Review: Illumination’s “Sing: Thriller” Halloween Special

Universal-owned animation studio Illumination surprised fans with a Halloween special based on its popular Sing franchise. The special, Sing: Thriller, was released on Netflix this Wednesday and announced the day before.

The 11-minute short sees the cast and characters reenact scenes from the music video for the famous 1983 Michael Jackson song “Thriller.” Many of the actors, such as Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly, return for the special. Garth Jennings, director of the first two films, also returns to direct and voice the character Ms. Crawly.

So is Sing: Thriller full of spooky songs and terrifying tunes? Let’s find out.

The special begins with the theater troop performing a play at the theater. We see many cameos in the crowd, including a surprise return of fan-favorite Mike the Mouse from the first Sing movie, who was originally voiced by Seth McFarlane. They put on a show about vegetable zombies created by a mad scientist while singing a cover of the song Thriller.

After the show, the gang begins to head out for a Halloween party. However, Buster Moon sees a report of a lab accident on television. They all leave and come across the chemical spill, which happens to be near the party. Once they arrive, they see that just about everyone has been turned into zombies from the toxic chemicals. 

The group of zombies sing Thriller and repeat the choreography associated with the song. Only Buster and Ms. Crawly are not affected. They escape on a boat but are then attacked by a giant octopus tentacle, and Moon wakes up, realizing a falling prop has knocked him out. They leave for the party, but not before hinting that Ms. Crawly may be a zombie.



This special feels more like a holdover for the upcoming Sing 3 rather than a dedicated special. While the series is known for having multiple songs, this special only has one. It was a missed opportunity not to have more appropriate songs like Flip City by Glenn Frey or Sweet Dreams by Jethro Tull.

The 11-minute runtime barely gives enough time for a coherent story. It mostly sings and dances to the same song on multiple occasions. Illumination’s neighbor, DreamWorks, released a Halloween special, The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist, earlier this month with a 24-minute runtime—more than enough to give a satisfying story.



Overall Rating: 5/10

While the visuals are really great this special feels way more style over substance. Fans of the movies may enjoy it but if you are looking for something that feels like it has more effort put into it you can check out the The Bad Guys Haunted Heist Halloween special on Netflix.

What do you think? Did you enjoy the special? Should it have had a longer runtime? Should it have had more than just one song on repeat? Let us know your thoughts.