Trick r' Treat (2008): released STV (2009)

"Trick r' Treat," by first-time director Michael Dougherty, is comprised of five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween in the same small, Ohio town (many in the same neighborhood). A couple finds out what happens when they blow out a jack o' lantern before midnight, a high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer, a college virgin searches for the "right guy," a group of teens pay homage to the town's legendary Halloween massacre, and a hermit is visited by a special trick or treater.
I was initially drawn to this film through a random Facebook thread and immediately hit YouTube to see if I could find a trailer. After watching the trailer (which I must say, was very intriguing) I did a bit of research to see when the film would hit theaters. Little did I know, I had stumbled upon a movie, which was already heralded as a "cult classic" before it had even hit the big screen. Not only that, it has never and will never be advertised on your local marquee, for this little ditty was released straight-to-video.
For a while, I thought I had been had, bamboozled by random Facebook advertising. However, the more I looked into it, I discovered that the film had been in a constant struggle with unfortunate releasing delays and had ultimately been driven directly to video. One might think that keeping this film out of theaters might have had a distinctly negative impact on it, but a steadfast amount of people anticipating its release, created quite a beneficial stir via the Internet. I was all set for the release date and even made sure my NetFlix queue was set to view a copy of this film as soon as possible.
Much of "Trick r' Treat's" buzz was due to the casting of Anna Paquin and the recent success of HBO's "True Blood" series. Since she began filming "Trick r' Treat" in 2008, before "True Blood" hit the scene in 2009, Paquin's appearance in and the delay in the former film's release, grabbed the attention of many would-be viewers. Though touted as the film's star, Paquin is in the film as much as any of the main characters in each of the five stories and seems to only receive this billing due to her recent popularity. Instead, the film's main character is a child-sized, violent protectorate of Halloween known merely as "Sam." Adorned with a cinched, burlap sack over his head and a small orange jumpsuit that looks more like pajamas, the supernatural Sam (super creepy) makes sure the everyone in the small Ohio town obeys three basic rules on Halloween: (1) wear a costume, (2) give out candy, and (3) never extinguish a jack-o-lantern before Halloween is over.
With most films, I try not to buy into the initial hype, but with "Trick r' Treat," I took the bait hook, line, and sinker. I'm kind of a sucker for a good horror flick and have been greatly disappointed over the past few years with the new fad of torture films (see, or better yet, don't see "Hostile," "Saw," etc.) and lackluster remakes. The fact that the film was based on a very praised graphic novel and had an intense trailer (*see it below*) didn't lighten my interest either. RottenTomatoes.com, which I typically find very accurate, had given the film a 100% (almost unheard of) rating based on 13 reviews. With all of these factors in mind, my expectations were overflowing and I was over-hyped (maybe a little too) to see this film. My feeling of anticipation was recently personified in my taking of the NetFlix mailer immediately from my mail drop and placing the DVD directly into my player.
Though there are many horror films out there, few actually pay homage to the holiday, Halloween. While John Carpenter's famous series uses the holiday as a backdrop for the exploits of Michael Myers, his films don't quite measure up to the extent to which "Trick r' Treat" uses it. Probably the most appealing part of this film is the setting; it is beautifully shot and the atmosphere of the small town really embraces the carnival-esque environmeant of Halloween night. All of the props, especially the jack-o-lanterns, are spectacular and most of the costumes are very creative and right on target (especially the masks of the school bus massacre children, creepiest paper mache ever *kudos*). The film is very creative and also does a great job of incorporating Halloween urban legends, traditions, and even potential holiday dangers. For example, razorblade-filled candy is an essential piece of little Sam's arsenal of weaponry.
Though I found the film very creative, I had issues with the dialogue. Man was it cheesy! I realize that many horror films are campy, but few campy films can ever be taken seriously as truly great horror flicks (not a lot of silly lines in "Halloween" or the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"). What ends up happening, and what happened for me while watching "Trick r' Treat," was that the poor dialogue derailed my fear. When you chuckle or shake your head over the unbelievability of what you've just heard, it's tough to get back into the frame of mind of being afraid. Most of the suspenseful moments were predictable, and I never found myself really emotionally affected by the film. With that said, I didn't find the acting bad at all; I only felt that it was hindered in spots by bad writing. The film also has a "Pulp Fiction-like" mash-up of chronology, which I was extremely impressed by and felt worked very well.
Maybe my expectations were too high for this film going into it, I can admit that. When I am most ambitious about seeing a movie, I tend to be more critical about every detail. My enjoyment of a film can still go either way, but more times than not, I am going to be disappointed. Having said this, "Trick r' Treat" is a good film and is an enjoyable Halloween film; however, it lacks substance (only an hour and 20 minute run time) and an ability to suspend one's disbelief fully. I would say it's worth a watch and could be added as a worthy supplement to anyone's traditional Halloween viewing line-up.

3 out of 4