Review: Corner Gas Animated “Haunt for Dread October”

 

 

Overview:

Brent has big plans for this year’s Hallow’s Eve. Aside from cleaning up with his Halloween insurance side hustle, he is also hosting a horror movie marathon at his house.

Lacey, Hank, and Wanda join Brent at his house for a night of scares. However, Lacey did not expect to be walking into a real haunted house. After Hank and Wanda update Lacey on the spooky history of Brent’s home, they all begin to regret spending the most haunted night of the year there.

Oscar soon regrets not purchasing his son’s festive insurance plan. Had he coughed up the money, Brent would be on the hook to clean up any Halloween night vandalism on his house. But, when Oscar snaps at some teenage trick-or-treaters realizes how valuable Brent’s plan could have been.

 

Our Take:

It is a shame that this is the second last episode of Corner Gas Animated ever. The series always has a special surprise in store for its audience. One of the biggest draws to the show is the who’s-who list of Canadian celebrities that have made appearances throughout the four seasons. But, last year, the series went above and beyond with its Christmas special season finale that pleased fans and critics alike.

Brent Butt and company clearly intended for the holiday festivities to continue. This very spooky Halloween special episode could have potentially been a season four wrap-up event, at least before the powers that be pulled the plug on the show.

Much like last season’s Christmas special went all-out with ambitious animated scenes, this Halloween episode gets the same festive treatment. Trick-or-treaters, decorations, and added music make this an extra spooky episode. Although, there is a missed opportunity to put all the lovable characters in unique costumes. Only Hank and Karen truly adorn an outfit for the special evening.

The B-plot involving Oscar and Emma’s house getting vandalized was a story very in-tune with the characters and formula of the show. Thankfully, the main plot of the story had much more uniqueness to add to the episode.

It was a nice twist to make Brent’s long-existing home become haunted. It works cleaner for the series than shoehorning in some new setting. The spookiness of the story has some depth to it, especially when the gaps get filled in with flashbacks to the former homeowners. And the big conclusion is equally hilarious and fitting. Meanwhile, the additional music and animated scenery make the plot especially festive.

The best part of this episode is the amount of effort the creators went to in making something memorable and ambitious. Unaware of the show’s future and resting on the laurels of being a successful franchise, they still went all-out to give the audiences something fun. We will likely never know what Corner Gas Animated had in-store for the fifth season special. However, it is excellent that this final holiday event got added to the collection at the final moments.