Trick R Treat Review (2009) – Brandon's Horror

My History With the Film:
I missed out on Trick R Treat for years. I knew it was beloved by the horror community, but I was worried it was overhyped. Little did I know, I was wrong. I also had no clue it was an anthology.

I first saw Trick R Treat back in 2016 and then again in October 2019. I feel like I enjoyed the movie more the first time around, but there was still a lot of Halloween fun to be had the second time.

What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
Five interwoven stories occur on Halloween night.

What I Liked About It:

-All five stories are pretty strong. There is an element of black comedy to a few of them, but they are played straight for the most part. I like the occasional twist and it reminds me of Tales from the Crypt, which is never a bad thing.

-The special effects are quite good. The costumes looked great and it’s easy to see why SAM became such a horror movie icon so quickly.

-Anna Paquin (Laurie) is the only character that truly stands out to me. Her performance was on point, and the innocence she portrays really made me become invested in the character. I love how everything was not what it seemed.

-My favorite segment was The School Bus Massacre Revisited which felt like a classic urban legend being retold by children. It invoked a Are You Afraid of the Dark type feeling, although with a much darker story.

What I Didn’t Like About It:

-I feel like the final story was decent enough in plot, but wasn’t acted all that well. I feel like Brian Cox was sorely miscast.

-The movie drags a little, which is a problem with most anthologies since not all stories are made equal.

Additional Notes:

-Little people acted as children for the trick or treating scenes, since the movie was filmed mostly at night and real children couldn’t work these hours.

-The movie was originally scheduled to be released theatrically in October 2007, however the release was cancelled due to unknown reasons. Some speculate it was because WB didn’t want to compete against its Saw IV, another horror movie it was releasing. Another popular theory is that it was pulled because of Superman Returns box office disappointment which was co-written by writer/director Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. The film was eventually released direct to DVD in October 2009.

-Most of the Jack O’ Lanterns were foam or ceramic.

-A 1958 Plymouth Fury from the movie Christine can be seen in “The School Bus Massacre Revisited.”

-The movie under went several name changes from: Season’s Greetings, Halloween Terrors, Jack O’ Lantern Tales, October the 31st, and Trick or Treat. The movie was titled Trick R Treat because another horror movie was named Trick or Treat already. (It’s totally worth checking out too!)

-It’s based on an animated short called Season Greeting’s which debuted the character of Sam.

-Anna Paquin’s character is named Laurie after Laurie Strode in Halloween.

-Britt McKillip (Macy) and Christine Willes (Ms. Henderson) both acted together in one of my favorite shows Dead Like Me.

Rating:

Trick R Treat is a damn good movie and I really think the first watch is a very memorable watch. However, I have a feeling that each revisit will come with diminishing returns. The twists and turns are already spoiled and the movie isn’t aging as well as one would expect.

With that being said, I really wish Trick R Treat got a few sequels or even a yearly incarnation.

I rate Trick R Treat a four out of five and say it’s a high priority rental.

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