After a long hiatus weeeeee’rrrrrre baaaaack with a new Reviews From The Crypt. Today we take a look at Hubie Halloween.

By Adam Holtzapfel

If you’re looking for a family friendly Halloween flick in the vein of Ernest Scared Stupid, then Hubie Hallowwen is your flick.

Hubie Halloween follows Adam Sandler as the title character in his newest straight to Netflix project. Released earlier this month it is currently trending in Netflix’s Top 10.

The cast is packed with many of Sandler’s collaborators like Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Julie Bowen, Shaquille O’Neal, Maya Rudolph, and Tim Meadows just to name a few.

The story follows mild mannered deli clerk Hubie Dubois as he takes on his yearly “voluntary” duty as Halloween monitor in Salem.

Things go awry from the start as a patient escapes the mental hospital to return home. Thus the disappearances start.

In addition to being the joke of the town (nicknamed Pubie), Hubie scares very easily. The film plays off of this several times, but it works well. The film also plays off the gag of the Harley Quinn craze from a couple years ago.

Several scenes of Hubie riding his bike include a radio voiceover that echos the feel of The Warriors as the townspeople torment our protagonist. Various items are tossed at him which is comical at times.

Throughout the film we see callbacks to other Sandler flicks like O’Doyle from Billy Madison and Ben Stiller reprising his role from Happy Gilmore.

While there are some parts not suitable for kids, overall this movie captures the fun of the season and has an almost nostalgic feel.

At the surface of the film it’s a fun any town USA Halloween romp. At the heart there’s a not so hidden anti bullying message.

What works is the soundtrack instead of the overly synth soundtracks most films use this one totes classic tracks like The Monster Mash, Werewolves Of London, and Trick Or Treat by the horror rockabilly/punk band Nekromantix.

The shirts worn by Hubie’s mom (June Squibb) are hilarious, with slogans like Boner Donor and I Shaved My Balls For This? amongst others.

What didn’t work for me was Sandler using a Waterboy/Billy Madison (stop staring at me swan) style voice. It wasn’t a make or break for me, I was just hoping for something different.

Overall I’d give this film a B -. I could see it being a mainstay in most homes just not sure it has rewatchability value for me. It’s not Sandler’s best work and by far not his worst. It’s a fun watch with a couple of twists.