Welcome to the Second Union 31 Days of Horror event! Every day leading up to Tuesday, October 31st, (starting Sunday, October 1st) we will post a review of one horror film.
Today’s Film: Trick ‘r Treat. Enjoy!
Trick ‘r Treat is directed by Michael Dougherty and compiles five interweaving stories, all taking place on Halloween. I turned this on not knowing what I’d be in for, and I sure was surprised. From the opening scene, you’re not sure how exactly the stories will play out. I know I sure wasn’t. The film is surprisingly good, and I’d recommend it as a Halloween Night viewing.
The film opens with a couple trick or treating, and the woman decides to take down their Halloween decorations despite tradition. After she finishes, she is enveloped in a bedsheet and is killed with a lollipop. Her husband finds her strung up with the decorations, mutilated and with the giant sucker in her mouth. This opening is just as effective as classic openings from films like Halloween and Jaws, and it really invests the viewer in what’s about to transpire throughout the course of the film.
The writing is very strong, and I never found a moment where the characters were making stupid decisions. Even when they don’t make the right choices, it’s logical why they didn’t. There were some moments that I did find a bit predictable, but they didn’t drag down my experience. They’re just little nitpicks here and there, and there aren’t even that many moments where I thought “well, saw that coming”.
The sweetness of horror films nowadays is that they aren’t overly long because they don’t need to be. It really helps to have a shorter film because this is one that, if lengthened, would probably become unnecessarily tedious. However, because it’s not even an hour and a half, it can focus more on the characters and story instead of things that don’t matter as much to the plot.
THE VERDICT
Trick ‘r Treat is a perfectly great horror film that is truly entertaining and very little problems whatsoever. It may be predictable at times, but the fear factor and overall shock value are high. It also has very strong writing and convincing acting, helping it to overcome genre clichés that have become apparent in today’s films. I’m going to give it an A.
Trick ‘r Treat stars Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Quinn Lord, Lauren Lee Smith, Rochelle Aytes, Britt McKillip, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Samm Todd, Alberto Ghisi, and Leslie Bibb. Directed by Michael Dougherty.
