Trick ‘r Treat (2008) Review: All Treats, Some Tricks

I love Halloween, that time of the year when people can dress up in the most disgusting/scary/revealing outfit imaginable and it’s all okay because HALLOWEEN! It’s the time of year where urban yards resemble crime scenes, with murder victims, zombies, mummies, and maniacs decorating the landscape and attacking anyone foolish enough to step on their temporarily-accursed property. It’s also the time of year where pants wetting increases 52% from all the aforementioned zombies, mummies, maniacs, etc., popping out for a good scare. While many horror movies celebrate the spirit of Halloween (not to be confused with Spirit Halloween), none celebrate so literally as Trick ‘r Treat.

This anthology horror film follows four different, interconnected stories. There’s the neighborhood square, a group of prank-happy teens, stripping twenty-somethings, and the curmudgeonly old man, all of whom get wrapped up in Halloween antics whether they want to or not.

Each story has a cheeky darkness to it, often by playing with common Halloween tropes/urban legends that kids and parents fear alike- poison candy bars, child-snatching neighbors, vengeful spirits dressed like a trick or treating kiddo with a razor-sharp lollipop, etc. Though it may be light on the action, Trick ‘r Treat offers some dark chuckles alongside its moments of gore and twisting storytelling. Plus, if you think about it, it’s almost like a how-to guide showing you what not to do on Halloween. You get to learn how to keep yourself safe on Halloween while being entertained by others making those mistakes and paying for them.

Honestly, I’m surprised I’m not complaining about Trick ‘r Treat Part 9 by now, as this flick seemed like prime material for endless sequels. The anthology format means you can get famous actors to step in briefly to up the recognizability factor, and the demonic Sam seemed like just the right kind of poster boy for a new Halloween franchise. As of right now, however, there’s just the one movie, and you know what? In this era of companies sucking the life from their IPs, sometimes watching a one-and-done movie is the best treat you could ask for.

Time until initial action: ~ 4 minutes

Baddies: Anyone who disrespects Halloween!

Best Line: “Coach Taylor was in a hot dog costume, buttfucking a pig…I think.”

Best Kill: Principal Wilkins (Dylan Baker) has always had a special spot for kids… six feet under a tree in his backyard, to be specific. He’s the reason you have to check all the candy before you eat it. He poisons a kid with one of his candy bars and the kid starts throwing up blood like he just drank a gallon of ipecac. The Principal drags the kid inside, chops off his head and buries him in the backyard. But don’t worry, the kid won’t be lonely. He had a grave-mate or two in there with him.

Biggest Lapse in Judgment: There are lots of things that happened in Trick ‘r Treat where, if they had just thought it through, it might not have come back to bite them in the butt. The second biggest is that at the end of the Halloween night, Emma (Leslie Bibb) gets the Humbug virus and decides it’s time to take down all the decorations even though Halloween isn’t over quite yet. She starts by blowing out a jack-o’-lantern even though her husband warned her not to because it is against tradition. Later, hubby dearest finds a newly lit jack-o-lantern… made of Emma’s head!

The biggest lapse of judgment came from Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox). Back in the day, he was a bus driver for special needs kids. The parents offered him money to somehow wreck the school bus in order to kill off said kiddos (Um, wow. Definitely not contenders for Parents of the Year). Anyway, Mr. Kreeg had a horrible lapse in judgment and took the offer and killed the kids. Well, he gets his comeuppance later when the zombie kids show up at his door as trick-or-treaters. 

Action Rating: 1  Sam ‘n the gang trick ‘r treating, out of 5

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!