A story my dad always told me close to Halloween is how he always regretted stealing some kid’s candy, and the “curse” he had received from it. He said every Halloween something bad happened to him, whether it was smashing his motorcycle on a foggy night or some kids tearing down his hand made decorations. I’ve witnessed his bad luck in person around that time of year and it has only seemed to let up recently. Some people don’t get off so easily when they break the sacred rules of Halloween however. Especially not some punk kid in Adam Lenhart’s Candy Stealer.

Some young 80s punk is wandering around a small neighborhood on Halloween evening smashing pumpkins. When he comes upon a house with a “please take one” sign above a candy dish, he proceeds to fill his bag and smack the dish into the bushes. Returning to his horror and punk layer in the basement of his house he begins to dig into his candy horde, unaware that there is a hole in the bag. As the candy begins to spill onto the floor, a mystery green light and fog begins to emerge from under the bed. As a gooey green hand begins to pull candy under the bed the punk realizes that something is not right, but it is far too late as the creature appears to enact his punishment.

People who grew up on early Nickelodeon and shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark and Goosebumps will feel right at home watching Candy Stealer. Everywhere from the stop motion intro credits to the candy creature in the end, there is a clear love for this short and a ton of fun built-in. While there are moments where the budget clearly shows through, the fact that a short like this could be made with a total of 4 people and have it turn out as great as it did shows care and effort. The director Adam Lenhart along with being a tattoo artist has a clear talent making cooky creature puppets, as seen in Candy Stealer and his movie PSA series, and I am very excited to see what he comes up with next!