While it’s got a bit of a different slant than you might first expect, The Day After Halloween goes a bit too far with a rather jumbled format, having the overall effect of making you feel you’re trying to find the exit in a strobe-lit maze in the dark whilst heavily intoxicated. Still, some of you guys may be right up for that. There’s also several notably interesting characters (including an alleged pervert pizza-advertising clown, an enigmatic vampire, and a weirdly silent artist) who are just enough in the picture to stand out as potential murder suspects.

So, who here doesn’t love Halloween? I was SO down for it as a kid, but where I’m from it didn’t really gain traction until I was too old (in a technical sense, at least) for trick or treating; so I freely admit to the combined relief and glee when I ended up as parent to a kid for whom it remains their favourite event of the year. I’m not allowed to go trick or treating with them now, though, as I’m too old again (and uncool, I suspect).

Being a certain age doesn’t stop grungy mates Addison (Danny Schluck) and Hayes (Brandon DeLany) from throwing a party-till-you-puke Halloween hellraiser at Hayes’ house by the drive-in movie theatre where he works, however. Fancy dress, horror films at dusk, hordes of wild, drug and alcohol-drenched ravers; what could possibly go wrong? Well.. nothing. At least, that’s what the guys think, until the next morning, when they wake up to find a dead body in their bathtub.

It struck me as rather odd that when the dead body turns out to be Hayes’ new-ish girlfriend (Aimee Fogelman) he doesn’t seem that bothered. Neither of them do, in fact; though in Addison’s case, being a disagreeable arsehole with strong misogynistic tendencies who goes through life not caring if people like him or not, it’s hardly surprising. Plus, he and the girlfriend (whose name we never learn) seem to hate the sight of each other. Of course, the guys’ vapid response could just be a way of emphasising their joint (no pun intended) stoner personalities, which is kind of funny in itself. It’s that sort of film.

Addison’s Die Hard costume’s a nice touch; mainly it’s the contrast between his complete lack of redeeming qualities and the marked charisma of John McClane. He does provide one of the better performances; despite his character being so utterly charmless, he delivers the bulk of the dry wit, though it has to be said he and DeLany have a workable touch of frat bro chemistry going on. Mostly the cast do a decent enough job, though as it’s a film heavily driven by dialogue and the cast is minimal, it doesn’t suffer much for the less than Olivier-esque level of acting.

We flip back and forth between timeframes, apparently the then and now, with frequent pop-ups from an on-screen countdown to what can only be assumed is whatever results in the corpse in the bath. This proves a tad puzzling though, as at one point it reads two years plus, even though it appears to show preparations for the big party on Halloween night. Typo? Not clear on that one. It adds a small measure of suspense, but certainly isn’t the only point of confusion throughout.

Directed by Chad Ostrom and written by Danny Schluck (co-starring as the unlovable Addison), The Day After Halloween is a packed-out horror comedy well worth the journey to the drive-in, confusion or not; just be sure to lock your doors.

8 out of 10 Post-Party Puzzles