Tubi Tuesday: The Witching Season (2018)

“The Witching Season” is one of the hidden tantalizing treats among Tubi’s Halloween-themed horror — the perfect holiday horror watch.

A series of five Halloween-themed shorts, The Witching Season explores all of the familiar horror tropes, each with a fun twist.

Starting with the intro, The Witching Season is soaked with vintage Halloween goodness.

Set to an eerie soundtrack by Slasher Dave, the intro to each short includes shots of windy cemeteries complete and desolate streets blanketed with multicolored leaves and vintage Halloween decorations — vintage witches, grinning skulls, and jack o’lanterns galore.

I wondered if this great atmosphere would permeate all of the individual shorts, and it definitely did.

Each short includes lawns filled with vintage Halloween decorations, shots of cloudy skies with glowing full moons, desolate, misty wooded areas, creepy basements, and old creaky houses. Randin Graves’ eerie score sets the perfect mood.

As for the stories, every horror trope imaginable is included — escaped mental patients, serial killers, possessed toys, aliens, and haunted houses — but nothing is trite or stereotypical. 

The first short, Killer on the Loose (written and directed by Michael Ballif; starring Hailey Nebeker, James Morris, and Autumn Russell), starts out as a typical slasher, complete with an obvious nod to a slasher icon, but it ends with an unexpected surprise.

Based on a short story by Michael Ballif, Princess (written and directed by James Morris; starring Emily Broschinsky, Anita Rosenbaum, Jordan Swenson, and James Morris) is about a possessed plush toy.

Not Alone (written and directed by James Morris; starring Sean Hunter and Samuel Morris with voice talen Nathan Smith Jones and James Morris) is an alien-themed sci-fi/horror short.

They Live Inside Us (written and directed by Michael Ballif; starring James Morris and Stevie Dutson) centers around a haunted house where a murder took place.

Is That You? (written and directed by James Morris, story by James Morris and Michael Ballifl starring Karlee Broschinsky, Charla Cochran Bocchicchio, and  Samuel Morris) represents the interesting scenario of being visited by something truly frightening on Halloween night.

The cast works well and is convincing throughout. Each short is shadowy, moody, and suspenseful. There are some jump scares and a genuinely creepy atmosphere with very little gore.

If you’re looking for the perfect anthology horror film to celebrate the magic of Halloween, I highly encourage you to give The Witching Season a watch.