Trick 'r Treat (2008)

Director:

Michael Dougherty

Writer (WGA):

Michael Dougherty (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Poison, Drowning, Claw, Or Knife. So Many Ways To Take A Life.

Plot:

Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.

Plot Keywords:

Jack O Lantern | Halloween | Principal | Virgin | Hermit

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dylan Baker	...	Steven
Rochelle Aytes	...	Maria
Quinn Lord	...	Sam / Peeping Tommy
Lauren Lee Smith	...	Danielle
Moneca Delain	...	Janet
Tahmoh Penikett	...	Henry
Brett Kelly	...	Charlie
Britt McKillip	...	Macy
Isabelle Deluce	...	Sara
Jean-Luc Bilodeau	...	Schrader
Alberto Ghisi	...	Chip
Samm Todd	...	Rhonda
Anna Paquin	...	Laurie
Brian Cox	...	Mr. Kreeg
Leslie Bibb	...	Emma

Also Known As:

Terreur à l'Halloween (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence, some sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (No. 43759) | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Ladner, Delta, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Bad Hat Harry Productions

Trivia:

Most of the Jack O' Lanterns were made out of either foam or ceramic. An on-set joke was that no pumpkins were harmed during the making of this movie.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Steven: Wait. There's another tradition.
[looks at Charlie]
Steven: Always check your candy.

Movie Connections:

Features Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Can You Read My Mind?

It's criminal that this was never given a theatrical release

TheatreX returns to IMDb after a two-month absence due to health issues (like 6 weeks in hospital & just plain not being able to type well due to nerve damage in my right hand). However, while in the hospital a friend brought me a copy of "Rue Morgue" which featured a rather large article on this film, Trick 'r Treat. So after reading of course I had to see it but had to wait till I got back home & could borrow a copy.

As anthology films go, this is pretty good & definitely put me in mind of the sort of fun that can be had while watching "Creepshow". However, it's not LIKE Creepshow, as the stories are not separate but rather intertwined.

We have a bunch of girls out for a good time, it's apparently a tradition for them to travel around & dress up for Halloween all over the country, and here they are in this little Ohio town, dressed benignly as Snow White, Little Bo Peep, Red Riding Hood, etc, and looking for hot dates for the evening....but things are not quite what they seem and none of our young ladies are anywhere as innocent as they appear to be.

We also have a rather twisted school principal, as played by Dylan Baker, who is up to some rather nasty things with students and is also not above dressing up and cruising the town for trouble afterward, only to find himself with more than he can handle when he stalks a young lady...

And we also have a rather crazy old recluse (Brian Cox) who is visited by a scary Halloween apparition (known as "Sam") who scares the living daylights out of this booze-addled old man and then, having supposedly accomplished what he came to do, leaves, giving the old man a false sense of hope, because the evening is by no means over yet...

And, there's a bunch of kids on a scavenger hunt who end up at an old quarry that was the site of a rather tragic accident on Halloween many years ago, AND, a couple where the woman does NOT like Halloween & is a complete bitch to her boyfriend, and insists on taking down all the decorations before they go to bed because she insists that he won't do it promptly. That is, of course, a major mistake on her part.

Overall this is a rather short (only 80 minutes or so) but very enjoyable film, which should really have received a lot more attention than it did. If you're a fan of the original "Creepshow" or all things Halloween, then you should like this just fine....great atmosphere & a great look to it, plus a rather sly and nasty sense of humor at times, too. A must see. 8 out of 10.