From director and writer Josh Hasty, the new Fall season slasher flick Candy Corn makes for a fun Halloween treat. Set on the October holiday and featuring several familiar faces from popular slasher movies from the past, the movie is clearly a love letter to some of our favorites from the genre dating back to the '70s and '80s. At a time when the horror genre is filled with nonstop reboots, prequels, sequels, and re-imaginings, it's always great when an entertaining original movie enters the scene, and that certainly applies to the fun popcorn flick that is Candy Corn.

Like every truly great slasher movie, the plot for Candy Corn is fairly simplistic, focusing on a paranormal murderer seeking vengeance on a small town on Halloween night. It follows social outcast Jacob Adkins, who has been made the target of a group of bullies for some good old-fashioned hazing. Picking on Jacob has become a bit of an annual tradition for the young punks, who decide to prank the boy one last time at a visiting freakshow. The bullies take things too far by inadvertently killing Jacob, who's soon afterward resurrected to carry out bloody revenge against those who'd been picking on him every year.

Candy Corn boasts some pretty awesome names in its cast, featuring some familiar horror stars like P.J. Soles (Halloween, Carrie), Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination), Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn, The 'Burbs), and Pancho Moler (31, 3 from Hell). Sky Elobar, Jaime Gallagher, Caleb Thomas, Madison Russ, Justin Mabry, and Jimothy Beckholt also star. Moler in particularly really shines in Candy Corn as freakshow ringmaster Dr. Death. Through his performance, you really get the sense that the "doctor" really cares for the members of his traveling sideshow, and it's not terribly difficult to understand his motivations for his part in resurrecting Jacob Adkins.

Great cast aside, the kills might be what matters most when it comes to these kinds of horror movies. Fortunately, this is where Candy Corn shines brightest, as the movie delivers with unique and gory kill sequences. As Jacob decimates the bullies who've wronged him one by one, slasher flick fans who signed up for bloody violence will surely be entertained. Without spoiling them here, some of these kills just really have to be seen to be believed, but trust me - they're amazing. As mostly practical effects are used for the murders in the movie, they all look fantastic and really well-done as well. It also certainly helps that the excellent score is reminiscent of classic John Carpenter movies, further adding to that classic slasher movie vibe.

As a refreshing return to the classic slasher movie format of years gone by, I thoroughly enjoyed my time watching the new horror flick. It also comes at the perfect time as we head into this year's Halloween season. Other big fans of the genre should check it out too, and hopefully we'll be seeing similar projects in the future from Hasty. Candy Corn is now available on Blu-ray and VOD outlets! Candy Corn comes to us from Epic Pictures.