Film Review: Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Written and Directed by:Michael Dougherty
Release Date: October 2009

Review by: Rick Romanowski

It’s very rare to see an original horror film these days let alone an original film about the spirit of Halloween. There have been a few but they haven’t even scratched the surface of the true meaning of Halloween. Trick r’ Treat is one of those movies that blew my mind away and did not disappoint me all the way through. The movie is about interconnecting stories that all happen on the same night; a couple who blows out the pumpkin before Halloween is done, a school teacher who happens to be a killer, a group of kids who play a prank that’s gone too far, a young woman who is stalked by a mysterious man, a curmudgeonly old man is visited by a small little trick-or-treater. One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie was that it was almost like a fair tale… the whole movie had an eerie fantasy element to it, as though Tim Burton did it.

There were a lot of scary moments and for me, at first, they scared the crap out of me but then after a while I got used to them… but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t freaky. Some of the creepier moments would be the twists at the end of all the stories; hell, even the music was creepy as hell! Although, there were some funny parts to this movie but this humor was very, very dark. This is the kind of humor that you probably would only understand if you were a horror fan or knew about Halloween customs. Ex: the teacher is trying to bury the bodies but his son keeps yelling down from the window asking him when he’s going to help him carve up the pumpkins. Horror and comedy wise, this movie was an overall delight.

What made this movie even better, and may provide a reason for why it seemed so fantasized and eerie was that they made each story as though it was coming from a comic book named ‘Trick r’ Treat,” much like what Romero and King did when they made Creepshow. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if that were one of Dougherty’s inspirations. The beginning sets us up that these are comic book stories and the ending showed a rapid-fire montage of comic book panels.

I could go into real detail with this review and I could write a whole paper on this movie but if I do, I would end up giving away major plot points. Therefore, I STRONGLY, STRONGLY, STRONGLY urge any horror fans to see this movie and even if you’re not… go see this movie because it will blow your mind away. Just make sure you respect the customs otherwise… you’ll be meeting Sam very soon.