Halloween pits confectionary brands against each other in a bonanza battle worth millions of dollars. Imagine Entertainment and juicy fruit gum brand, Gushers, have risen to the challenge with a nine-minute film that captures Gen Z’s love for horror and absurdity.

The brand is built around Gushers’ ’90s Fruitheads commercial, infamous for fuelling nightmares. Now it is a genuine horror film starring award-winning actor, Bradley Whitford, and viral creator, Chester Collins, directed by Mike Diva and featuring the original commercial in a leading role.

In the film called FruitHead, the unlucky boy actor who was cursed by the ‘90s TVC director to grow a real strawberry head. Now a grown man played by Collins, he wreaks his revenge on the director played by Whitford.

Stephanie Lensing, brand experience manager for Gushers at General Mills, said in the General Mills campaign blog, “The Fruitheads ad has lived rent-free in the heads of Gushers fans for nearly 30 years, and they still can’t stop talking about it on social media. So, this Halloween, we’re finally giving them what they want with a reimagining of that ’90s ad with thrills and a bit of the humour our fans love from Gushers.”

Before its commercial run on YouTube and Gushers.com/fruithead-horror, the film debuted at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, where the sweets were offered in theatre-style boxes in stores to enhance the horror thrill.