Fantastic Fest 2009: ‘Trick R Treat’ Review

When you do a google search, the first thing that comes up on the suggestion box is “Trick R Treat release date” and that’s because the film has been done since 2006 and for the last 2 years has been in release hell. Last night we got a chance to see this movie on the big screen before it hits DVD on October 6th. I will tell you that ‘Trick R Treat’ should be REQUIRED viewing on every Halloween. I can easily say that this is THE greatest Halloween film of all time.

The story is 4 interlaced events that all happen on Halloween in what would seem like your typical suburban town. The story could have taken place anywhere, but it was shot in Vancouver. The opens with one of the stories and from there they shoot back to earlier times to see how each story connects. The first story features a couple who comes home after a night of partying, a principal that moonlights as a serial killer, a teenager who is looking to lose her virginity, and a story revolving around a group of teenage kids.

The stories are tied together flawlessly, but to save any spoilers from ruining it for you I wont delve into much more detail than that. I will tell you that the film stars Leslie Bibb, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, and Tahmoh Penikett and each of them is freaking fantastic in this movie. The killer in the film(mostly) is this little small guy that is running around in a pumpkin head(not that one) costume and shows up randomly. He is really short, stalks around and just generally creeps everyone out.

Mike Dougherty wrote the screenplay for the film and wanted to have 4 different directors do each version of the story. He mentions in our interview that at one point he had Carpenter and Romero signed on to do a part of the story but the studio scoffed at it. Eventually he decided to step up to the plate and direct it himself.

What you will see on October 6th is going to blow you away with its brilliance and sheer creepiness. After watching the film, I walked out and said “Seriously WB, what the hell took so long?!”.