DailyView: Day 239, Movie 329

We are just two days away from Christmas, so there is no better time to watch a Halloween horror anthology film than now. Okay, maybe instead I am watching this movie, 2007’s Trick ‘r Treat because it is leaving HBO Max at the end of December and I want to watch it. A little bit of October in December never hurt anyone…except perhaps a whole bunch of characters in this movie.

Trick ‘r Treat had several small stories all taking place in the same town of Warren Valley, Ohio on Halloween night where a certain add trick-or-treater named Sam (Quinn Lord) seemed to be enforcing the riles and customs of All Hallows’ Eve.

There are several stories that were being told in a non-linear narrative, jumping around showing how they may be tied together. These include a school principal Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) who, along with his annoying son Charlie (Brett Kelly), appeared to be some form of serial killer (though the film does not go into much detail on this bit of the tale), a group of kids pulling a trick dealing with an old legend of a bus crash, Kreeg (Brian Cox), Wilkins ill tempered neighbor and his hatred of Halloween and mysterious background, as well as Laurie (Anna Paquin) and her sister Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith) who were attending a surprise party.

These stories appeared separate but they did continue to mix across during the narrative. There were some real gross out moments (I hate vomit scenes) and several extremely creepy moments. The irony is thick through Trick ‘r Treat and it keeps you intrigued to see where it was going next. It also makes you wonder why this town is such a mecca for the mysterious.

The framing of the film was much like a comic book, which DC Comics put out a graphic novel of the film (which was initially supposed to be a four issue weekly series but had to be redone when the film was delayed).

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy Halloween!