If you were to ask any horror fan what their favorite time of the year is, Halloween would be the exact response. It's a night that everyone can dress up in costumes and masks to be someone or something else. Adults usually throw costume parties, teens usually have sex or get killed by some guy wearing a William Shatner mask, and kids go trick or treating for candy that probably has razor blades in it. The point is that the night brings great power. Halloween was seen as a night where the spirits would return to Earth. It's also a night where scaring people is such a delight. I personally love scaring the hell out of trick or treaters. In the film Trick 'r Treat however, Halloween truly brings out the things that go bump in the night.
PLOT
Trick 'r Treat is basically a collection of four horror stories all happening on Halloween night. In the end, all of the stories come together. A school principal likes to masquerade as a killer. Some college girls are going to an outdoor party with some lucky guys that turns out to be more than they bargained for. Some kids arrive to a rock quarry to uncover the truth of the Halloween school bus massacre. And an old man is terrorized by a mysterious trick or treater.
REVIEW
Trick 'r Treat has got to be not only the best horror anthology movie that I've seen in a very long time, but also the best Halloween movie in the last twenty years. The story and script by Michael Dougherty is fantastic. I really dug all of the stories and thought that they all came together nicely. This film is just a whole lot of fun. Also, I really enjoyed the eighties vibe of the film. This definitely seems like the kinda horror movie that we would have seen in that time. It reminded me a lot of Creepshow and Tales From The Crypt.
There's a lot that I loved in the film, but I'm afraid that I will spoil it if I get to rambling on with what I loved. This review may contain minor spoilers, so I will try to steer away from some of the twists that happen. Yes, there are some twists and turns in Trick 'r Treat and I must say that they work really well.
The story about the psychotic school principal actually had me laughing. I have to talk about this part of the movie. Okay, so the chubby kid from Bad Santa is in this story. He takes candy from the "friendly" Mr. Wilkins and it turned out that the candy is poisoned. All of a sudden, this kid starts puking. I don't know why and it's probably going to sound like I'm a really fucked up person, but I laughed. I don't know, but something about that sequence amused me. I guess because the kid was a vandal and plus he didn't check his candy before eating it. A valuable lesson could be learned here. It kinda reminded me of the end of Night of the Demons when the asshole old man ate candy with a razor blade in it. Also, the ending was pretty twisted.
I absolutely loved the story about the college girls going to a Halloween party. This story is actually in my opinion the best tale of the four mainly because of the twist ending that I found to be fucking awesome! All I will say is that John Landis would love it. Also Anna Paquin looked fucking hot even in the end before her "first time". I dug the homage to the tale Little Red Riding Hood a lot in this one. Man, that wolf is for one hell of a hard on! Again, sorry if I spoiled this one. I really couldn't help myself.
The tale of the children trying to bring back the deceased children that were killed in the school bus was also a cool one. Man, that one little girl was a bitch. I loved the end of the tale though. What can I say? Payback is an even bigger bitch.
The last story with the grumpy old man was a pretty good one too. I love how this guy scares trick or treaters away by dressing his dog up in a costume with glowing yellow eyes. I so have to try that one sometime. Then, there's that toddler sized trick or treater with the weird mask on. We do get to see what's under that mask, which was a cool surprise. Chucky would be jealous.
The special fx for the movie were handled great. We get an awesome monster transformation sequence, kid puking, severed head, stabbing with a sharpened lolli pop, some undead children that are pretty creepy looking, and the greatest puppet monster since Child's Play. Great stuff in the fx department.
The cinematography was also amazing with the low key lighting that gave the film a creepy atmosphere in the spirit of the holiday. All of the Halloween stuff looked awesome too. I was also really digging the acting and thought everybody did a great job. Michael Dougherty also directed the movie really well. I would have to say that everything worked in this movie for me. I can't think of any complaints I have.
Overall, Trick 'r Treat is a must see horror film. Best horror anthology and Halloween movie to come out in a very long time. We could use more fun horror movies like this. This film is definitely a treat that is actually safe to sink your teeth into. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Viagra and Marijuana to place in the kiddies' candy this year. I fucking love Halloween.
RATING
4/4 STABS