Trick R' Treat

Trick R' Treat Directed by Michael Dougherty
DVD Collection - Main Level - SCIFI HORROR - TRI

Being somewhat of a morbid child who was both fascinated and terrified of the macabre, it’s safe to say that Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. There’s something thrilling about the scattered colors of the fall leaves crunching under ones feet, the gloomy eyes of the Jack O’ Lanterns peering out into the night, and oh yeah… there’s that whole candy thing. In addition to these annual symbols of the season one can not overlook the best part of it all, horror movies.

As a child of the 80’s (with a fairly open minded mother) I was able to relish the horror movie video boom. With the advent of home videos I was able to catch up on the classic (Halloween, The Evil Dead, and Creepshow to name a few) and not so classic (Lloyd Kaufman, and Roger Corman anyone?) horror films I missed out on. However the state of the modern American horror movie has me wondering whether “Silent Night, Deadly Night 2” was really that bad.


Ok, yes it was that bad.

Hey at least it has the famous "Garbage Day" (warning this link contains violence) quote, but what passes for American horror today is either gratuitous torture with scant plot, or remakes. We’ve got the classic horror remakes such as House of Wax with less than classic actors. (AKA Paris Hilton pretends to act.)

I know, it's a frightening thought for us as well

Then there are the slasher remakes like Friday the 13th, and Black Christmas. Then there are the “did we really need a remake of such an obscure movie to begin with” remakes (My Bloody Valentine? Really?!) Finally my favorite is the unnecessary sequel to a remake that was in itself unnecessary. I’m looking at you Rob Zombie. If you’re going to remake a film at least have something to add. John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” and Cronenberg’s “The Fly” are great examples of how a horror remake should be done.

GOOD Um... NOT SO GOOD


To say I’m a bit distraught by the modern American horror film would be an understatement, so it is with great pleasure I was able to view Mike Dougherty’s horror anthology “Trick R’ Treat.” The film revolves around four somewhat intersecting tales that involve classic icons of the genre such as werewolves, serial killers, ghosts, and one menacingly original creation. However, the writing is smart enough to take these standards and turn them on their head. In addition to this, the film doesn’t merely rely on grotesque imagery and needless torture just because it can. Of course it doesn’t mean there aren’t any gross out moments; it just means they actually service the story. Dougherty also has an excellent sense of style with regard to visual atmosphere. While many modern day directors like to overload their film with visual tricks and create a music video instead of a film, (I’m looking at you again Rob Zombie), Dougherty knows how to create an interesting shot without showboating. The film also has a great sense of humor, albeit a dark one. “Trick R’ Treat” also pays homage to classic horror films like “Halloween,” without directly ripping them off.

In this awful climate of modern horror one would think that an original film would be welcomed with opened arms. However, Warner Bros. appearently didn’t think so with regard to Trick R’ Treat. Set to be released in 2007 the movie was unfairly pushed back until it was unceremoniously dumped onto DVD last week. So if you are faced with the choice to see “Saw 25” in which exactly the same thing happens in this installment as it has in the previous ones or the option to check out “Trick R’ Treat” and indulge your 80’s horror movie nostalgia the answer should be pretty clear cut. Unless of course you already have that “Silent Night, Deadly Night” marathon planned.¬