Moira Cole (Shawnee Smith) lost nearly her entire family when her cousin Lee Morris went insane and killed them all, including her husband Dillon, donning the mask that has led to the media calling him the Skulleton. She tries to live her life afterward, but every October, another sequel to the slasher franchise made about her life story is released and reminds her of the horror that she barely endured.

Directed by Ante Novakovic and written by Anthony and James Gaudioso (who also appear in the film), this film shows how Skulleton survived, as he was rescued after being shot by Moria by his sister Sam (Taryn Manning) and has spent the last decade or more chained up in her basement, drugged out of his mind.

Moria’s sons Michael (Drew Moerlein) and Connor (James Gaudioso) have grown up alternately afraid and angry of the history of their family being known by everyone in the world. Their mother is still withdrawn but working through her emotions with therapist Dr. Lucien (Bruce Dern).

Meanwhile, as a new series of murders starts to happen, their family will have to deal with it all over again, as Detective Cyphers (Tyrese Gibson), Detective Fink (Kresh Novakovic) and James (Anthony Gaudioso) are asking questions.

This is an uneven film that starts with so much promise, feeling like Halloween, which is obvious, as well as Scream. The open is so good and the idea of processing the trauma of this family remains a great idea. However, this starts to crawl just when you want it to fly. I really wanted to love this and ended up barely enjoying it, which is a shame, because Smith is really good — even if she looks younger than her sons — and the killer looks intimidating if a bit too much Spirit Store.

You can watch this on Tubi.