Trick R Treat (2007)

Starring: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker

Director: Michael Dougherty

So, it seems almost superfluous to talk about this film at this point, with it’s cult following, but just in case some of you out there haven’t seen it, and because I enjoyed it so much, I will. This one was one of those films that studios didn’t know what to do with, so although it had a limited cinema release, it was withheld for about two years, and was then sent directly to DVD.

Which is a real shame, because the writer/director Michael Dougherty really had something with this film, and he had to campaign hard to get it made initially because of the anthology style of the narrative, which not everyone felt was commercially viable. But he did get it made, only to get it shelved, and then, thankfully, it found it’s cult following, and is now considered a Halloween classic, and Dougherty went on to to great things with Superman Returns and the X Men franchise.

The film itself is set on Halloween, and tells five interwoven stories that all take place on this night in a small town. I don’t want to say too much, because I didn’t know any of the plots and loved not knowing what way they were going to unfold, but I will tell you this. There is a high school principal with some interesting, gruesome extracurricular activities, some girls out to get dates, a bunch of teens are collecting jack o lanterns for nefarious purposes, and watching over it all is a little sinister kid with a orange pajama suit and a creepy sack mask.

It’s brilliant, dark, brutal and funny, and really well paced. I loved it! So many horrors lack characterization, innovation and plot, yet this one with it’s mixed, developing narratives is really a delight. And something about it is so cheerfully dark… Perfect.

See It If: If you’re tired of horrors, this one might just put you back into the horror fan category.