One Night In October bills itself as The Purge meets Creepshow. Like Creepshow, it is an anthology film. And one of the characters does wear a mask that looks like one from The Purge films, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Presenting three stories written and directed by Christopher M. Carter, One Night In October isn’t a traditional anthology. There’s no connecting story and we cut back and forth between the three tales. The only connection is they’re supposed to be happening on the same night. They also don’t have individual names or credits.

Story One – A home invasion goes terribly wrong when thieves break to find out their intended victim (Jessica Morgan) isn’t the pushover they thought she’d be. This has been done a million times before in everything from H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Terrible Old Man” to features like Killers Within and Don’t Breath. Apart from some nice effects this really isn’t anything special.

Story 2 – A group of teens trespass in a cornfield and mess with things they shouldn’t. Pretty soon The Scarecrow (Bret Linden) a large masked figure with a large ax is making them regret that decision. Charlie (Kaitlan Renee) and Kate (Casey Norman) try to fight back, but there’s more going on than it seems.

This segment is a bit better but still suffers from over-familiarity. And having it end with a talky exposition dump where it should have had action ends it on a dull note.

Story 3 – Emma (Rachel Netherton) and Dominic (Nathan O. Miller) have a very strange relationship. And a stalker is about to make it stranger.

This segment actually works. It’s obvious from the start the two want to be together but something is preventing it. Something very strange. The details are laid out in a logical, and bloody, fashion and it all works nicely. If the other two had been like this I’d have been much happier watching it.

Carter knows what he’s doing from a technical standpoint. One Night In October looks good. And while there are some off-screen kills there’s still plenty of practical gore on the screen. But the script is just too generic and predictable to keep our interest. Especially with all the other seasonal anthologies such as Holiday Hell that are either out or on the horizon.

If he can tighten up his writing or finds a co-writer for his next attempt he should have something worth recommending. But One Night In October is, at best, watchable.

Wild Eye will release One Night In October to DVD and Digital October 15. Check the film’s Facebook page for updates.