After an exhaustively terrible series of films I was finally treated to this relatively unknown but widely reviewed piece of film stuff, Trick 'r Treat. Hailing from 2007, this film garnered little popular acclaim but was nearly unanimously well received by critics. I had actually not heard of it until recently, and that is a damn shame, because I absolutely loved this picture.
More a series of vignettes than an actual film, Trick 'r Treat features a few short but sweet scenes, all intertwined around one time-line and all set within one town. The stories have little effect on each other, but could function effectively as their own short films if viewed independently. No one section is weaker than any of the others. Despite being a collage of creepy Halloween stories, there is no one element that brings it down. Contained within you will find such glorious cliches as the serial killer principal, the old man with a shady past, the macabre town legend, a grim scavenger hunt, and even a squadron of horny women in slutty costumes. Yet nothing feels forced.
Trick 'r Treat simply could not exist were it not for the massive foundation of horror films that precede it, from the chilling to the creepy to the campy. We see shades here of slasher movies, stalker films, monster movies, and even television Halloween specials. Trick 'r Treat is as much a wonderful horror sampler as it is an homage to the entire genre. However, it is not a satire. It is a celebration! A film cartoonish at times in its portrayal of Halloween movies, but played entirely straight and without an ounce of pretension.
Coming out almost as strongly as the beautiful cinematography and rambunctiously creepy atmosphere is the constant but elegantly placed score. The music ranges from creepy classics to Marilyn Manson to borrowed pieces from other genre films, and the piano is channeling Danny Elfman's work in The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Shirley Walker's work on Batman: The Animated Series. A well-balanced addition to the film's imagery.
It is rare that a film of any genre can find the sweet spot between genuinely scary, and genuinely funny, but this one does, and it does it very well. With a very limited amount of time to establish any of its characters it still makes you root for some and against others, care about what happens in the story, and allows for both humor and terror to flow naturally around them. Featuring some dynamite performances by Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox, as well as the introduction of actress Samm Todd who plays Rhonda, and who I am hoping will continue to act. Trick 'r Treat appears to be her only film credit, but she absolutely stole the show in this picture.
My one concern here is that Trick 'r Treat is not a great film, by usual standards. It won't win any awards, it won't be considered a classic of cinema, and it doesn't have anything important to say. However, for a Halloween film, an annual tradition of fun and fright, this movie is irreplaceable. It feels much more like a television holiday special than a piece of real cinema. This is the only area in which Trick 'r Treat loses points and gets the score brought down. If I was reviewing on Halloween it would get a perfect rating, and I plan to start watching it annually starting next Halloween, but I can't in good conscience give it a perfect score. If, however, you are a horror fan, you will love it.
Actually scary, actually funny, very well written, and wonderfully atmospheric, I recommend Trick 'r Treat to anyone who has ever loved Halloween movies, or just loved the holiday itself. It's sweeter than a Snickers bar full of razor blades. 4 stars, out of 5.
**** out of *****
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