Finally. Halloween couldn't have come sooner.
After a two year delay, Warner Bros. releases Michael Dougherty's (co-screenwriter of "Superman Returns" and "X2: X-Men United") "Trick 'r Treat" on DVD under Warner Premiere. For a while, I was worried that WB kept pushing back the movie because of lack of quality, and that my craving to finally see "Trick 'r Treat" would turn into numbing disappointment, my hopeful candle blown out and my smug jack-o-lantern face smashed into bits and pieces of squashed pumpkin. Thankfully, that isn't the case.
If there is one thing wrong with "Trick 'r Treat," it's what I expected it to be, and is really the only thing disappointing about it, simply that it could've been more. Well, that's just my thoughts; not many people really expect a horror movie about Halloween to really be anything special, would they? What? Why? Because it's Halloween. It's a kids holiday, something only marketed at kids, for kids and with something like "TRT," marketed instead for teenagers. Except me, because I love Halloween. Not really what All Hallow's Eve represents, but more so how it looks. To me Halloween is it's own fantasy world, with a rich visual decor of juxtaposing bright oranges, darker than dark blacks, and a mingling of other colors to create an eerie atmosphere; and the whole thing a hauntingly beautiful gothic look. Twisted trees, dense, ethereal fog, bright falling leaves, derelict Victorian-style houses like something out of Edgar Allen Poe. And some really interesting monsters: witches, ghosts, goblins, werewolves, vampires, all intertwined into one fun holiday of mayhem and mischief. You know what I mean, what I'm describing. You've seen it before, and imagined it in you dreams, what a fun-creepy world of chaotic mischief would be like. Writer/Director Michael Dougherty brought it to life, here in "Trick 'r Treat" for all to see. He is without a doubt Halloween's biggest fan, and growing up with those hauntingly visual dreams he has created a quintessential Halloween world, one we all imagine is the right one. This is what I love most about "Trick 'r Treat," there is now a movie that is about Halloween and is set in the right place. Imagine setting Oz in Louisiana. Or Middle Earth in Kentucky.
As for the story of "TRT," it's done in anthology, another thing Dougherty is a huge fan of. It's not that terribly clever, the way all the stores intertwine into each other, but it's satisfying. Most of the surprises in the movie are convincing and, even though not as witty, seem right. Not many interesting characters, either, but they are engaging enough for the way Dougherty depicts them in the context of the Halloween tradition. Laurie worried about her "first time," Rhonda respectful of Halloween, but scared as to what will be found at the quarry, Steven Wilkins also respectful, but naive about his after-dark killing spree, Mr Kreeg secluded in his simple, hermit life, despising Halloween, and Emma sick and tired of the childish Halloween game play. All these characters have intrepid, frightened or pessimistic views of the Holiday, and all revelations come full circle. Some characters get theirs, others get redeemed, and others get pay back. Again, not all that interesting, but gratifying. You get your monies worth. Hey, it's interesting enough for Halloween. It gets it's due in "Trick 'r Treat." But, I hope someone else takes the world of Halloween and brings it to another level.
Great technical stuff: photography by Glen MacPherson, editing by Robert Ivison, terrific production design by Mark Freeborn, and a loud, bang-up score a-la Alan Silvestri by Douglas Pipes (for which Michael Dougherty paid for himself, he is just as big a fan of big orchestra, melodic film music as much as I am.)
Happy Halloween.
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