Trick r Treat

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Rating 2


Written and directed by Michael Dougherty

Starring Dylan Baker (Steven Wilkins), Anna Paquin (Laurie), Britt McKillip (Macy), Leslie Bibb (Emma), Tahmoh Penikett (Henry), Samm Todd (Rhonda), Jean-Luc Bilodeau (Schrader), Isabelle Deluce (Sara), Alberto Ghisi (Chip), Lauren Lee Smith (Danielle), Connor Christopher Levins (Billy Wilkins), Christine Willes (Mrs Henderson) and Brett Kelly (Charlie)


A series of bizarre and bloody events occur on Halloween, each one in some way connected.

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‘Trick r Treat’ was written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. Dougherty co-wrote ‘X2’ and ‘Superman Returns’, two big-budget blockbuster films directed by Singer. The film, which had a $12 million production budget, was originally scheduled for release to coincide with Halloween 2007, but following a number of isolated one-off screenings from December 2007 onwards it was eventually released to DVD in October 2009. It has an 86% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 21 reviews.

The film is an anthology of several Halloween stories, each one in some way linked to the others. It has an almost dreamlike quality to it and plays like a kind of grisly comic fairytale. It is very cleverly put together, with some nice touches and attention to detail, and it has a recognisable and likeable cast. Such an inventive horror film with touches of black comedy set around the Halloween holiday should have been a real treat, but for some reason I just didn’t take to it. One reviewer, Bill Gibron, writing for PopMatters, suggests that, “A second viewing is definitely needed before confirming its almost masterpiece status.”

There already is a Halloween masterpiece, of course, and it’s called ‘Halloween’. All other Halloween-based horror films are destined to be compared to that John Carpenter classic. I don’t think this one compares, but perhaps I need to give it that second viewing sometime.

Review posted 15 November 2009


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