Director: Michael Dougherty
Writer: Michael Dougherty (Screenplay)
Starring: Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Quinn Lord, Lauren lee Smith, Moneca Delain, Tahmoh Penikett, Brett Kelly, Britt McKillip, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox
Plot: Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Delightful Little Stories
Story: Trick ‘r’ Treat starts with couple Henry (Penikett) and Emma (Bibb) returning from a party when Emma removes her costume prompting Henry to question the superstition. Emma tries to take down the decoration only to be attack by something leaving her dead with her head on the very same decoration. This is how you start a horror film short and sweet story.
I am not going to give away too much about each story because they are short and sweet I will just look at the basic outline of them all.
For the next chapter of the story we meet Laurie (Paquin) and her friends as they are preparing for a wild party dressed in fairy tale characters, we learn that Laurie is a virgin and will be looking to lose it at this party.
The next major story involves a kid who is smashing Halloween decorations before he gets interrupted by Steven (Baker) who teaches the boy about respecting the dead on Halloween. Steven has his own tradition for Halloween.
The next story involves a group of children who are collecting Jack o lanterns to understand an urban legend that revolves around the town. The story goes that a school bus filled with special children whose parents wanted to get rid of them crashed into the quarry. The story is that the lost souls still haunt the area and the Jack O’ Lanterns gets placed there in respect every year.
The final story follows Mr Kreeg (Cox) an old lonely man who prefers to be on his own, playing tricks on anyone kid brave enough to come in his yard, but when he gets a taste of his own medicine he gets trapped inside his own home against the trademark sack boy lurking through all the stories.
Trick ‘r’ Treat is filled with little stories surrounding Halloween, all told over one night in one small town. The fact the stories all have dark twists to them all work really well and like most multiply stories we do have certain ones that out shine the others. The only one that seems to run through the whole film is the group of girl mates who are out for a party, I do feel by doing this we lose the impact of a couple of the other stories because even though the outcome of their story is great the other ones needed that little extra moment to shock. Overall the stories all come off very nicely and can be enjoyed. (7/10)
Actor Review
Dylan Baker: Steven is the high school principal who has a secret dark side he likes to let out on Halloween when it comes to making his own personal jack o lantern. He appears in all the stories with difference size parts but if his involvement in Laurie’s is that is the real twist. Dylan does a great job to perform as the creepy member of the community that looks friendly for the most part. (8/10)
Anna Paquin: Laurie is the early twenty year old out for a party with her friends, the party is designed to help her lose her virginity but not in the way we would expect. Anna does a good job and ends up involve in one of the sexiest transformations in the genre. (7/10)
Brian Cox: Mr Kreeg is the loner of the neighbourhood, he hates Halloween and spends most of the holiday chasing the kids away from his house. He gets taste of his own medicine when he gets a visit from the films iconic sack boy. Brian does a good job in the survival in the house but it doesn’t last long enough. (6/10)
Support Cast: Trick ‘r’ Treat has a big supporting cast that all mix into the stories of each other, they all help with the final outcome of the stories though.
Director Review: Michael Dougherty – Michael puts together a great little horror mix of stories with some of the best twists in short story horror. (7/10)
Comedy: Trick ‘r’ Treat doesn’t come off as full blown horror but I did like the dark comedy in the Steven storyline. (7/10)
Horror: Trick ‘r’ Treat tries to give us a mix of different horrors, but my only complaint would be that we don’t stick to the types of horror long enough. (6/10)
Settings: Trick ‘r’ Treat keeps everything happening in one small town which makes certain aspects of the story feel all that scarier because you never know your neighbours. (7/10)
Special Effects: Trick ‘r’ Treat uses great effects with the highlight being the brilliant and original werewolf transformations. (8/10)
Suggestion: Trick ‘r’ Treat is one for the horror fans out there to watch, it is a fun size horror classic really. (Horror Fans Watch)
Best Part: The final twist.
Worst Part: Too much focus on the girls party.
Favourite Quote: ‘Charlie Brown’s an Asshole’.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
Tagline: They were started to protect us
Overall: This is a brilliant collection of horror tales that doesn’t hit home as well as it could but still entertains.
Rating 
