Burger King's Friday The 13th Horror 'Movie' Goes All In On The Genre
Burger King is embracing all things spooky this season. The fast food chain previously announced that its new Trick Or Heat Meal would come out on unlucky Friday 13. However, Burger King is giving customers more than just the return of the Ghost Pepper Whopper and the arrival of its Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries in honor of this spooky day. It's also giving them a 60-second horror movie. If you're a fan of both scary films and Whoppers, then never mind the date — this is your lucky day.
According to a press release from the fast food giant, Burger King and its agency partner, Dentsu Creative, have teamed up with Wild Gift Content and director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Gomez-Rejon is no stranger to horror; he received an Emmy nomination for his work on "American Horror Story: Coven." He explained, "I love short films and I love horror, so I jumped at the chance to team up with Burger King and Dentsu Creative on the Ghost Pepper Whopper Halloween campaign. I had a blast revisiting the genre for the first time since my 'AHS' days, and directing a horror short starring the Ghost Pepper Whopper."
According to Dentsu Creative ACD Andrew Pattee, "Alfonso's a master at giving a wink of camp while leaning into the classic horror tropes we all love." This short film has all that and more, so if you're a horror movie aficionado like Gomez-Rejon, you're going to have plenty of fun with this quick flick.
Are you ready to answer Burger King's call?
Burger King's short horror film, "The Call," is chock-full of tiny details and hidden Easter eggs that only true horror buffs (and Burger King fanatics) will notice. Recognize the car featured in the short film? It appeared in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Do you remember that melody from somewhere? That's Burger King's "Whopper" jingle — spook-ified, of course. This movie expertly blends a love for the fast food favorite and a little pre-Halloween fun.
This kind of collaboration isn't new for the brand. According to the vice president of marketing communications for Burger King North America, Zahra Nurani, "For years, Burger King has brought our guests exciting and delicious ways to celebrate Halloween. While our menu innovations are at the forefront of these efforts — like Ghost Pepper Whopper and Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries — we are always looking for new ways to make spooky season even more fun and memorable at BK."
If you love being a bit scared almost as much as you love a good Chicken Fry, then you can get in on the action yourself. "We don't want Burger King fans to just watch the story — we want them to experience it for themselves," Andrew Pattee said. "So we're spreading the scare by daring fans to answer the call IRL." Starting on October 13, you can visit TheCall.BK.com to get your own personalized spooky phone call.