By Geno McGahee
The 1980s were a very special time for film and music. I was and am a big fan of heavy metal and the link between that and horror films is undeniable and great. At this time, there was a hysteria amongst parents and bible thumpers concerning heavy metal and that was exploited through movies like TRICK OR TREAT and BLACK ROSES. There was a genuine concern that there were messages in the music, urging children to kill themselves and others. It actually led to a lawsuit against Judas Priest when one kid killed himself and another tried to. Thankfully, reason prevailed and the band made it through unscathed but that was the time and that was the madness that was rampant.
TRICK OR TREAT played with the fears of the insane parents and brought to life their worst fears. A heavy metal god is able to come back from the dead to corrupt and kill teens. Eddie (Marc Price) is a bullied teen that is attracted to the message of defiance that metal provided. His metal god is Sammi Curr (Tony Fields). With his mother unable to understand him and his classmates being tools, he follows the teachings of Curr and enjoys his stance against the system. When Curr stands against the government and says that “we’ll take you down,” he rejoices, but then learns that his idol died in a hotel fire. It devastates him and brings him to one of his only friends, a DJ of metal, Nuke (Gene Simmons).
Nuke gives Eddie an album of never released music by the late Curr and when he brings it home to listen to it, it begins to talk to him. After being bullied one too many times, a resolution is reached when Curr tells Eddie that it is time for revenge. It is nice to see the bullies put into their place and Eddie really enjoys the power. The music is awesome too. Fastway’s music fits the film, but it’s hard to match the voice to Tony Fields. He has some great moves and he does well making mean faces, but the voice just doesn’t match his face. In BLACK ROSES, it was easy to see the actor singing, but here, it’s hard to believe.
The revenge is only part of the game. Curr killed himself to get this ability to return and he uses electricity like Horace Pinker from SHOCKER. Eddie tries desperately to stop the monster that he unleashed on his classmates, but there is blood to be spilled. Curr plays the guitar, using it to blast the concert-goers. It is very amusing.
I also want to note that Ozzy Osbourne plays a reverend in this and asks why bands can’t just sing about love and not sex and violence. At this time, Ozzy was the biggest name in metal and known for biting a head off of a bat and singing about the devil with regularity. It was funny to see him in the role and it was another jab at the religious nuts and fanatical parents that thought that metal was a true danger.
TRICK OR TREAT is a great film that really captures the madness that was the 1980s. Being a child of the 80s, it really does bring back a lot of great memories. Any and all metal heads of that time will love this film and I was and am a metal head. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 7.5/10
