Adam Sandler’s recent Netflix movie Hotel Transylvania.
Hubie Halloween may be viewed by many reviewers as another Uncut Gems. But the movie’s financial success proves that the actor’s reliable comedy formula still has its sizeable legion of fans, and Hubie Halloween's genuine love for the horror genre proves that the movie has its bright spots, despite its flaws.
Filled with easter eggs and horror references both subtle and obvious, Hubie Halloween owes a surprising debt to the long history of cinematic horror. The movie's plot features (spoiler alert) witches and an escaped maniac, meaning there are obvious riffs on John Carpenter’s "silly voices and cast of real-life friends" formula, but there’s no denying that the movie manages to cram plenty of horror easter eggs into its short runtime and has plenty to offer fans of the genre.
Frankenstein/ Bride of Frankenstein
Probably the most obvious references in Hubie Halloween go to some of the most famous—and earliest—horror movies ever made. Adapted from Mary Shelley’s iconic text, 1931’s Bride of Frankenstein both earn a shout out from this Sandler vehicle. First, a partygoer dresses as the famous titular monster, then minor character Megan refers to another character as the “Bride of Skankenstein,” and later on Ms. Hennessy wears the iconic white striped wig of Frankenstein’s reanimated love interest.
Creature From the Black Lagoon
Another vintage reference for fans of the genre, Danielle watches the 50s horror classic Hellboy 2, all the way back to 1980’s slasher Fade to Black (where it's cross-cut with a date, bizarrely). It’s a deep cut and a cute meta-textual reference to countless horror classics, further evidencing the fact that Hubie Halloween's creators did their homework.
Halloween
John Carpenter’s iconic 1978 slasher Halloween is far from the only film to feature an escaped lunatic threatening the lives of a small town’s residents (although it's definitely the best movie with this familiar premise). However, the franchise-spawning Halloween is by far the most iconic movie to feature this exact plot playing out across Halloween night. As such, most of Hubie Halloween’s plot acts as a comedic recreation of Laurie Strode’s infamous ordeal the night HE came home, although credit to the filmmakers, they don’t rely on too many easy parodies of the famous source material despite recreating the movie’s plot.
The Twilight Zone/ The Munsters
ittedly, the two classic television series Hubie Halloween’s marriage of scares and laughs perfectly. Both are referenced in the movie when the local marching band plays their iconic theme songs at different points (yes, eagle-eyed viewers, that’s the same marching band who provide the tuba thrown at Hubie later in the movie.)
Scooby-Doo
Viewers who didn’t this one coming from the movie’s title alone obviously aren’t familiar with many Sandler films, but a character inevitably refers to the titular Hubie as "Scooby Dooby" when mocking his fear of Halloween and dismissing his (actually pretty grounded) fears about an escaped mental patient.
Ghostbusters
One of the biggest tonal influences on Hubie Halloween’s mixture of supernatural scares and lighthearted family-friendly character comedy, the 80s classic Ghostbusters was always going to earn a shout out in the Sandler movie. It’s one of the movie’s more meta-textual nods to its obvious influences, as Hubie himself requests the theme song of the 1984 horror-comedy on the radio, proving he truly is as big a fan of Halloween as he claims (despite being afraid of almost everything).
Hocus Pocus
Much like High School Musical director Kenny Ortega’s Halloween family classic Hocus Pocus, Hubie Halloween is set in the small town of Salem Massachusetts, home to real-life “witch” trials in the 1600s. Any further discussion would get into spoiler territory, but those who have seen Sandler’s movie will know that the final twist regarding Hubie’s mom is also a pretty clear reference to Hocus Pocus.
Scream
The kids who follow Hubie via bike are all wearing the iconic mask made famous by the killer in Scream and its sequels. Notably, it is the original mask they’re all adorned with, not the divisive redesign featured in the short-lived MTV television adaptation of Scream.
Stephen King’s IT
A partygoer near the end of Hubie Halloween references the recent horror phenomenon season 3's Stephen King-inspired villain Billy.
