Self-Aware Horror Film Unaware That It Sucks
Packed with genre nods and cameos, the filmmakers behind Attack of the Halloween Blob were certain that their creature feature would resonate with horror fans based on the sole premise that it was self-referential. Unfortunately, the 1 star rating on major streaming sites indicates otherwise.
“We did everything we could to make sure horror geeks knew that this was a movie for them,” said an exasperated Tim Letherby, the film’s writer, director, and publicist. “Every single actor we cast was from a well-known horror movie, even if it was one of the random doctors who get killed in Halloween 6. We just wanted to make it clear that we were seriously paying homage to those movies.”
Letherby went so far as to name Attack of the Halloween Blob’s cast after popular horror characters and filmmakers. Some of these names include: Ronny Corman, Michael McQueen, Jason Carpenter, Freddy Craven, and Stephen Kong. “We had a lot of fun looking at IMDB to come up with the names. I think that we could have been a little more on-the-nose so your average horror fan, who isn’t so well-versed, could get in on the joke,” Letherby reflected.
Reviews of the terror flick have not been kind. Major publications called it cliché and uninspired. Genre blogs labeled it as more self-aggrandizing than self-referential. Jen Halfert, writing for a well-trafficked horror site, wrote: “It’s like the filmmakers watched the MTV Scream series and then, while surely smoking crack or some other drug, penned the script with the help of shoddy internet research about slashers and monster movies.”
Letherby has responded to critiques by digging his heels deeper into the belief that the self-aware humor was too progressive for the masses. “I think people just don’t get it yet. Years later, this movie will probably become a cult classic. Just look at The Evil Dead or The Room, which were so underappreciated at the time of their releases, and now people flock to see them at revival screenings.” Only time will tell if Tim Letherby will be remembered as a Sam Raimi or Tommy Wiseau.
