Jack-O-Lanterns everywhere have a new reason to smile this Halloween.
Every once in a blue moon (or perhaps harvest moon would be more fitting here?) a movie comes along that I can’t stop putting in the DVD player. I wear a copy out. I can watch it as I drift off to sleep, play it in the background as I write, sit down and watch it over and over again and never seem to tire of it. TRICK ‘R TREAT is one of those very few movies.
Best Halloween-themed movie ever…period.
As far as Halloween-themed movies go we’ve never had a massive selection. Oh sure, quite a few movies fit the bill in a pinch, but as far as pure autumn must-haves, All Hallow’s Eve essentials go, fans have been dished the short end of the stick. I like watching EXORCIST and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD during those crisp, dead-leaf nights in late fall as much as the next guy…but where’s the Halloween spirit? Oh, a generally great horror film does not a Halloween staple make.
Let’s face it: if you wanted a real Halloween movie, you watched HALLOWEEN (or one of the questionable sequels). And I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not a big fan of Michael Myers or slasher films in general. There, I said it. Go ahead and throw your punches, but I’m sticking to my guns. In fact, while you’re swinging, take into effect that my favorite movie in that series is HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH because it actually dealt with something remotely Halloween. The only thing Halloween about the Myers series is that the boy happened to coincidentally snap on Halloween night, hits town on the anniversary, and happens to wear a mask. Meh…it all feels too contrived and forced to me. But that’s like comparing apples and oranges, so before I piss off too many older hardcore fanatics, I’ll refocus.
In TRICK ‘R TREAT, we are treated to a visual homage to both the genre and the holiday. This movie encapsulates everything I hold dear about the season. It just “feels” like Halloween. It’s everything that a great movie experience in the holiest of horror fanatics’ holidays should be.
As far as describing the storytelling itself, I can only sum it up in one way: think PULP FICTION meets CREEPSHOW. The movie takes place during Halloween night in the small hamlet of Warren Valley, Ohio. Several stories involving multiple characters criss-cross paths throughout, swapping times back and forth just enough to keep you paying attention but never enough to confuse the audience. Each story revolves around a tradition pertaining to Halloween and each follows through with a wonderful twist. No scene feels forced to fit another, swapping our point of view easily from one story to the next. One can appreciate the way all of the small details paint a bigger picture here and the tidy and fulfilling way each is wrapped up into the next.
Visually the movie is beautiful. Warren Valley could very well be Anytown, USA, and watching the streets full of costumed children as they parade down sidewalks layered in leaves of orange and brown really brings back that trick ‘r treating I remember from my own youth. Jack-O-Lanterns adorn fences and porches, a Halloween parade is in full swing downtown, and on the outskirts of Warren Valley an abandoned rock quarry holds a secret beneath the thick fog and watery depths. Now that I think about it, Jack-O-Lanterns play a major part in lighting many of the darker scenes which adds an atmosphere all its own.
Undeniably, the character of Sam steals the show. With good reason. The 1996 short cartoon this movie was based on (which is included with and without commentary on the DVD extras) revolved around the character of Sam trick ‘r treating late on Halloween night. He’s a creepy little bastard, made extra so by the nuanced performance of child actor Quinn Lord. I’m sure Sam/Samhain will become an iconic character beloved by the hearts of genre fanatics everywhere. He’s certainly earned a place amongst my favorite movie characters.
While on the topic of the acting in TRICK ‘R TREAT, I have to say that the performances were all well above par considering the amount of relatively new faces. Of course there are exceptional performances from the likes of Dylan Baker as Principal Steven Wilkins (you may remember him as Dr. Curt Connors in the Spiderman movies, or as the father in FIDO) and the scene-stealing veteran Brian Cox as grumpy-assed Mr. Kreeg (his performance in RED being an all-time favorite of mine).
“But Jason,” you’re probably not asking yourself. “Are there no flaws whatsoever?” Of course there are. I can find a flaw in anything, it comes with being a realist. Nothing’s perfect, and this holds true with even TRICK ‘R TREAT. The little blond girl who plays the “leader” of the group of kids gathering Jack-O-Lanterns (don’t know her name, don’t care) plays her part with a little too much heart. Her line “can I just tell the damn story?” irritates the shit out of me and makes me want to personally take it to the cutting room floor. Also, I loathe Anna Paquin. Go ahead and bitch and moan, but she makes my ass want to jump out of my throat. Without sounding like too much of a pervert, I could’ve used more boobage. There’s one shot of a porn on TV at the beginning (the “nature video”) and another during a forest scene (which I won’t spoil), but no skin beyond this. Technically, I’m okay with that…means it has the potential for easy swapping to cable channels later for a larger appreciation and I don’t need boobs to enjoy a movie. But I had to find something wrong with the film or I just wouldn’t be doing my job.
Ultimately what it boils down to is this: TRICK ‘R TREAT is a celebration of Halloween…an extension of the holiday that goes hand-in-hand with it in the same way that watching A CHRISTMAS STORY or HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS makes or breaks Christmas for many. Although it has its moments, the movie doesn’t rely on gore, nor does it have to. The engaging fun of this flick (and, in my opinion, what makes it a classic) is the intertwining storylines, the excellent performances, and its ability to–simply put–”feel” like Halloween in a way that no film I have seen before it has accomplished. The movie is a visual tribute to the genre fans, to the art of anthology storytelling, and, perhaps most importantly, to Halloween. After years of waiting for this movie to find distribution, following every underground snippet of information I could get my greedy little hands on and savoring the possibilities, it’s good to find that for once the wait was well worth it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go sit down with a big bowl of kettle corn, a pumpkin that’s just dying for a face, and yet another rewatching of the greatest Halloween-themed movie to hit my DVD collection.
That is, until the sequel. You hadn’t heard about the success of this one garnering a sequel? Well you just did. It’s in the talking stages and a script is being penned as we speak. Boo-yah. Happy Halloween, indeed.
