The guests are also there for a scavenger hunt to win The Golden Nug, a very special nugget of marijuana. Our heroes meet a mysterious woman known as The Baroness (Denise Milfort), who has something special for our heroes. She breaks out a “Weed-G-Board,” which ends up summoning diminutive creatures known as “Weedjies” to attack the guests. According to the Ganja Ghost (James Adam Tucker), the group only has until midnight to recapture the Weedjies. Will they be able to stop them, or will the Weedjies party our heroes to death?
Review
Honestly, Weedjies: Halloweed Night is more or less what I expected from a modern-day Full Moon movie. You’ve got a ridiculous plot, questionable acting, and cheesy puppets mixed with some not-so-good CGI effects. It would be best if you didn’t go into a film like this expecting high-quality cinema else you’ll be disappointed. I watched this film cold sober, so I don’t know if getting high beforehand will make watching this better. That said, while I would hardly call this a classic within Full Moon’s library, it’s still fun in a way. The actors know what type of movie they’re in and have fun with their roles, as standard as they are. Denise Milfort and James Adam Tucker are entertainingly hammy with their fake Jamaican accents and larger-than-life personas. None of the four main heroes particularly stand out, but they have decent chemistry with each other.
Of course, the real stars of this movie are the Weedjie puppets, all creations of Tom Devlin’s 1313fx studio. Compared to the puppet work of the late great John Carl Buechler, they’re about on par with those from Ghoulies. While they don’t show up until halfway into the movie, their appearance does make the film more fun to watch. Each of them has a distinct look and personality, similar to the creatures from Gremlins 2: The New Batch. As decent as the puppets look, what took me out of the movie was the cheap-looking CGI. It does add to its campy charm, but once they start using CG blood, that’s when I draw the line. It helps that the movie’s only 75 minutes in length, which means you’ll be in and out before too long. Overall, Weedjies: Halloweed Night would be perfect for a Halloween stoner party or something similar.
Buy Weedjies: Halloweed Night from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AqZvnZ.
