Spooky Town
From the Archives
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8m 17s
A couple rebrands their struggling haunted house business amid the pandemic. “Spooky Town,” directed by and starring Omar Shaukat and Anna Suzuki, is a sign-of-the-times mockumentary that follows a hapless duo through badly executed attempts to frighten their customers. While they wait for their SBA Small Business Loan to be approved, their attempt to keep their operation running as a drive-through is beset with questionable marketing (“Screamless”), and a staff that’s been reduced from four to two (“we’re down a clown and a mental asylum escapee”). They set up on a remote country road, where they are forced to perform multiple roles and costume changes. The scares don’t really add up; one partying couple in an SUV is more interested in gabbing with the performers about where they got their costumes and makeup. And by the time they get the news about their loan, it may be a lost cause. Suzuki and Shaukat have a natural chemistry and their dry comedy works well delivered in full ghostly / bloody getups.
Written and Directed by Omar Shaukat, Anna Suzuki. Cast: Anna Suzuki, Omar Shaukat, Maya Deshmukh, Claire Burns, Rosalie Tenseth, Angus Costello, Rekha Mandel, Kira Mandel, Eddy Rehman. Produced by Shams Malik. Director of Photography: Tine DiLucia. Special Effects Makeup Artist: Ashley K. Thomas. Sound Mixer: Zhen Qin. Art Director: Claire Burns. Original Score: Richard Helicopter. Colorist: Kevin Rattigan. Additional Editing: Mike Goodenow.
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