By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Horror fans have been teased with the prospect of the latest horror anthology TRICK ‘R TREAT (2008) for what seems like forever. Initially, it was set for a Halloween 2007 theater release but without a declared reason why Warner Bros. pulled it from the schedule. It was kept on the back-burner with only scattered updates that made the anticipating public build expectations for a movie that they were unable to see. Finally, two years later, it finally made its way on a straight-to-DVD format, and though being denied the ability to see it on the big screen, one must still be happy that the delay is finally over.
The trailer hailed it as the best Halloween film in years. Though it may not be as great as advertised, it is a film that truly does not disappoint. Trick ’r Treat opens with a familiar CREEPSHOW feeling as comic book drawings for the upcoming tales are flashed in the opening credits.
Four original tales are interwoven and ultimately connect in a small town on Halloween night. Every character is one that captivates and the stories told though not terrifying are fun, inventive, and even a bit surprising.
The first tale depicts a demented school teacher Steven (Dylan Baker). He returns home as a young rude obese boy is stealing the chocolate he left for all of the trick-or-treaters. Instead of being angry, Steven encourages the boy to eat the candy. He gorges and ultimately dies a horrific and painful death. Steven brings the body of the child in the backyard and places him into an already dug hole.
As he begins to bury the body, Steven’s young son yells out the window and asks his father to come and carve with him. Steven agrees to as soon as he’s finished, but meanwhile his old drunk neighbor Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox) overhears the ruckus and asks what is going on. Steven quickly covers and offers a friendly “Happy Halloween,” which is responded to with a gruff “screw you.”
Later this develops into another story which follows Kreeg. It is very apparent that this old drunk hates Halloween. He doesn’t give the children candy who come to his door but only greets them with a vicious sneer. He wants nothing to do with the holiday itself. He would rather stay alone with his dog, his shotgun and a bottle of whisky watching television. As he sits on his couch flipping through the channels to find anything that isn’t Halloween related, a strange thing occurs. A very small child with a potato sack around his head shows up but is denied candy. This treater however isn’t one that’s easy to get rid of. Though Kreeg closes the door on him, he still appears in the house. He can climb up walls and onto ceilings. The Halloween lover has painted in blood all over Kreeg’s bedroom “trick or treat.” During a long battle, Kreeg pulls the sack off of the young boy revealing a demon. This however isn’t just an evil awful entity. It’s actually an embodiment of the holiday itself playing as a powerful reminder to spread the holiday cheer.
This same demon follows a young couple who have come home from a large Halloween parade. Henry (Tahmow Penikett) gleams like a child as he tries to cheer his less than enthusiastic wife Emma (Leslie Bibb). She like Kreeg is not a fan of Halloween. When he tries to get frisky, she demands that he takes the decorations down first. When he looks less than eager to and promises to do it tomorrow, she gets angry and tells him she’ll take them down herself. She angrily strips the sheets off the scarecrow setups but soon is greeted with the holiday demon who is none too pleased that she thinks so poorly of the holiday.
We soon meet awkward uncomfortable Laurie (Anna Paquin) who is preparing for her Halloween date. She and her three more confident friends meet up in a costume shop. Whereas Laurie chooses a more dignified Little Red Riding Hood costume, her sister and friends opt for more revealing Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle costumes. Laurie explains her nervousness to her sister Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith) who tries to offer some encouraging words.
Laurie wanders in the woods by herself where she encounters the mystery man. He soon reveals his teeth and sinks them deep into her neck. The end result is a cool twist with great special effects and an 80s horror appeal that at the same time remains original.
The last tale and by far the best follows a bunch of children who decide to investigate an old town legend. Years ago, the parents of the ‘special’ children in town sent them to a separate school on a separate bus. The difficulties of raising these kids and dealing with the townspeople who looked down upon them became too much and they paid the bus driver to chain the children to the seats and run the bus into the lake. The plan backfired on the driver however, and one of the children escape to the steering wheel and while the driver was in the back, the entire bus was driven over the cliff with everyone expected to be dead. No one had heard from the driver nor the kids ever again.
Pretty bully Marcy (Britt McKillip), the young nice popular boy Schrader (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), Chip (Alberto Ghisi) the chubby boy who is just happy to be tagging along and follower Sara (Isabelle Deluce) decide to pull a prank on the very eccentric idiot savant Rhonda (Samm Todd). For Halloween she placed in front of her house dozens of lit pumpkins. The gang of kids convince her to travel down to the lake with them so they can offer the jack-o-lanterns as offerings for the lost souls. She goes down with the kids and advises them that as long as the pumpkins remain lit they are protected. Soon, the children play a cruel prank on her but the plan goes awry and they are faced with a group of very unhappy zombies.
The make-up is especially fantastic in this tale. The acting is great and the story is very compelling. The legend would make for a great full-length movie if properly done. It could definitely be something the likes of Village of the Damned or The Children.
In the end, the production was fantastic. Every tale holds the attention and the way in which they are tied together is fascinating. The creators went to great effort to ensure that the nostalgic 80s vibe of the “Creepshow” and “Night of the Demons” era holds throughout. It isn’t a terrifying horror film nor is it one that would make anyone lose sleep. There are a few isolated creepy moments but more than anything this is a great movie to watch on Halloween when there are a mix of horror fans and those who scare easily.
It’s sad that while the Saw franchise is shoved down the throats of everyone on a yearly basis, “Trick ‘r Treat” missed its moment on the big screen. Overall, it’s definitely one to watch and one that horror fans will enjoy immensely.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
