Trick 'r Treat

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Halloween 2017

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Screening Suggestion

Living in the realm of anthology films, 'Trick r' Treat' could easily be seen as a modernized version of 'Creepshow'. Here we have a Halloween night in a small town with four separate stories taking place, yet blending together. It's almost done in a 'Pulp Fiction' style too, in that it reverts back to moments from earlier in the movie, instead of just being one continuous story.

It starts with an intro to our little anti-hero, Sam, as he makes his first kill, setting the mood of the film. The opening credits roll, featuring comic book art, again, reminiscent of 'Creepshow'. The film unfolds, and we're given our four stories with varying twists and turns, and thankfully, a lot of horror done right. As opposed to the ghastly gore and torture porn, or evil demonic spirits that plague cinema these days (although torture porn has eased up a bit), this gets back to the roots of what makes scary and creepy stuff fun. But don't fret, bloodhounds. There's plenty here, it's just done somewhat more effectively.

The four stories in question involve a father and his son who have a dark secret, a group of kids investigating an urban legend, Anna Paquin and her friends looking for a man for her, and a crotchety old man with a hatred for the holiday. I have to admire that the four stories also kinda follow their own sub-horror genre. There's a comedy, a ghost story, a "what-a-twist" and essentially a slasher, where Sam comes in.

Sam is someone you may have seen around on various horror merchandise as one of the new faces of horror, along with Jigsaw and... I dunno, I guess Annabelle? His whole thing is that he keeps Halloween tradition alive and essentially does away with whoever doesn't follow it. Check your candy, leave the jack o lanterns lit, be sure to hand out candy etc. He's ever present, but really brings his creepy little ass in the final story.

With that said, it's practically a flip of the coin for me between this and 'Tales of Halloween'. Both have their share of goodness. However, I have to give 'Trick r' Treat' the credit of coming onto the scene and resurrecting the idea of a horror anthology; something that pretty much died with 'Tales from the Hood' (which I still don't think is that awful) back in 1995. Thanks to this, we have other movies carrying it on. A Halloween anthology is always a lot of fun with just the right amount of disturbing material attached to it. Aside from 'Creepshow', this pretty much is your quintessential Halloween-themed anthology.

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