Hallowarrior (2026) - No Spoilers!
I've been looking forward to this one from the very second I saw the first trailer on Shudder, and I have zero regrets. Imagine... Home Alone at Halloween instead of Christmas, but with far more of a kick to the feels.
Pumpkin (Milly Shapiro) believes that she's the only survivor on earth after a devastating plague has swept through the human population. She's managed to survive on her own in her family's rural home, but decides to put one last call out through her radio as Halloween arrives. Halloween has always been a huge family affair she loves (you know... hence the Pumpkin nickname), and she's clinging to it with everything she has. She hopes that maybe there will be someone else out there to hear her broadcast and come join her. As horror fans, we already know that people answering that kind of call under these circumstances probably aren't the most wholesome bunch.
What follows is a morbidly heartwarming, but also terrifying, emotional roller coaster. Milly Shapiro gives the sweetest, most heart-breaking performance as the adorably morbid but lonely Pumpkin, and you can't help but just want to hug her and tell her it'll be ok, because you're her new horror best friend till the end. As the plot develops, there's genuine dread when you're waiting to see what will happen to her and wondering if she'll make it out alive.
Hallowarrior hit me way harder in the feels than I expected it to, and seeing Milly in such a different role from Hereditary gives me a whole new appreciation for her acting abilities. To have no personal references for her other than Hereditary and Hallowarrior, where she's in such different roles, further confirms how freaking talented she is!
The protagonists in the film do an excellent job of making themselves people you definitely don't want anything to do with. Their unhinged personalities quickly get under your skin (Wax just... still gives me the chills). Thalia, played by Shannyn Sossamon, walks that fine line between soothing, trustworthy, even motherly, and that sneaky kind of evil that puts you so at ease, it's too late by the time you realize what's happened. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention how vital Ajani Russell's portrayal of Wendy is --- do they want to help Pumpkin survive? Are they just playing their part in Thalia's game?
There are a few gory spots but nothing as awful as it could have been, so it's an easy one to close your eyes for if you're like me and aren't the biggest fan of body horror on screen. I am obsessed, and this will be a yearly Halloween watch for me, along with the several other times I'll see it between now and then.
And now, we dive into my newly discovered Milly Shapiro fangirl era:
Like most horror fans, my only experience with Milly is also the reason I still flinch every time I pass a telephone pole (IYKYK). Her role as Charlie in 2018's Hereditary was absolutely devastating. She did such an excellent job of being unsettling, like that damn noise she made when she clicked her tongue, that I'd initially wondered if her career was officially going to be cemented as the role of "that weird little kid".
But then, she disappeared from mainstream as quickly as she arrived. I looked up her history after watching Hallowarrior, and the most horrifying thing is how little we hear her name! This incredibly talented, strong woman is a badass. She won a Tony Award at the age of eleven, which made her the youngest person ever to win one. She literally made history! Even better, it was for her Broadway role of Matilda, for all us 90s kids out there.
Milly also sings and started a band called AFTERxCLASS, along with being a huge advocate for everything anti-bullying. She's worked with nonprofits, participated in the creation of promotional videos, and works hard to spread the word. I can't wait to see what else she does in not only horror, but every other project she takes on!
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