I am a huge fan of anthologies, especially one focusing on certain holidays such as Halloween. In comes in this week’s movie – Trick ‘r Treat (2007). It is a dark horror comedy movie directed by Michael Dougherty. Trick ‘r Treat (2007) movie review
The stories (in short) deal with a couple who learn the hard way to never disobey the Halloween traditions. This includes a school principal with a dark secret, a group of women go out to woods to participate in a “howling” party, and a group of kids learn that sometimes urban legends have a kernel of truth in them. All of these stories are witnessed by an orange onesie wearing hooded figure that is named Sam. To talk about him would be to spoil the movie so I’ll let you meet him on your own.
In the movie we see characters from other stories making appearances throughout to show that these stories are connected. Since children couldn’t work late hours of filming, the scenes with children were filmed with little people.
Trick ‘r Treat went through some trouble in getting released. Not only did it have limited theatrical run, it also was released two years after it’s initial date. There is some debate on why this was done and some of those theories involve it falling on the same month as one of the Saw movies as well as studio thinking the movie will underperform due to writer’s track record in making lackluster hits.
Still, I think the movie is a blast to watch during Halloween….or any other day for that matter. The characters themselves are not that great (in fact, some you’ll hate) but the acting is solid and the stories are unique. However, don’t expect every one of these stories to have some great twist. For the most part, the twists are OK and not something overly original. Chances are you’ve seen other movies with the same concept.
The entire atmosphere is dark and moody, just like Halloween is supposed to look like. At times I definitely felt there was a little too much light on set as some scenes were lit a bit too much. However, maybe it was the spooky wind blowing leaves off the ground in the beginning shots, or countless pumpkins spread out each story (mainly made from ceramic and foam), the movie was enjoyable in a way that it pays homage to older movies and the tradition that kept so many kids running up to strangers’ houses to beg for candy.
With a sequel announced, there is no denying this little gem became a cult classic and is loved by a wide range of audiences.
Thanks for reading my Trick ‘r Treat (2007) movie review
