Friday Download: The Movie Review

4 stars for this cheerful Halloween romp.

Friday Download: The Movie, aka Up All Night is written by Toby Davis (That Mitchell and Webb Look, Pixelface), directed by John Henderson (The Borrowers, Takes of the Riverbank) and is a movie spin off from the hit CBBC kids show Friday Download.

The Friday Download presenters are off on their summer holidays, so they happily load themselves into a borrowed van and off they go. Taking it in turns to drive, the gang, Richard (Richard Wisker – Tracy Beaker Returns), Dionne (Dionne Bromfield), Shannon (Shannon Flynn – Waterloo Road, Dani’s Castle), George (George Sear – Evermore) and Bobby (Bobby Lockwood – Wolfblood, House of Anubis) head for the destination picked by Richard, the Sunday Meadows campsite. Unfortunately when they arrive they discover that this particular campsite also doubles as a graveyard.

Understandably not too keen on the venue, they decide that the Aphrodite Spa would be much more to their liking, so they programme it into their sat navs and set off. Before long though, the sat nav begins to instruct them to turn round, and having no maps other than one of Paris they get lost in the fog and eventually end up in a ditch.

This is the point where they make the decision to visit the nearby creepy old mansion for help. The owners Caleb (Tyger Drew-Honey – Outnumbered, Cuckoo) and Clara (Louisa Connolly Burnham – Wolfblood, House of Anubis) seem very nice and offer to let them stay for the night, but the house is decidedly strange and all manner of supernatural experiences besiege them.

The story is enjoyable and culminates in a real feel good festival, put on by the Friday Download gang and featuring teen heartthrobs The Vamps and Britain’s Got Talent sensation Bars and Melody.

This ticks all the boxes for a kids Halloween film, familiar faces in unfamiliar situations, fun and music and just enough mild peril to make you feel spooky.

There are lots of cameos from well known actors too, including David Mitchell (Peep Show, That Michell and Webb Look) as the bungling local constabulary, Angus Barnett (Hugo, Pirates of the Caribbean) as the evil Mr Peck and Marcus Brigstocke (Sorry I’ve Got No Head).