Michael Dougherty's 'Trick R' Treat' is a true example of the diamond in the rough, surpassing everyone's expectations including its distributor Warner Brothers. Originally slated for a Halloween 2007 theatrical release, the executives made a last minute decision to send the film straight to video showing no confidence in its success. As it turns out, this is yet another big mistake big studios tend to make nowadays and 'Trick R' Treat' is now a modern day classic, one that has become a part of every horror fan's Halloween marathon list.
The film consists of different stories all taking place on Halloween night and all sharing similar themes of tradition & the consequences when one disobeys or disbelieves said traditions. Each story is connected by the cute little bugger you see above, Sam. The mascot of 'Trick R' Treat' also represents the holiday itself as a sort of guard, making sure that all respect and follow the rules of Halloween at all costs. While not every story hits the bullseye, it gets pretty damn close when compared to others in the sub-genre. Anthology films' greatest weakness is consistency, but luckily 'Trick R' Treat' has far less trouble with it than others. The film just has this youthful charm to it all because of the visuals and theming I sit down to watch it I always get the feeling of those days when one would read old fairy tales or that latest 'Goosebumps' book. It feels very nostalgic but at the same time a fresh breath of air for the horror genre.
The film is also a beauty on a technical level, taking advantage of the oranges & blacks one would associate with the holiday and just makes them bright and glowing. What I say next will likely be controversial, but I think 'Trick R' Treat' invokes the feeling of Halloween even more than John Carpenter's classic. It does everything in its power to look, sound, and feel like Halloween and if you see the film in high definition, it is truly a sight to behold. 'Trick R' Treat' is one of the best films you can see on Halloween night, with everything you'd expect and done with such style and talent to make it stand out above all others. Like Dougherty's other holiday horror 'Krampus', he just knows how to invoke the holiday spirit and inject it into everything. We need to give him all of the holiday horror films from now on, he is a master.
5/5
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