Trick ‘r Treat – Film Review

Interwoven stories demonstrate that some traditions are best not forgotten as the residents (Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker) of a small town face real ghosts and goblins on Halloween. Tales of terror reveal the consequences of extinguishing a Jack-o-Lantern before midnight and a grumpy hermit’s encounter with a sinister trick-or-treater.

It’s been fifteen years since Michael Dougherty‘s Trick ‘r Treat was released in theatres, and even after all these years later, it still holds up as one of the best horror films ever made. Doughtery eventually followed up with yet another excellent holiday-themed horror film in the form of Krampus, but we’re still all asking about Trick ‘r Treat 2.

Will we ever get the sequel? Probably not, but that’s okay because we have this film which is a complete and utter masterpiece in every sense of the word. It follows four different groups of people and serves as an anthology film. Initially, these four stories don’t seem remotely connected, but thanks to Doughtery’s talents, they all eventually converge into one hell of a crazy connected story.

Right from the moment the film opens, the atmosphere is incredibly eerie and chilling, making it the absolute perfect watch for the Fall season. There’s the glow of orange lights, jack-o-lanterns, costumed trick-or-treaters, and then there’s of course, the film’s villain and now horror icon Sam.

But the atmosphere is just one thing that’s great about this movie. Doughtery’s script is ridiculously violent and twisted. Easily the most disturbing scenes in the film revolve around a principal named Steven Wilkins. On Halloween Night, one of his students named Charlie goes trick-or-treating at his house and takes some candy which ends up being a huge mistake.

The scenes with Charlie that follow are the stuff that nightmares are made out of, and the way it ends is so genius and horrifying that it’ll make any horror writer wish they had thought of it. There’s also another story focusing on a group of kids on a school bus that will make you sleep with the covers pulled up over your head.

It’s fantastic to see just how much this movie holds up, really. The ending is executed flawlessly, giving the audience one last pump of adrenaline before the credits roll. All of the performances here are great, but most notably from Quinn Lord who portrays the villain Sam.

Ever since this film’s release, people have been terrified of this character despite the fact that he’s really not in it all that much. He kind of shows up every so often to observe what other people in the story are doing, but he has a certain element to him that makes you frightened of him.

And when he finally does some crazy things in the third act, he solidifies himself as a bonafide horror icon. There’s a good reason why there are so many Sam costumes for Halloween these days and why you have most likely seen a picture of him online even if you haven’t seen the movie before.

Michael Doughtery’s Trick ‘r Treat is a devilishly entertaining and atmospheric journey and is one of the best horror films ever made.