5: Trick R Treat

I'm not sure I have ever described a horror film as delightful before, but Trick R Treat is absolutely delightful. A horror anthology in the vein of Creepshow, focusing on the best night of the year, October 31^st. It combines a sense of fright with a sense of fun. This film channels the spirit of Halloween effortlessly. Its like the horror A Chrismas Story.

In the world of Trick R treat, everyone has a dark secret, and nothing is what it seems. All of the customs we observe for Halloween aren't just for fun, but are also for survival. Creatures stalk the night, and if you break the rules you will fall prey to them. The film is almost reverent of Halloween. It has a lot of respect for the holiday and it's history, the old tradition's and what makes it still popular today.

The film is excellently plotted. Rather than being a traditional anthology, all of the stories are connected to the others in some way. It gives the world a sense of discovery, seeing references to the other stories, and having character's from both stories cross. Some of them are extremely subtle, to the point where you only notice them after repeated viewings. The stories are all connected through a central character, Sam, the spirit of the holiday. Sam watches everyone as they go about their business. As long as they uphold the tenants of Halloween, they are free to do whatever else they want.

All of the stories focus on common themes, but shift dramatically in tone. The first, the tale of a sadistic principal who kills people with poisoned Halloween candy, is darkly comic throughout. A lot of the Principal's action's are over the top to the point of hilarity. The next story is genuinely creepy. It is the tale of a group of kid's visiting an allegedly haunted quarry. A flashback sequence features kids in the most inexplicably terrifying costumes I've ever seen. The third story is interspersed between the others. It's the tale of a group of teenage girls going to a party and having fun, and trying to get their friend laid. They leave her alone to find a date, and she is stalked by a mysterious stranger. The final story is the tale of an old, bitter man who is does not respect the Holiday. He is haunted by Sam, who turns into a genuinely disturbing villain in this story. All of the main character's in these stories have dark secrets, and watching them all twist and turn around each other is an absolute blast.

This film is an absolute joy to look at. The special effects are all unusually good for a direct-to-DVD film. One transformation sequence in particular is probably my favorite transformation sequence of all time. The final scene with Sam is incredibly engaging. Sam fills staircases with candy. Marbles, and glass. He writes creepy messages on the walls, fills the yard with jack-o-lanterns. It is really beautiful. Even the more grounded stories are well-directed.

It takes everything that is great about the holiday and encapsulates it. Watching this film makes it feel like Halloween. It touches the slightly demented child in all of us. Is it scary? Not really. And yet, that doesn't matter. Sliding this DVD into my player is a Halloween tradition for me, just as much as passing out candy and carving jack-o-lanterns.