Rachael Leigh Cook Says Spirit Halloween Is the First Movie She Did for Her Kids: 'Really Excited'
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Rachel Leigh Cook and daughter Charlotte in 2021
Rachael Leigh Cook's filmography dates back to 1995, when she made her movie debut in The Baby-Sitters Club and Tom and Huck. But her latest project marks a big first.
The actress, who recently celebrated her 43rd birthday, opens up to PEOPLE about her new family Halloween flick Spirit Halloween: The Movie, in which she plays the mother of a teenage boy who locks himself inside a Spirit Halloween store with two friends — only to face evil forces they have to band together to fight off.
And according to Cook, it's the first film she has done for her two kids: son Theodore Vigo, 7, and daughter Charlotte Easton, 9.
"I was really excited to show it to them because they really wanted me to do the movie," Cook says of Spirit Halloween, which costars veteran actors Christopher Lloyd and Marla Gibbs, as well as Donovan Colan, Marissa Reyes, Jaiden J. Smith and Dylan Frankel.
Scary Fun LLC Rachael Leigh Cook in Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)
"And I know that every actor, [like] myself, in their 40s is like, 'I made this one for the kids.' But this is my first 'I made one for the kids' moment," she adds.
And while Charlotte thought the movie "was awesome," Theodore "said it was a little scary, but he's 7," Cook notes.
"That's just my kids," she adds. "Everyone should just take temperature with their kids and what their tolerance is for these things."
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Strike Back Studios Poster for Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)
An official synopsis for Spirit Halloween reads, "When a new Spirit Halloween store opens in a deserted strip mall, three middle-school friends who think they've outgrown trick-or-treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night."
"But they soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters," the synopsis adds. "The kids will need to embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves."
Cook tells PEOPLE that part of what drew her to making the film is that it felt "effortlessly classic" and because "it has that organically nostalgic feel because it takes place in a town that doesn't feel like it's covered in billboards."
She also has made multiple Christmas films — including Hallmark's Cross Country Christmas (2020) and Tis the Season to Be Merry (2021) — and felt like tackling Halloween, especially considering her personal appreciation for the spooky holiday.
"I love Halloween," Cook says. "I think it's, after Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, because I get to put my kids in cute costumes."
Cook says this is the first year her daughter Charlotte — who recently celebrated her 9th birthday with friends, with a limo ride and trip to the Cheesecake Factory! — wants to dress up as "something scary" for Halloween: Roblox character Jenna the Killer.
"I was like, 'That sounds aggressive. You just turned 9, but okay. I'm not getting in trouble around here. Be a nice kid,' " the actress jokes. "But no, it's funny."
As for their trick-or-treating plans, Cook says, "We'll go around. They'll get a bunch of candy. I'll have to tell them not to eat it. They'll be up too late and a little bit sugar high."
"They'll get mad at me. I'll yell at them to go to bed and then eventually they will. That's basically our tradition. That's what we do," she quips.
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Cook finalized her divorce from now-ex-husband Daniel Gillies in March 2021 after more than 16 years of marriage.
She later revealed she had a boyfriend in September 2020, just over a year after she and actor Gillies, 46, announced their split.
And asked whether she has any plans to add to her family again one day, she tells PEOPLE, "I don't see it for me" — but she isn't 100 percent sure.
"I gotta watch out for my own spontaneous side, and I gotta make that decision with eyes wide open. And my boyfriend has to realize how totally insane kids can be, I think, in person a little bit more before we can think about making that step," Cook says.
Spirit Halloween: The Movie is now streaming on VOD.
