31 by 31 Challenge #19: SATAN'S LITTLE HELPER (2004)

There are so many beloved horror films perfect for the Halloween season that many of the equally great, underrated films often get overlooked through no fault of their own. Satan's Little Helper is one such film, a strangely heartwarming, hilarious, and yet somehow still chilling nugget of Halloween goodness that deserves to be on more people's radar this time of the year. Allow me to tell you why.

Satan's Little Helper
Released: October 4, 2005
Director: Jeff Lieberman
Screenplay: Jeff Lieberman

Tagline: "Sometimes evil needs a helping hand"

Cast:
Alexander Brickel as Douglas "Dougie" Whooly
Katheryn Winnick as Jenna Whooly
Stephen Graham as Alex Martin
Amanda Plummer as Merrill Whooly
Wass Stevens as Dean Whooly
Dan Ziskie as Vernon Martin
Melissa McGregor as Nicole
Joshua Annex as "Satan"


Little Dougie Whooly is obsessed with all things Devil thanks to his handheld video game "Satan's Little Helper." He's thrilled to don his new Satan costume the morning of Halloween to show his older sister Jenna, who is coming home from college for the holiday. But Jenna has brought her new drama major boyfriend Alex with her, and Dougie is upset he won't get to trick or treat alone with his beloved sister. But then, Dougie meets a man wearing a Satan mask and believes he's met the Dark Prince himself. In a literal deal with the devil, Dougie promises to be Satan's little helper if the Lord of Lies will take his sister's boyfriend to hell so that Dougie will have Jenna all to himself once again. As Dougie will soon find out, however, it's no game this time around...

The trap that many Halloween-set horror films can fall into is that they use the holiday merely as set dressing and fail to evoke the spirit of the night itself. Happily, Satan's Little Helper feels like it bottled a real-life Halloween evening and then unleashed it upon the viewer. Directed by Jeff Lieberman of Just Before Dawn (1981) fame, the film excellently weaves pitch-black humor with steady tension building to produce a delicious and unnerving holiday spectacle. Dougie's inability to decipher fiction from reality is the wicked, morbid hook that invites danger into the lives of those around him yet also allows for applause-worthy macabre jokes and hilarity. It's a deft balancing act. It also allows the viewer to deeply feel Dougie's innocence. He may be in need of some therapy, but he's only nine after all, and he thinks what he's doing is all just a game.

Dougie's stubborn likability is due in large part to Alexander Brickel, who switches from overly gullible to touchingly genuine once he realizes that "Satan" is hurting people for real, and that is his family is next on the kill list. Katheryn Winnick also gives an earnest performance as Jenna, especially in the scenes where she's trying to convince her trusting mother that the man in the devil mask isn't a friend, but the most dangerous of foes. And of course, the great Amanda Plummer brings her signature quirkiness to Merrill, a down-to-earth mom just trying to give each of her children the very best Halloween. But the film belongs to Joshua Annex as "Satan," whose movements and mannerisms are unnerving and eerily brilliant. Though he never removes the mask or utters a single syllable, his body language fills the screen with a sinister presence that Hall of Fame silent slashers Michael and Jason would be proud of.

The film's low budget is noticeable at times, and not every acting decision is spot on, but a clever script and a committed production team showcase how a quality film can be stitched together with limited resources. The mood and visuals of a New England autumn are perfectly captured, and the hearty laughs never overshadow what disturbing undertone of the story, making Satan's Little Helper into the brave little chiller that could. Add it to your Halloween watchlist with devilish speed.


Satan's Little Helper
5 - Totally Terrifying
4 - Crazy Creepy
3 - Fairly Frightening
2 - Slightly Scary
1 - Hardly Horror