Blood Streams - Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo

It seems like an honest to God missed opportunity that in the just over 40 years since Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc gang meddled with masked monsters for the first time that in all those years, the iconic characters of Mystery Inc never starred in a proper Halloween special.

Thankfully, that has been addressed in the just-released Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo, a new feature-length adventure, which sees the gang team up with Elvira herself to solve the mystery of demonic pumpkin creatures attacking the town of Crystal Cove. Throw in extended cameos from Bill Nye and Batman's spookiest villain, The Scarecrow, a bizarre and hilarious subplot where Daphne tries to steal Elvira's identity and an indeed inspired by Mad Max Fury Road second act that plays out entirely as a high-speed car chase and you've got nothing short of one of the most satisfying modern-day Scooby efforts (with no disrespect meant to the times they hung out with Kiss or Bobby Flay).

This year in between horror films, I've made a point to revisit several of my favorite Halloween specials from childhood. I'm happy to report that Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo is worthy of inclusion in the holy pantheon of Garfield's Halloween Adventure, my high-water mark for the form.

If you've got kids in your life that you're looking to expose to gateway horror gently or you're just looking for a nice wholesome blast of nostalgia one night this October, you could do far worse. And if you have any affection for Shaggy, Scooby, and the gang, its hard to imagine Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo not putting a smile on your face and putting you in spooky spirits. Highly recommended, and from a horror and heavy metal newsletter no less.

Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo is rentable on all VOD rental services and out on DVD and blu-ray now.