Tyler Perry pairing his best-known character with Halloween is nothing short of genius in theory. In execution, the plot is as threadbare as a Scary Movie entry and cannot generate enough interest to outlast its 103-minute running time. 

Madea’s nephew Brian (Perry, not in drag), is struggling as the single parent of a teenage daughter (Diamond White). On Halloween, she plots with her scantily clad friends to go to an annual party thrown by the weirdest frat ever, which is represented by their president, played by a famous YouTuber named Yousef Erakat. Since Brian has to leave town, he enlists Madea and friends to teenager-sit. The resulting antics revolve around scaring old people, and are occasionally hilarious. 

Perry still wedges in a message—he focuses on parenting—but it kind of gets lost in an admittedly riotous discussion of discipline verging on child abuse. But the movie simply runs out of narrative steam somewhere amid the fake scares. The idea of A Madea Halloween retains its value; I would regularly watch an annual holiday special on TV. (Imagine the plethora of awesome guest stars!) As a feature film, the idea is more trick than treat.