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131 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trick r Treat - A Surprise Shocker Classic, August 19, 2009
People all over the webbins have been talking about Trick r Treat for some time now - exploring conspiratorial notions on why the film has sat shelved for so long while rhapsodizing about just how well X-Men 2/Superman Returns scribe Michael Dougherty's directorial debut works. Having recently seen the film, I can tell you that I know why the film sat for years: It's one of the more ruthless studio-funded horror films ever made. It's not very gory or explicit at all - but it has a truly, deeply, bad attitude. If William Gaines penned morality plays this venomous - to hell with the Comics Code. He'd have probably served time. Trick r Treat is overflowing with the kind of anarchic, mean-spirited hilarity that never sits well with the suits.
One of the reasons the film feels so vile is that the people who populate the tale feel so utterly real. It's really hard to explain without spoiling a lot of what makes it work so well, but - to give you an idea - director Michael Dougherty explained to us that one of the notes he received during the production process was that the children he cast were "too young". Couldn't he make the kids older? Couldn't he cast hotter? That's not to say that elements of the cast aren't flat-out "foxy" (witness the sexi-sexi of Lauren Lee Smith and Rochelle Aytes) but there are sequences in the film that work perfectly because they're not about plasticine twentysomethings. Again - I can't explain exactly what I mean without doing you a disservice - but when you finally see the film, you'll understand completely.
Trick r Treat has been described in certain quarters as an anthology film - but that's not wholly accurate. In truth, the film possesses a non-linear narrative structure - it's more a Pumpkin Pulp Fiction than a Creepshow copy (though the EC Comics connection this film shares with Romero's classic make them kindred spirits - and a great double bill). The film moves back and forth between tales that, at first, seem to be related only by the presence of the mysterious, malevolent little creature seen in the film's promotional materials. Over the running time, we come to realize that the tiny creeper pops up for a reason - and even that detail is something I don't want to spoil for you.
Despite the aforementioned EC Comics vibe (wherein the table-turning reveal that hands the petty thief or adulterous couple their just desserts is par for the course), the twisted twistiness of Trick r Treat still manages to surprise. At different points during the running time, the audience could be heard to speculate on how they felt some swerve might play out - very early on, I had an idea of how I thought the tale featuring Dylan Baker should end - but I was convinced that there was no way my resolution would fly. That Dougherty was able to do exactly what common sense told me would be excised by an executive before it was ever filmed completely negated my anticipation of the last shot. The sequence ended the only way an understanding of the horror genre dictates it should - but instead of feeling "been there, done that" - the payoff plays like the reward for sitting through all of the committee-created genre projects that lack the spine to do it right. Another reveal - easily the film's most glorious - made me feel like a complete idiot. Thinking about it now, I still don't understand why I didn't call it with a chuckle the very moment True Blood's Anna Paquin awkwardly stepped out of her fitting room to face the derision of her friends. At least I wasn't alone - by the end of her character's arc, the audience I was part of sat in stunned silence...then burst into reverent applause - a response based on elements converging in a perfect storm: a beautifully-shot and edited sequence featuring a fantastic revelation, a flawless mix of practical and computer generated imagery, an awesome character beat - and one super-cool line of dialogue. You could sell the film with that single scene...if it didn't give so much away.
The most brilliant thing about Dougherty's film is how it uses Halloween holiday iconography to craft iconic visuals (if the film received the 3,000 screen release it so richly deserved, really cool parents would be dressing their kids up as "Sam" for years). It's Jack O' Lanterns and autumnal golds and vacuformed masks and flame retardant costumes that tie in the back and urban legends and classic monsters and tainted candy and everything else you know and love about October 31st. As so many before me (including Dougherty himself) have said, this is not a film that takes place during Halloween - this is a film about Halloween. It's about the reason for the season. Dougherty says his hope was that his film could become a Halloween holiday perennial - the one you watch every year. And trust me - it is. I'll watch Trick r Treat every CHRISTMAS - because the film is a gift.
Jason Pollock
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63 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trick 'r Treat has created cult status already...epicly!, August 18, 2009
I had a chance to see Trick 'r Treat at the Midwest Premiere in Chicago on the big screen and I am mystified as to why this excellent film was never given a full theatrical release? It far exceeded my expectations and I believe it to have already become a classic film for horror aficionados and lovers of the greatest holiday ever, Halloween.
The film is set up as a sort of anthology of short stories, yet they all intertwine and complement each other in the end. There is some great artwork in the tradition of Creepshow and at times reminded me of that film, but the main difference is Creepshow's stories are all their own and Trick 'r Treat follows one night with several groups and characters that each have their own encounter with a very evil character indeed. The film has lots of suspense, violence, gore, and some sexy nudity in one story involving werewolves. We also have a serial killer principal, some rotten teens trying to scare a nerdy girl, and a story told that is destined to be some type of urban legend in the future involving mentally disabled kids and a disastrous fate. The greatest thing about Trick 'r Treat is its style and campy flavor that truly stuck to the evil side of the tracks. The film was so much fun to watch and destined to be a genre classic.
It's too bad that an original idea comes to Hollywood and and they respond by not giving it a release in theaters and snubbing it. I was very lucky to see it in a theater at all. It really is a shame Hollywood is only pumping out atrocious sequels, remakes, and reinterpretations left and right. I guess seeing indie flicks is the only satisfaction I will be getting anytime soon, for the major studios are filling the theaters with boring horror crapfests!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FINALLY A HALLOWEEN MOVIE THAT MAKES SENSE, October 11, 2009
Being that this film was shelved for so long I was suprised at how good it was and how well it worked.
It's basically 4 stories all interwined ala Quentin Tarentino. While focusing on one, you'll catch glimpses of the others and in that way fill in some intentional narrative gaps. It flowed smoothly. It had a beautiful look to it. It really had a Halloween vibe from the the first shot onward. There were homages to many past classics including Halloween, The Thing, Alien, and Evil Dead to name a few. Anna Paquin now hugely popular in "True Blood" is part of an actually decent cast that also includes Brian Cox(Bourne Films). It was a treat to see a fresh perspective on the horror genre that hasn't been done to death. Check this one out.
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