Truco o trato: Terror en Halloween

Trick r Treat was the perfect movie horror fans needed for the Halloween season. An anthology film but with stories interconnected and told almost like a comic book panel. It's an obvious throwback to the classic EC Comics in almost the same vein Creepshow was. It's a movie that just oozes and screams the Halloween season with an orange color palette, beautiful Autumn cinematography, and jack-o-lanterns in almost every frame. There's four stories happening & each one gives you a different variety. There's a insane killer principle, a group of ghost children, some girls heading to a party with an outrageous twist, and finally a grumpy old strooge who hates the tradition. They're all accompanied by the spirit of Halloween himself Sam who's already become a horror icon despite only being in one movie. With his burlap sack mask, orange pajamas, and psycho but childlike nature he's the perfect embodiment of the Halloween season the same way Santa Claus is to Christmas.

Although it's no horror masterpiece Trick r Treat is just a fun good time to enjoy every season and to help get you in the mood for all things spooky and strange. Happy all hollows eve.

For like two years Trick R Treat never seemed to come off the "Upcoming Releases" list. I can't for the life of me see why.

It might not be an all time great, but it is so much better than 20 odd absolute crapfests that were actually fast-tracked into cinemas over the last year to cash in on the current renaissance that horror has been enjoying lately.

Examples? Orphan / The Last House on the Left / Halloween 2 / The Unborn / The Uninvited / Stepfather / Final Destination / Sorority Row Now re-read that list above and tell me what was a MUST SEE in cinemas.

I'll wait… Thought so.

Trick R Treat is hardly a frightening flick, but it is sharp, clever, amusing, inventive and most of all fun. None of those words scream "direct to DVD" to me - but that is what happened anyway.

Halloween has never really taken root in Australia, but over the last decade or so it has become more evident that Aussie kids are aware of the possibilities of free lollies and late nights, and the pressure seems to be going back on parents and homeowners to take it seriously. I know that we never bothered getting a serious stash of lollies ready until around three years ago, but this year our house got door-knocked at least 20 times.

What has been true for many years is that horror movies are more popular around this time of year, as many are made for US release to coincide with the holiday.

The plot of Trick R Treat is actually hard to describe, it is more a series of initially random events involving the same group of characters than a linear storyline. They all take place on Halloween (natch) in a small US town that obviously takes the night seriously.

The main combatants of the film include: A young couple arriving home from the night's festivities, with the young woman knocking back a kind offer of intercourse in favour of cleaning up the Halloween decorations in the yard.

The local school principal and his dealings with a trick or treater (played by the doofy kid from Bad Santa), which is interrupted by his son and a grumpy neighbour.

Four nubile young skanks prepping for a night where they are all hoping to "pull", including two absolute hotties and a pair of sisters, one of whom is Anna Paquin as a somewhat reluctant trollop dressed as Red Riding Hood.

A group of kids who attempt to pay respect to the victims of a past local tragedy involving a crashed school bus, and who rope in an unpopular young woman for the ceremony.

And… The afore-mentioned grumpy neighbour of the School Principal - obviously not a fan of Halloween - and his dealings with celebrating kids.

Early on there are a few more fake scares than I would have liked, you know where the camera lingers, the music builds, the character's hand hovers… and nothing happens. I started to worry that the release of the film was delayed with cause but thankfully that feeling was short lived.

The plot interweaves "Pulp Fiction" style between the seemingly random events, and we gradually see how all these events are practically related, and often impact other character's stories later on, (or at times earlier on, there are a few flashbacks).

There is also a little character in a sack over a pumpkin-head outfit who pops up in the periphery of all stories, he finally has his own scene near the very end in a scene that is worth the wait.

How this wasn't released to cinemas is beyond me. It seems to have every key element required to cash in big time, it is funny, has some good scares, sexy teens and a little innuendo without overstepping the gore or bad taste boundaries. I would have thought with a little advertising and some word of mouth this would have seen a huge audience over the Halloween period from the teens that will - if we're honest - go and see almost anything anyway.

It most certainly deserved far more than a direct to DVD release, hopefully the inevitable sequel sees a better fate.

Final Rating – 7.5 – 10. A little tame to be considered a great horror film, this will find itself on a great many "underrated" lists in coming years, and will no doubt prove a great introduction to the horror genre for many curious teens in years to come. You could do an awful lot worse.

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A better-than-expected horror anthology with some creepy good Halloween scares.

'Trick r Treat' is a comic-style anthology and the different tales are woven together pretty well. The direction is slick and the structure is sound.

The tales themselves are a mixed bag. Not bad but not stunning.

The injection of two or three decent actors gives it enough 'oomph' to lift it just above your average horror flick. Without the likes of Brian Cox and Dylan Baker I fear this may have slipped into the murky depths of DVD oblivion but, as I say, they do enough to keep it all watchable.

'Trick r Treat' is silly fun that should please most horror fans.

"Trick 'r Treat" is probably what they intended "Halloween III" to be: A fun little horror movie that takes place at and revolves around Halloween. The episodic structure of the movie and the comic book background are reminiscent of George A. Romero's "Creepshow" and "Tales From The Crypt".

Although there is a certain amount of gore and some nudity this never feels like "hardcore horror", but more like a movie you could enjoy on a rainy afternoon with your kids... and that's a good thing. We've had so many shocking, violence-laden movies lately, that this is a very welcomed return to the more light-hearted, charming horror of our childhood.

"Trick 'r Treat" never strives to be special or meaningful. The episodes aren't especially original or disturbing, but director/screenwriter Michael Dougherty proves that you can breathe life into a horror movie just by taking it seriously, by putting your soul into it. The settings are atmospheric, the cinematography is inspired and beautiful. Some scenes are blatantly stolen from other movies (a scene that involves a little person slicing a grown-ups heel from underneath the bed is taken right out of "Pet Semetary", then we got the hand with a life of its own, that we've all seen before in "Evil Dead II", the Addams family movies and even "Waxwork II: Lost In Time"). However, these moments seem more like respectful nods to the movies we enjoyed as kids.

"Trick 'r Treat" has got its heart in the right place. It's the perfect movie for Halloween. It's charming and lots of fun. Great to see that there are still people like Dougherty out there who make old fashioned horror movies like this one.