Starting October Off Right with Trick r Treat! (2008)

Today is the first day of October, and the start of my "Halloween Movie Marathon!" At least, that's what I like to call it. I figured I'd start it off right with something perfectly geared towards the spirit of the season, and threw on Trick r Treat. I should mention that this was also highly recommended by twitter user @kendralynneee. In fact I think I've seen her mention that she's watched it multiple times within the past few weeks. Well I figured if I was going to watch her recommendation, I should save it for the right time, and that was today! Hit the jump, ring the door bell, say "Trick r Treat" and I'll give you my thoughts on it!


Trick r Treat is a series of 4 short stories about Halloween. In fact they all take place in the same town, on the same night... Halloween night! One story is about a group of kids who like to pull pranks, but this one goes a bit too far. Another story is about a group of hot girls going to a party and a killer on the loose. Yet another is about a Principle who doesn't like Halloween all that much, and lastly there's the story about unusual little Sam. He looks like a very little boy, wearing an orange one-piece set of pj's, with a simple burlap sack for a mask with button eyes. Actually, his full name is Samhain, and he just wants people follow the rules of the holiday.

Sam is an odd little one. Here he is admiring a dead crow he found

I think one of the best parts about this movie is how all the stories, while separate, intertwine and cross-over each other. While one story is going on, you might see a character from an earlier story, or maybe even one that you just saw die. This is because the stories aren't told in chronological order, instead they're all jumbled up. This means that part of the fun of the film is figuring out what came when, and how they overlap.

The other thing I love about Trick r Treat is Sam himself. He's on the cover of the movie, and you see him a lot throughout the whole film. Maybe he's just wandering down the side of the road, or maybe he's trick-or-treating with other kids. Or maybe he's causing his own unique brand of trouble. Sam is easily one of the coolest new Halloween/Horror movie icons I've seen in a long time. In a lot of movies, the monster is just a villain for that movie, but sometimes they have something special that makes them transcend into iconic territory.

Sam shows up when you least expect him. He's always watching.

What's even cooler is that this isn't the first appearance of Sam. The writer/director of Trick r Treat, Michael Dougherty, made an animated short called Season's Greetings which starred little Sam. You can watch the full thing on YouTube right here! Purely because I liked Sam so much, I'm only going to use images of him for this whole review, but keep in mind he's only a small part of the film even though he shows up in every story. There's plenty more going on in here that has nothing to do with him.

While the movie was made on a small budget, it doesn't really seem like it because of some of the really great practical effects, but also because of the cast. Sure you're not going to see Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, or Nichol Kidman, but you will see recognizable actors like Anna Paquin (True Blood), Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica), Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 2 & 3) and the great Brian Cox (X-Men 2, Braveheart, Rob Roy, Manhunter etc etc). The most recognizable is probably Anna Paquin in her Little Red Riding Hood costume, but I think the best acting in the whole film is probably courtesy of Brian Cox. He plays a grumpy old man who doesn't like Halloween and won't give out candy. This of course makes Sam angry.

You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

While Trick r Treat isn't the scariest movie I've ever seen, I'm sure some people will find it plenty scary. To be sure though, it sure was fun! It has a lot of comedy to it in a sort of clever, yet cheesy way. It had some creepy moments, some great effects, and the wonderful addition to the classic horror villains cast of Samhain. Trick r Treat is an easy recommendation as a fun Halloween film to watch. It's also not a terribly gory movie either, so for those who like scary movies, but not gory ones, I would think this one would be fine. Lastly, it will make you feel like there's a good reason to give out candy on Halloween, and that it's not just a waste of your money to add to the cavities of the neighborhood kids!