Relentlessly advertised on the Sci-Fi channel, “Trick-or-Treat” promised its viewers Halloween thrills and perturbed moments saturated with gore. “Fangoria”, a magazine dedicated to the production and promotion of intense horror movies, even mentioned “Trick-or-Treat”. Being a movie buff, I was enticed by the ads.
I always begin to judge a movie by the way the introduction is composed. For instance, I can never seem to forget the intro of the1999 version of “House on Haunted Hill” with close-ups of bizarre hospital instruments and trails of blood. After the opening credits, the black and white viewing of the hospital massacre with its film scratches and bona fide ambiance, the movie had fully consumed me. Just like a good book or intriguing news story, the introduction is what draws in the reader or viewer, proving to them why they should continue on. In this case, “Trick-or-Treat” opens with meticulously-designed credits that kind of make the viewers question the contents of the storyline. It then proceeds to a typical teen-slasher death scene to begin the hellish Halloween night.
This film thoroughly confused me in some parts. There are several different stories going on at once and the film jumps around from each, back and forth. Usually, I am okay with this type of storyline. After awhile, I start to see how the stories interweave. But not in “Trick-or-Treat.” By the end of the movie, I still have unanswered questions. Some stories do not align. People kill people for reasons I do not know. Why kill someone when there is a pumpkin-headed demon running around doing it for you? Some people were kept alive, again, for reasons that apparently were not important enough to make clear to the audience.
Coming from a family of artists, special effects can greatly enhance or discredit a movie. “Trick-or-Treat” did not display horrible effects, but under the mask of the pumpkin-headed creature, I was expecting something a little more imaginative, gruesome and warped. The contents revealed from under the gunny sack were sub-par. Without giving away the rest of the film’s fascinating surprises, it is safe to say they could have done better.
Despite the twisted storylines ending in sprawled out tributaries and the less-than-impressive special effects, I give kudos to the five-minute vomit scene. I do not think my toes ever bowed so much from repulsion. I can tell you I will never again take candy from a stranger. It is little bits of the movie like this that make it worth checking out, just to kind of see what “Trick-or-Treat” is all about.