Fans waited two years for the release of Trick ‘R Treat and Toronto After Dark was able to bring them a big screen showing of the picture before its DVD release.
The film is comprised of four interwoven tales that take place on Halloween in a small American town. The stories feature a tradition-loving little monster, undead children, a serial killing principal and a flesh-hungry beast seeking its next victim. Unlike most horror anthologies, the stories intersect each other as characters cross paths before meeting their fate.
Writer/director Michael Dougherty admits the film is a series of short stories strung together, which is true of most horror collections; however, the others tend to work better because they are shown in sequence rather than weaved between each other for the span of the film. The individual tales are interesting, but their impact is lost in the transitions.
The atmosphere created is ideal, as it’s dark but does not appear to be too out of the ordinary. Also, the repeated use of the light of jack-o’-lanterns to light the scenes adds to the Halloween mood while creating eerie shadows and dark spots. The special monster effects are quite good with the dead children and there’s a really good werewolf transformation sequence.
The opening comic book-style sequence is reminiscent of some of the classic horror anthologies that vacate rental shelves annually, such as Creepshow, which was very appealing. The timeline is somewhat confused as it goes to “earlier” and then “earlier” again – a distinction of “even earlier” or just a seamless continuation of the backtrack would have worked better.
The most compelling story is definitely the one featuring Sam, the adorable but vicious pumpkin-headed child. He’s quite a riveting character with his supernatural abilities and easily amused demeanour. Also, the best line of the entire film is delivered when his victim thinks the fight is over only to discover Sam is not so easily defeated; saying what anybody in his position would, the still possible victim sighs, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Trick ‘R Treat may not make it to the ranks of classic horror anthologies, but it will definitely become a Halloween staple for many. Dougherty expressed a desire to see more original horror films and at that he has at least succeeded in creating his own. In his own words, “It’s not five 25 year olds playing 17 year olds going into the woods and getting killed” and “it’s not a remake.”
Imagery à la carte 