The new movieTreasure Trackers, directed by Drew and Nate Garcia, joins a longstanding tradition of Halloween fare for kids. There are no big-name stars nor spectacular effects. Yet, this charming B-movie is well-made and entertaining and perfect for younger viewers with a sense of adventure. While its target audience are kids, there might be enough nostalgia here for adults to enjoy, despite the silliness of the whole thing.

Treasure Trackers focuses on three middle school kids who live the small town of Cartersville. A local legend involving a witch, two brothers and some missing gold drives the Halloween-themed adventure along. Older viewers might find the story a little thin, but Treasure Trackers is not really for them. Like Mr. Boogedy, The Worst Witch and dozens of other kids’ films in the decades that followed, this movie is meant for young viewers to fall in love with. It’s a low-stakes movie, and the horror elements (to use the term liberally) never reach for full-on terror, instead aiming for a creepy and spooky vibe. This makes it a perfect family movie or, even better, something for the kids to watch while adults or babysitters turn their attention elsewhere. What Treasure Trackers lacks in recognizable celebrities or big-budget special effects it more than makes up for with its heart.

Treasure Trackers Focuses on Kids Going on a Classic Adventure

The Cast Do a Good Job With Their Simple and Familiar Characters

Leah Weaver (Charity Rose) is a middle-schooler who lived in California with her parents, until her mother died. Her father Jack (Matthew Terricone), struggling to find work, dropped her off to stay with her Aunt Cynthia (Jaymee Vowell) in Cartersville. Naturally, Leah isn’t excited about being “ditched” in a small town where she doesn’t know anyone. On her first day of school, she ends up in “after-school reflection” (read: detention) when she steps in to prevent Marshy (Sean Jay) from being beaten up by the school bully Rhett (Sam Coffelt).

While in the not-detention detention, she meets Tessa (Amelia Salazar) who is also “reflecting” during after school hours. Marshy is also there, but only because he enjoys helping out in the library when class is over. While the three are busy “reflecting,” a group of older kids helped by Rhett steal Silas Carter’s Diary, which was written by one of the two brothers who founded the town. Silas was, of course, the “evil” of the two brothers. After killing his brother Bob over a bunch of gold bars, Silas was cursed, and the treasure was lost. Thus, Tessa, Leah and Marshy become the titular trackers of treasure as they race against the older teens to stop them from finding the gold.

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Treasure Trackers’ young cast is green, but what they lack in experience or poise is made up for with charm. Rose has the toughest role, balancing her sense of abandonment by her father with the sense of adventure and budding friendship Leah finds in Cartersville. Needless to say, she does a good job in the starring role. Rose, Salazar and Jay are authentically kids, which only makes younger viewers care about them.

Even the antagonists aren’t all that villainous. They’re antagonistic and cruel in the way rowdy teens would be, as opposed to being written like adult monsters who just so happen to still go to school. Unlike the bullies in Stephen King’s stories, Chester (Cooper Tomlinson) doesn’t try to murder any of the nerdy protagonists. Tomlinson and his fellow bullies play their parts to perfection without needing to go overboard. This ensures that Treasure Trackers is a low-stakes, feel-good story that makes sure its audience is comfortable.

Viewers Have to Understand What Kind of Movie Treasure Trackers Is

The Story Is a Little Thin, but That’s by Design

Along with fitting into a legacy of scary kids’ movies, Treasure Trackers has an almost Amblin-like quality to it. The protagonists sneak out after hours, defy parents and teachers, all while trying to find a local treasure to destroy it. While Leah does, at first, wants to keep Silas’ gold so her father no longer has to take far-off jobs, that doesn’t last long. Because the treasure is cursed, Leah, Tessa and Marshy understand that they need to destroy it in order to protect the town. While older viewers might find Treasure Trackers a little thin, it’s not supposed to be that serious or complex of a movie in the first place.

Case in point: the evil, cursed brother died after a tree fell on him, which is hilarious every time it’s mentioned. Similarly, despite other trackers of treasure looking for Silas’s gold for over two centuries, none of them have ever examined the Witches’ Circle in the center of the woods, which was conspicuously very near the same tree that crushed Silas. What’s more, this specific spot is itself marked with a very silly plaque. As Treasure Trackers goes on, the film’s heroes must contend with a witch, a talking raven and, inexplicably, a magma flow. Interestingly, this is the only time their lives are in danger in the whole movie.

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If Treasure Trackers’ world-building and scares seem shallow and childish, that’s because they were meant to be that way. The silliness of the entire premise and the events that follow are intentional and part of what makes the movie such a good comfort-watch. Unlike the comparatively edgier The Goonies or existential fantasies like The Neverending Story, there are few subtleties or complexities in Treasure Trackers. This could lead older viewers to scoff or, even worse, become bored with the movie. However, the target audience for Treasure Trackers are kids. The movie doesn’t talk down to them, but it also isn’t meant to challenge them either.

Treasure Trackers Feels Like a Movie Out of Time in the Streaming Age

The Movie Is a Throwback to a Now-Forgotten Kind of Kids’ Entertainment

Ever since the advent of streaming, the entertainment landscape has been in a constant flux. Films that are supposed to be surefire winners at the box office underperform or even flop, regardless of quality. Traditional broadcast and cable television are also struggling, which is where Treasure Trackers would’ve thrived had it been made a few years ago. This is not the kind of movie kids or their parents would actively seek out to watch in a cinema. Rather, it’s the sort of hidden gem kids used to find on either the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon on a random night. The only difference now is that kids and curious parents would stumble upon Treasure Trackers on streaming rather than by channel surfing.

Combined with its old-school execution, style and influences, Treasure Trackers has a quaint charm about it, even if the trailer doesn’t effectively capture it. Despite the spooky Halloween setting, the movie is bright and colorful. This was an intentional choice by the Garcia brothers. As Drew Garcia explained in the movie’s production notes:

Drew Garcia:
We wanted every frame to feel steeped in that spooky, fun Halloween vibe. This meant leaning into rich, autumnal colors, lots of shadows, and that perfect balance of playful and eerie in the lighting.

Treasure Trackers isn’t meant to be a horror film or even a thriller. It’s a childlike and whimsical adventure that welcomes viewers of all ages, but with preteens being the priority. It’s the kind of Halloween special that would’ve aired on a kids’ programming bloc back in the day. Unfortunately, such movies are rarely if ever made these days. By hearkening back to these kinds of movies and excelling within the subgenre’s limits, Treasure Trackers succeeded and achieved its nostalgic goals.

Treasure Trackers Is a Cute B-Movie for Kids With a Timeless Story

The Movie Doesn’t Do More Than Entertain Audiences, and That’s Alright

For as long as there have been movies, a bigger budget doesn’t always mean a better film. Treasure Trackers is not a big-budget spectacle packed with recognizable stars or out-of-this-world effects. Instead, it’s a grounded spooky tale with promising young talent that tells an empowering story about friendship and adventure. Even though treasure is the goal, riches are not. The heroes of the piece are more concerned with helping each other and preventing curse-related disaster than getting the gold.

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What makes Treasure Trackers refreshing is that it’s a story with a lack of violence that’s hard to find in modern films. There are stakes, both personal and social, and the characters make them matter to the audience. However, there isn’t anything truly scary, nor do the heroes and villains resort to physical violence to solve problems. While the film has a message and moral, it’s not preachy nor over-the-top in how it delivers it. The primary motivation for the filmmakers and cast is to ensure the viewers are engaged and having fun, and nothing more. At its worst, Treasure Trackers may lack depth, especially when compared to its

Treasure Trackers (2024)

A trio of misfit middle schoolers band together to investigate their small town’s mythic treasure, only to uncover a Halloween curse.

Studio

Max

Run Time

94 minutes

Director

Drew Garcia, Nathan Garcia

Cast

Charity Rose, Amelia Salazar, Sean Jay, Kim Sandwich

Pros

• A cute story for all ages without violence or big scares but enough adventure to hold viewers’ attention.
• The film keeps its focus on the characters kids will enjoy without getting bogged down in lore or plot
• A comfortable watch that captures a Halloween vibe without delving into horror and darkness.

Cons

• The story is thin and silly in a way kids might like, but older viewers could end up bored.
• The film makes the most of its budget, but limitations are clear in the big VFX sequences.
• The lack of big names may make the film a hard-sell for the parents of its target audience.

contemporaries. However, it does more than enough to get its point across, and that’s really all viewers could ask for.

Treasure Trackers is available to rent or purchase on digital streaming.