FLAC tracks +Booklet| Soundtrack | 227 MB | 38:42A group of small-town no-goodniks who mostly look to be pushing, or in, their thirties perform their annual Halloween ritual of hazing a certain fellow local in writer/director Josh Hasty’s Candy Corn.

Why they only bully him on Halloween if they harbor so much vitriol toward him is just one of the many head-scratchers this film offers.

But harass Jacob Atkins (Nate Chaney) they do, to the point of killing him — unbeknownst to them.

Luckily for the late Jacob, a carnival sideshow is passing through town that happens to have an evil ringmaster (Pancho Moler of 31) with eternal life who can bring back the dead by performing voodoo rituals.

Candy Corn is a valentine to 1980s horror movies, from its title cards to its score and setting, and so on.

There has been a plethora of 1980s fright flick homages and pastiches made during the past several years.

The better ones — such as The Barn (2016) and Close Calls (2017), for example — offer original angles or unique takes along with their obvious nods to that era’s cinematic scare fare, but unfortunately Candy Corn falls short in that department.

Though its concept of a traveling sideshow headed up by a magical ringmaster who cannot die is idiosyncratic enough, the execution of the story falls flat as the film is filled with well-worn tropes, cliches, and stock characters.

There’s also a touch of the Rob Zombie school of filmmaking to the proceedings, which will likely be a divider as to where potential viewers may fall regarding their opinion of Candy Corn.

Personally, I’m not big on the majority of Zombie’s cinematic oeuvre, so that aspect didn’t help enamour me to this film.

Tracklist:01. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – The Tradition (2:23)02. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Walk Once More (3:41)03. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Jacobs Last Ride (2:23)04. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Hunting Carol (1:24)05. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – The Aftermath (0:58)06. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – All is Lost (2:51)07. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Something Doesn’t Feel Right (1:38)08. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – This Town Isn’t Safe Anymore (2:47)09. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Numb (2:06)10. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Messing Around (2:08)11. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Self Defense (0:42)12. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Hold Your Tongue (1:22)13. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Static (0:57)14. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Mike in Midway (2:02)15. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Witch Hunt (1:49)16. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Falling Apart (3:38)17. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – Keeping the Balance (1:46)18. Maurice Burkhart – At the Devils Ball (3:15)19. Josh Hasty with Michael Brooker – You’re Not Alone (0:52)