Director: Michael Dougherty
Rating: 8 out of 10
Now, here's some fun. For everything The Brood was (sad, heavy, slow, ominous) we have the antithesis to that in Trick 'r' Treat. This flick is fun, briskly paced, humorous, and just a damn good time. It's not really scary or creepy, it's just plain fun. It's told like it's right out of the pages of a comic book, which it almost is since many of the scenes appear in comic form during the opening credits, as well as the very last scene of the film.
I guess this film has a nasty little history with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures never giving it a wide release in theaters. This just goes to show you how unintelligent studio executives are about movies. They have a great horror flick that would have KILLED at the box office if given an October release, just through repeat business and a damn good hook for the holiday month. The distribution company was Warner Bros., so it's not like we're dealing with a small indie company that can't afford to release the film wide. I guess they just wanted to recoup expenses with DVD sales, though they made it wait on the shelf for 2 years before that would happen. I hate the suits in Hollywood, they know nothing about the medium they're in charge of and we suffer for it. Just let the talent run the business, please.
So, the film. It's told as 4 separate vignettes that take place non-linearly on Halloween night in a small town in Ohio. The 4 include: The Principle, School Bus Massacre Revisited, Surprise Party, and Meet Sam. There's also an excellent opening sequence where we meet a few characters that pop up as the movie gooes on. It's one of those movies where you need to pay attention to everything going on because the filmmakers place familiar characters or precursors to something we've already seen in many of the scenes. If I had to pick a weak link in the story I'd have to say it would be Surprise Party, though it does feature the only star anyone would know, Anna Paquin. That story is mainly a play on words and rife with double-entendres that are a little silly upon repeat viewings. But it's still a good time.
The thing about this movie is it's really only good to watch around Halloween. I mean, it's a great flick in general, but it's so festive and in-love with the holiday that it's amazingly essential viewing during the month of October. Any other time of the year you'd watch it and wish it was Halloween time again. I want to live in this town, minus all the killings, because it's basically a real-life version of Halloween Town from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The set design is absolutely outstanding, there's pumpkins and corn shalks and Halloween decorations in almost every shot. I love it. Please watch this and you will too.
Next: An American Werewolf in London
No comments:
Post a Comment