Trick 'r Treat

Hadn’t heard about this holiday-themed horror nugget before, but the trailer was posted on the Shocklines message board recently and really grabbed my attention. Boasting the killer tagline “Drowning, poison, claw, or knife. So many ways to take a life” and a beautiful, atmospheric look, Trick 'r Treat is an anthology movie that highlights the scary (and deadly) consequences of dismissing a tradition. Four vignettes are (according to advance reviews) seamlessly interwoven Creepshow-style (minus the clearly defined segments) in what Bloody Disgusting compared to a live-action Nightmare Before Christmas. From Warner Bros:

It is said that Halloween is the night when the dead rise to walk among us and other unspeakable things roam free. The rituals of All Hallows Eve were devised to protect us from their evil mischief, and one small town is about to be taught a terrifying lesson that some traditions are best not forgotten. Nothing is what it seems when a suburban couple learns the dangers of blowing out a Jack-o-Lantern before midnight; four women cross paths with a costumed stalker at a local festival; a group of pranksters goes too far and discovers the horrifying truth buried in a local legend; and a cantankerous old hermit is visited by a strange trick-or-treater with a few bones to pick. Costumes and candy, ghouls and goblins, monsters and mayhem... the tricks and treats of Halloween turn deadly as strange creatures of every variety-human and otherwise-try to survive the scariest night of the year.

Indeed, watching the superb trailer brings to mind Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. See what you think:



In yet another testament to the inanity of the Hollywood machine, Warner Bros. Pictures dropped the film from its roster last year — despite excellent advance word coming out of test screenings — leaving it in distribution limbo. Keep in mind that this is the same company that opts for wide releases of subpar J-Horror remakes like One Missed Call, the sequel to Rest Stop (!), and duds like The Reaping. Enough said.

On a positive note, Trick 'r Treat has been given the honor of opening the 2008 Screamfest Horror Film Festival at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on October 10th. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with first-time director Michael Dougherty. Dougherty is also an accomplished artist and has chronicled how his artwork inspired the film in the new book Trick 'r Treat: Tales of Mayhem, Mystery & Mischief, which he’ll be signing on October 9th at Dark Delicacies in Burbank.