Modern Cult Classics: Trick 'r Treat

Back when we were doing The Lair of the Unwanted podcast, Jason Soto and I have this fun little give-and-take: Jason liked to give us horror anthologies to discuss on the show that always took away 90 minutes of my life and a small piece of my soul. Jason loves horror anthologies, something I can only attribute to all that lead paint he ate as a kid.

Or "wall candy," as Jason used to call it.

So what exactly is my beef with horror anthology movies? I find them lazy. The condensed runtime seems to give the filmmakers an excuse to roll out extra cardboard-y characters for easy identification, they usually lean that much harder on poorly executed jump scares, gore and random twists for shocks, and the anthology framing devise is always the hackiest, most ridiculous part of the whole hacky, ridiculous experience. In other words, pfffth!

Could there be an exception to the rule? Let us consider Trick 'r Treat.

 

Directed by Michael Dougherty, 2008, 82 minutes, Rated R
A horror anthology unicorn.

 

Trick 'r Treat earns a bit of goodwill right off the bat by jettisoning the framing device. Instead, we see that all of the stories take place on Halloween night in a Midwest town known for its annual Halloween parade and festivities. Note that I said “we see” instead of “we’re told.” Characters from previous (or in-progress) stories often appear in the background of other stories, making it very simple to track the timeline of events without blatant hand-holding.

Another novelty: Most of the stories are not told uninterrupted. Instead, the stories are interwoven – partially for the purposes of the timeline, but mostly for impact. Sadly, I will not be following suit for the purposes of this review:

The film opens with Leslie Bibb and her husband returning from a Halloween party. He loves Halloween. Her? Not so much. “I hate Halloween,” Leslie Bibb says just as I finish writing “she hates Halloween” in my notes. Whoa. Such is her distaste with the holiday that she wants to start taking down the Halloween decorations RIGHTNOW. This is a horror film, so you can imagine how well that goes over…

Earlier that evening, a gaggle of gals get themselves some sexy costumes in anticipation of a sexy evening. Sexy Cinderella, Sexy Snow White and Sexy Little Bo Peep quickly pick up dates and are ready to go, but unamused Sexy Little Red Riding Hood (played by unamused Academy Award winner Anna Paquin) is unamused. Also, there appears to be an actual vampire running around. Do I have to tell you that it’s a sexy vampire? I do not.

Soon, Sexy Little Red and the sexy vampire cross sexy paths, and we get the most out-of-the-blue twist in the film – a sexy out-of-the-blue twist! This twist would later be recycled almost whole-cloth in a Halloween episode of Community, something that I somehow don’t hold against this movie or Community.

In another tale, we follow a chunky little jerk of a kid walking down the street, smashing jack o’ lanterns. He gets caught by creepy Dylan Baker, who we learn is the school principal. The Lil’ Jerk thinks he’s busted, but Principal Baker is cool with it and even gives him some candy. Surprise, the candy’s poisoned! After Lil’ Jerk power-chunks everywhere, the rest of this tale follows Principal Baker as he tries to dispose of the body without getting busted.

Meanwhile, a bunch of trick 'r treaters take a detour to an abandoned rock quarry, the site of the infamous School Bus Massacre. We get the full backstory, and then the kids take a rickety old elevator down to the bottom of the quarry. This is the most obvious of the stories (you’ll see it coming a mile away), but it’s still surprisingly effective.

And finally, Cranky Old Brian Co—HOLYSHITBRIANCOXISINTHIS!

International Treasure Brian Cox

Brian Cox is one of my all-time favorite actors. Notice I don’t say “movie stars” or “character actors” – no need for qualifying when it comes to Mr. Cox. He instantly makes okay stuff better (RED, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Super Troopers) and good stuff great (Manhunter, X-Men 2, The Bourne Identity). He’s the OG Hannibal Lecter – no extreme close-ups necessary! – and for my money, it’s not the mirror rant but Cox’s car ride monologue that’s the best part of 25^th Hour – crushes me every time. .In other words, Brian Cox is a whole lotta awesome.

Anyway, Cranky Old Man Cox gets a visit from Sam, the wordless little boy in the scarecrow hood and footie pajamas who has popped up repeatedly throughout the film. The visit does not go well for Old Man Cox. This is my favorite of the tales, partially because of the Power of Cox and partially because it’s very straightforward. It doesn’t try to be overly twist-y or clever, which means nothing is lazy or shoehorned into the story.

Okay, Jason, you win: This is such thing as a good horror anthology film.

****