Hubie Halloween Review

October 8, 2020 at 3:23pm
By Jason Stettner

Hubie Halloween is a Netflix Original film that finds one individual going up against a terrifying horror that has appeared in his home town of Salem during its traditional Halloween celebration. This is Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) an individual that has a really kind heart, but is constantly teased and cast aside from the locals despite his best efforts.

Sandler delivers his strange voice style in this performance, just so you’re aware. That wasn’t really needed, but I suppose it puts the character in a particular setup. Whatever the case, it’s the usual cast of his favorite pals coming together for a Halloween bash.

There actually is a bit of a mystery here with some good surprises, and I was genuinely not expecting where things headed. They got me there, that’s surprising. It also carries some decently solid moral tones to it, and dives into elements of bullying. I was again, very surprised that they had these deeper themes to it. Outside of that, it’s really just your typical Sandler film.

It has the typical gags, repeating jokes and some rather cringe type moments. It’s definitely on brand, but perhaps slightly better than usual. I didn’t hate it, actually found some of it to be alright. I do wish they would have used Violet (Julie Bowen) more effectively as she was just awkwardly there. I think they could have done a lot more with that character. A waste essentially, since she started out as being rather interesting and potentially more important to the plot.

When it comes to the performances they fit into their roles well, for what they were. You’ve got an officer Steve (Kevin James), a bizarre new neighbor Walter (Steve Buscemi) and a fun small cameo like moment from Ben Stiller as Orderly Hal (throwback character from Happy Gilmore). I don’t think anyone stuck out as doing anything out of place here.

Past that, this was strangely well shot. It definitely captured the look of a Halloween night well, being a spooky presentation. The areas felt large in scale, and well shot throughout. I was actually quite impressed by the cinematography here, strangely great.

A really good sense of darkness when needed, and also well presented during the day scenes. They have some fun with things being thrown at Sandler, and a number of smaller gags across the story. Again, with that lighter charm of doing the right thing. It was more heartfelt than a number of his other films, really digging into that with some good folks throughout.

The Conclusion

Hubie Halloween is an alright light comedy that is on brand with other Adam Sandler movies while actually having a little bit more of a heart to it. It actually does hit some meaningful vibes, that’s especially present towards the end which has a bit of a shift to it that I wouldn’t have expected. Just don’t anticipate anything too wildly amazing here and it’ll be a fine watch.

I actually think with some clean-up and honing in on Sandler’s antics, this could have been very good. It was beautifully shot, presented the horror atmosphere well while still being an appropriate all ages wise experience. It did bring a few laughs, and some weird moments. Still, quite a lot of cringe and areas that weren’t too funny.

I think some of the characters were oddly handled, there was some real potential in this one to be very good if elements had been adjusted further. Nice to get some Halloween themed options on Netflix, so an alright watch that you might not mind seeing a couple times down the road too.

Hubie Halloween Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Content Access was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 5.6