Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)



Movie Title: Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

Year Released: 2001

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1h 21min

Genre: Fantasy

Director: Mary Lambert

Writer: Jon Cooksey, Ali Matheson

Starring: Kimberly J. Brown, Debbie Reynolds, Judith Hoag, Daniel Kountz, Joey Zimmerman, Phillip Van Dyke, Emily Roeske

Review: To avenge his father, an angry warlock named Kal (Daniel Kountz) steals a magic spell book to obtain a vicious spell previously banned after the dark times. At midnight, the spell turns humans into the creatures they mimic on Halloween night. It's a race against time for Marnie Cromwell (Kimberly J. Brown) and her grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) to get the book back and save the human race from permanent horror. Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge takes place a few years after the events of Halloweentown and carries a darker, more ominous tone than its predecessor. Marnie is a couple years older and more advanced as a witch so it's only natural for the evil forces she encounters to be more advanced as well. Halloweentown is once again the focal setting in this fun, entertaining flick. The first film in this series really benefits from that setting by fleshing out all of the different characters and quirks the town has to offer. This installment focuses more on the magic as well as the struggle between Halloweentown and the mortal world, as the two strive for a harmonious, symbiotic relationship. Once again, I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this movie in my childhood. I would argue this movie isn't as good as the original, but seeing how I sort of grew up along with this film series, it's a Halloween classic that I will always hold dear to my heart. I highly recommend watching this film each fall season!

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: There are a few homages to famous witches from previous Halloween classics. Most notably, the Sanderson sisters' costumes from Hocus Pocus (1993) were recycled and can be seen on three actresses at the end of the film. Also, the witch mask worn by Judith Hoag is a nod to the masks in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) from Silver Shamrock.


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