Michael Dougherty’s “Trick R’ Treat” is and always will be one of my favourite horror films. An absolute must for anyone who enjoys the spooky holiday, “Trick R’ Treat” is more than enough to get you in the Halloween spirit. The film follows four different stories that occur throughout the evening in a small town; a young woman who is nervous to attend a party thrown by her friends, an innocent girl who gets pulled into a cruel prank, an unassuming serial killer, and an old hermit with a haunting past. The story manages to weave all four of these tales together masterfully and unexpectedly, all while our titular character Sam (pictured above) observes and even interacts with certain characters, all while following the rules of Halloween.
The rules of Halloween in this film include: wear a costume, hand out treats, never blow out a jack’o’lantern, and always check your candy. Sam, the small but mighty supernatural being ensures these rules are being followed, and if not, they face his wrath. Each story has its own twist, I won’t spoil any for you here, but when I watched this movie for the first time, I was delightfully surprised (I’m not crazy I promise). Even during rewatches, the reveal of the twists is still satisfying. While the timeline of the film can get confusing, as the time consistently jumps between stories, it works well in order to tell the overall tale of the happenings in the town.
My favourite of the stories would have to be of Laurie, played by Anna Paquin. When we first meet her, she is nervous about a party her confident friends are throwing in the woods. They are dressed in typical womens Halloween wear, meaning very revealing. She is stalked by a murderer and is portrayed as a scared and nervous girl who is unsure of herself. She seperates from her group of friends promising to meet up later and I was rolling my eyes at the obvious set up of helpless girl alone with a scary man. But I was surprised to see this wasn’t the case at all. The sexual way these women were portrayed at the beginning of the film which turned into a display of power and sexuality was incredibly well done and I was very impressed at the divergence from the typical helpless horror movie girl routine.
I wouldn’t recommend this film for children, but maybe those aged 12 and up. The scares in this movie are not horribly intense, and while there is a healthy serving of gore, it is not over the top like in “Saw” or “Hostel”. This film is enjoyable, ghoulish, and horrifyingly fun, and is an absolute must-see for Halloween goers and horror movie fanatics alike.
cinemaoceania 