KiR Edition: Trick 'r Treat (2009) Review (minor spoilers)

"Uncle SAM wants You!"


This edition of Keeping It Reel (KiR) focuses on the highly anticipated Trick 'r Treat released in 2009, even though it was finished then shelved back in 2007...

I have read some spoiler-free reviews in both blogs and message board alike that consistently seemed to slam this film. Words like "overrated" and "overhyped" or even phrases like "now we see why this film was shelved for two years and released straight to DVD" were thrown out to describe this product. So I have to admit that when I sat down to watch Trick 'r Treat a few nights ago, I was expecting to be severely disappointed after having sky high expectations.

Film is a subjective medium, but I have to disagree the negative descriptions I read. I thought this movie was fun as hell! Maybe because I have a soft spot for horror anthologies? I mean I sat through The Burning Moon and Chillers before, so you can see how extreme my infatuation for horror anthologies are if I sat through those two in their entirety (even though Moon had its moments). But it was way more than that. This film was a slick horror film and delivered something I was totally not expecting.

The alternate ending to Ferris Bueller's Day Off


T'rT is broken down into four stories that somewhat overlap each other Pulp Fiction-style:

1) A mild-mannered prinicpal (Dylan Baker) spends his Halloween night delivering a harsher discipline on students outside the classroom walls.

2) In somewhat of an ode to Little Red Riding Hood, a young woman (Anna Paquin) attempts to shred her virginity while staving off a predator on the way to her sister's party.

3) A group of children use an old urban legend to prank a nerdy girl, until things turn for the worse.

4) An old hermit (Brian Cox) battles an unearthly creature in a mano y monster slugfest, literally.

1-4a) A wraparound story with a mysterious little fellow named Sam that links the segments together either directly or through the film's main theme: "Follow the rules of Halloween or face the consequences!"

The first story is somewhat humorous considering the carnage taking place against children, but the entertainment is exemplified due to Baker, who always plays such a great creep. Ever since his role in Happiness, he nails the "creepy man" performances every time. This segment's length is just long enough not to get annoying which is a good thing.

Bet you he wishes he was back in Bad Santa

Paquin's story seems too be completely predictable at first, but a nice spin keeps it fresh. Even though you are waiting for a twist of some kind to rear its ugly head, you might not be expecting something along the lines of what happens. Don't want to seem as if I am giving this segment any major accolades in the originality department because this is the least interesting or satisfying of all the segments.

On the other end of the spectrum, the urban legend story is the creepiest of them all by far. The flashback story of the deranged children is a great setup while the story ends quite disturbingly in the film's present-day. Brooding atmosphere, unnerving sound effects and excellent cinematography make this segment easily the best of the bunch.

"Brian Cox versus Sam" is quite a fun little romp that ends with a nice twist and brings the whole film full circle. Too bad you can see the twist coming a mile away, but it still is a satisfying one. Cox always bring his A-game to the table and his performance in this film is no exception.




Cox is always a good time......that's what she said - "Oh!"

The non-linear narrative is a nice approach to the genre, but is also used very effectively in the horror anthology realm. This film is not Creepshow but it is pretty damn close. At the same time it is nowhere near the bottom of the horror anthology niche either.

I think a major reason why some people might have been turned off by T'rT, besides over 2 years of serious hype, include the fact that is simply is not scary and anyone who has watched a good deal of horror films will be able to accurately predict the twists and turns. Yes it's gory and brutal especially when it comes to how children are treated in this film, but it simply is not "Aaah!" scary. And I don't think that is what the creators intended either. Another reason for some horror enthusiasts' displeasure might be in the fact that anyone who has watched a good deal of horror films will be able to accurately predict the twists and turns. Then again, this is not supposed to be a film like The Sixth Sense, so the twists are not geared to be the main strength.

Besides the aforementioned acting, sound effect and script, another aspect that makes T'rT so great is the fact that the tone of the film feels so different then any other horror film. Sure the source material is borrowed and it does try to emulate Creepshow, but the creators did their best to give the film its own lore and deliver a real "Halloween" holiday film. Watching it the other day made me feel like I time traveled back to last month. I could watch this next June and feel in the Halloween holiday spirit.




Sookie Red Riding Hood

So why was this film shelved for so long? There are theories that include: the studios fear of going up against SAW IV and the company was worried that the team who bombed with Superman Returns in 2006 (producer Bryan Singer and first-time director Michael Dougherty) would lay an egg with this attempt as well. I don't believe either of these theories because October is a big enough month to release a horror film and make a lot of money before running into competition from a SAW sequel. Secondly, it seems ludicrous that a company would shelf a film for fear of failure from a man whose pass-to-fail ratio is heavily weighed in his favor and I'm talking about Singer here (Superman Returns vs. The Usual Suspects, X-Men, X-Men 2, Apt Pupil, etc.) I believe that WB feared the backlash of marketing the hell out of a film that broke the convention in terms of violence against children then releasing it nationwide in the big screen. Just my two cents. This film was too good to be delayed for so long and then be sentenced to a straight-to-video fate.

At the end of the day, we should all be happy that it finally got released and during the greatest holiday of the year. I highly, highly recommend this film and encourage those who have not seen it to do so. Just don't look to be scared out of your wits watching this one and be prepared for something a little different. And please don't let the Riding Hood segment bring down the overall product.