Trick 'R TreatHonestly, this is a Halloween fanatic’s wet dream.  Trick ‘r Treat, which Warner Bros. has let languish, needlessly, on the shelf since ’07, is a near perfect treat for this All Hallow’s Eve season.  It continues the streak of studios releasing less than average pictures to wide theatrical releases while sending some quality films (The Midnight Meat Train, The Burrowers) to a limited run (if they are lucky) or simply straight to video.  It’s mixed up, totally.

Trick ‘r Treat tells four interconnecting stories on Halloween night.  There’s the twisted high school principal, the little red riding hood virgin, the teen pranksters, and the grumpy old man next door with the dog.  Watching them all is a little tyke in a burlap mask; he’s cute, cuddly, and creepy.  Their stories unfold, the time shifting back and forth, amid a sumptuous tapestry of festive colors, costumes, and decorations.  It’s filled to the brim and overflowing with the spirit of Halloween.

Unlike some films set on October 31st, it is more about the holiday rather than just the action incidentally taking place on the holiday.  Traditions are observed.  Keep the jack o’ lanterns lit.  Please the spirits.


Trick ‘r Treat is pleasing, it’s delightful, and has a couple of tense moments.  It also has a wicked sense of humor.  There is one scene towards the end that had me laughing out loud.  All in all, it has just about everything to please most fans of the genre.  With a cast that includes Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, and the great Brian Cox (the screen’s original Hannibal Lecter), this is a good time.

My complaints are minimal.  The shifting back and forth in the storyline, though handled well, is a little off-putting at first.  Though, on repeated viewings it eases.  My second, and final complaint, is it tends to be mean towards children.  I’ve never been one for films that have children in danger for a cheap scare; there is nothing cheap in Trick ‘r Treat, but still, it just seemed to not like kids that much.  I know, I know, it’s only a movie, but come on….

4.5 out of 5
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