Trick ‘r Treat

Trick ‘R Treat
2008
Director: Michael Dougherty
Writer: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Bryan Cox, Anna Paquin
Synopsis: The usually boisterous traditions of Halloween turn baleful, and everyone in a small town tries to survive one night in pure hell in writer-director Michael Dougherty’s fright fest. Several stories weave together, such as a loner fending off a demented trick-or-treater’s attacks, kids uncovering a freaky secret, a school principal — who moonlights as a serial killer — poisoning his candy, and more. Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox star.

This film was highly acclaimed in the horror community drawing rave reviews across the board. Everyone I talked to about it was absolutely in love with it. They would go on and on about how brilliant and groundbreaking it was so I decided I had to see it in spite of the fact that the trailer did nothing for me at all.

This was the most disappointing horror movie I have seen since Midnight Meat Train, another movie that the horror nerds went crazy for. It was clear from the opening scene that I would have no interest in this film. I kept hoping it would get better. It did not.

This is an anthology horror film. There are 4 stories that are told in this movie. I am a fan of anthology horror movies, always have been. Trilogy of Terror, Creepshow, and The Twilight Zone are some of my all time favorites. Those movies, however, handled their stories in a different and much better manner. They would tell a story, then it would end and they would tell another one. In Trick ‘R Treat, the stories are all told at the same time so there are a lot of jumps in the chronology. You will see someone get murdered, and then in a later scene they are back while they tell a different story and then go back to revisit the story where that character was murdered. I have no issue with nonlinear time lines in films but this one was just clunky and poorly laid out. Some people I have seen have called this the Pulp Fiction of horror films. Just because they use nonlinear time does not make it comparable to Pulp Fiction.

There is one huge boundary that this movie blows right by. One thing that has been off limits even in the world of horror for the most part is the killing of children. There is some of that in this movie and that is probably why it was unable to get a wide release. Some people, like the Wife Unit, think that this is a boundary that should not be crossed and she was ill at ease watching scenes of child murder. It didn’t bother me so much but if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing you may want to avoid this movie.

From a film making standpoint I will say this, Dougherty made a good looking movie. He not only did a good job of putting you in the horror mood but some of the scenes were absolutely beautiful to look at. It was similar to watching the camera work in classic Italian horror of the 70′s. All in all however, this movie left me feeling flat and disinterested.