Jean: A Legend In My Own Mind (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zouzounaki) wrote2009-10-13 01:24 pm
zouzounaki) wrote2009-10-13 01:24 pm
Trick 'r Treat: modern horror treat or overhyped trick?
If you've never heard of the horror cult-classic Trick 'r Treat, I don't blame you and neither does creator/writer/directer Michael Dougherty (co-writer of X2: X-Men united and Superman Returns, as well as alleged ghost writer on X-Men--Bryan Singer produced this movie and two of its stars, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox, are X-Men alum), who filmed the movie over two years ago and then watched as Warner Brothers neatly stuffed it on the shelf. I became intrigued immediately after seeing the trailer on the 300 DVD (to promote, at that time, a theatrical release that was never to be); everything about it dripped Halloween: the rich, autumnal colors, the glowing jack-o'-lanterns that seemed to populate every scene. My sister was the first to say it: It was as if someone made a movie specifically for me.
In the time between then and now, it was given two more separate release dates, none of which came to fruition, and played at endless horror film festivals and conventions, earning its cult status as one of the great, unnoticed gems. Warners finally relented and released the movie on DVD a week ago and I finally--finally--got my sweaty little mitts on it. So, did it live up to the hype?
Well, yes and no.
Billed as an anthology, the film really is about four intertwined stories, taking place over one Halloween night in small town Ohio. This is a point of contention with many reviewers and both works to its advantage and, honestly, peeved me a bit: occasionally, they're connected by nothing more than a sound in the background, a wolf's howl for instance, but in the case of the Halloween School Bus Massacre and the story of Mr. Kreeg (wonderfully played by Brian Cox!), the story is inseparable, though you don't truly understand it until the end. While it made for a gasp worthy moment, the reveal of Mr. Kreeg's identity and his relation to the massacre, it also made the other two stories feel oddly out of place, as if this should have been the central focus of the movie, the main storyline.
And then Doughtery tries to link the other two just as strongly in a way I just don't feel works. The reveal that Dylan Baker's murderous, ordinary-guy principle is also the vampire stalker seemed odd and out of place and had me questioning the timeline of the whole thing. When did he attack the first girl? When his son was out trick or treating? Why did he go out again after he and his son "carved the jack-o'-lantern?" There's a shot during Mr. Kreeg's story that show's Steven's son sitting alone, handing out candy as his father had been doing, most likely with equally lethal consequences, but there's absolutely not indication, not even one line of exposition to explain how or why, after burying his victims in the backyard, he'd take another jaunt out into the party atmosphere Halloween's inspiring for the younger characters.
I've heard this movie's tone described as a lot of things, the best was a "loving mix between EC Comics' code-defying catalog and Nickelodeon's sadly long-gone Are You Afraid of the Dark" and that pretty much nails it. "An 80's Amblin production with teeth" is another good one. Twisted morality tales with the no-one-gets-out-alive mentality of Stephen King's Carrie, though without the horrid, stark and glum fatalism of modern horror movies. Funny and fun without ever even dipping its tow into camp is a very difficult thing to achieve, and yet Doughtery hits on it seemingly effortlessly. "Werewolves, zombies and demons of every variety, They've all descended upon the normally sleepy town of Warren Valley, Ohio," the newscaster at the beginning announces enthusiastically, unwittingly letting the viewer know exactly what they're in for.
There's was something inexplicably thrilling about watching as the director played with out expectations, and I found myself waiting for the scares, laughing when my attention was misdirected: As Leslie Bibb's Emma, a self-proclaimed Halloween-hater, reaches for the sheet decoration her lawn as a ghost, time almost seems to slow down as we anticipate what she'll find beneath it. The shot seems to take forever, building the tension. Her attention is elsewhere, on an innocent boy in a creepy costume across the street--the perfect set-up. And then... nothing. She throws the sheet into a basket and suddenly, almost before you understand what's happening, it rises and attacks. When her husband comes out to see what's taking her so long, he almost, almost is drawn to that limb hanging among the fake ones in a nearby tree, and we feel the pull with him thanks to some fantastic camera work that keeps it just out of sight, until another sheet draws his attention, and this time there's a very gruesome surprise waiting for him beneath.
In another perfect turn of trickery, you're led to believe for a sickening moment that a nasty adolescent prank has had fatal consequences for Rhonda "the Retard," the prankee, as she falls backward trying to escape an advancing gang of child-sized "zombies," hitting her head and blacking out; again, the movie plays with the expectation and one of the kids even says aloud, "Jesus, is she dead?!" But she gets back up and the movie turns its wicked morality upon the group of children doing the pranking as Rhonda ultimately escapes the real zombies, leaving the others behind.
The payoff for Anna Paquin's story is probably the best, and most graphic, but as her segment's also the most underdeveloped, it almost feels a bit wasted. I do have to say, it is one of the most fantastic werewolf transformations I've seen captured on film as she, and the other girls in their Halloween slut-chic costumes, begin to peel not only their clothes off but their skin as well.
And then there's Sam, the lovable little homicidal mascot and possible embodiment of the twisted spirit of Halloween who weaves in and out of one story and then the next as if he's choosing just the right victim. the design is horrifying, something that stays with you and when Mr. Kreeg shoots him and pumpkin guts fly out--sheer genius! Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the awful prosthetic the actor's made to wear when Sam's face is unmasked: I can see that the original design was probably terrifying in Doughtery's artwork, a pumpkin with a skull's features, but it ruins not only the mystery of Sam but also the movie's nearly flawless f/x work. It's not bad by any means, especially for low budget, but it's not as exceptional as the rest of the design work either and one can almost hear the servos whirring as the features move mechanically. That was the biggest disappointment.
And I'm still left a bit confused about the symbolism of jack-o'-lanterns. Rhonda warns them all to keep the lanterns lit when the children from the bus come after them, and the zombies seem to come forth only when the last one is extinguished, but for Mr. Kreeg it seems as if Sam's set-up in the old man's yard attracts the zombie children like a beacon. Henry warns Emma to keep their jack-o'-lantern lit, and she callously disregards him, leading to Sam's attack, so does that mean it would have protected her? Perhaps, like Sam, they are what they are: a mystery, a wicked enigma, symbol of possibly the strangest holiday we've ever come up with.
Bottom line: this movie's a great seasonal staple, perhaps not a classic on the level of, say, Halloween (but what do I know? Maybe people said the same of that back in the day; I was only one when it came out!) or the movie it's most compared to, Creepshow. It's got thrills and scares, some wicked, nasty gore (watch out for that if you're squeamish: a little boy vomiting blood and poisoned chocolate is an image that will stay with you! By no means believe this movie is harmless in that department!) Definitely worth a rental, especially on a dark, autumnal night curled up with some popcorn, or for a showing at a Halloween party.
4/5
Peace, Ghani
In the time between then and now, it was given two more separate release dates, none of which came to fruition, and played at endless horror film festivals and conventions, earning its cult status as one of the great, unnoticed gems. Warners finally relented and released the movie on DVD a week ago and I finally--finally--got my sweaty little mitts on it. So, did it live up to the hype?
Well, yes and no.
Billed as an anthology, the film really is about four intertwined stories, taking place over one Halloween night in small town Ohio. This is a point of contention with many reviewers and both works to its advantage and, honestly, peeved me a bit: occasionally, they're connected by nothing more than a sound in the background, a wolf's howl for instance, but in the case of the Halloween School Bus Massacre and the story of Mr. Kreeg (wonderfully played by Brian Cox!), the story is inseparable, though you don't truly understand it until the end. While it made for a gasp worthy moment, the reveal of Mr. Kreeg's identity and his relation to the massacre, it also made the other two stories feel oddly out of place, as if this should have been the central focus of the movie, the main storyline.
And then Doughtery tries to link the other two just as strongly in a way I just don't feel works. The reveal that Dylan Baker's murderous, ordinary-guy principle is also the vampire stalker seemed odd and out of place and had me questioning the timeline of the whole thing. When did he attack the first girl? When his son was out trick or treating? Why did he go out again after he and his son "carved the jack-o'-lantern?" There's a shot during Mr. Kreeg's story that show's Steven's son sitting alone, handing out candy as his father had been doing, most likely with equally lethal consequences, but there's absolutely not indication, not even one line of exposition to explain how or why, after burying his victims in the backyard, he'd take another jaunt out into the party atmosphere Halloween's inspiring for the younger characters.
I've heard this movie's tone described as a lot of things, the best was a "loving mix between EC Comics' code-defying catalog and Nickelodeon's sadly long-gone Are You Afraid of the Dark" and that pretty much nails it. "An 80's Amblin production with teeth" is another good one. Twisted morality tales with the no-one-gets-out-alive mentality of Stephen King's Carrie, though without the horrid, stark and glum fatalism of modern horror movies. Funny and fun without ever even dipping its tow into camp is a very difficult thing to achieve, and yet Doughtery hits on it seemingly effortlessly. "Werewolves, zombies and demons of every variety, They've all descended upon the normally sleepy town of Warren Valley, Ohio," the newscaster at the beginning announces enthusiastically, unwittingly letting the viewer know exactly what they're in for.
There's was something inexplicably thrilling about watching as the director played with out expectations, and I found myself waiting for the scares, laughing when my attention was misdirected: As Leslie Bibb's Emma, a self-proclaimed Halloween-hater, reaches for the sheet decoration her lawn as a ghost, time almost seems to slow down as we anticipate what she'll find beneath it. The shot seems to take forever, building the tension. Her attention is elsewhere, on an innocent boy in a creepy costume across the street--the perfect set-up. And then... nothing. She throws the sheet into a basket and suddenly, almost before you understand what's happening, it rises and attacks. When her husband comes out to see what's taking her so long, he almost, almost is drawn to that limb hanging among the fake ones in a nearby tree, and we feel the pull with him thanks to some fantastic camera work that keeps it just out of sight, until another sheet draws his attention, and this time there's a very gruesome surprise waiting for him beneath.
In another perfect turn of trickery, you're led to believe for a sickening moment that a nasty adolescent prank has had fatal consequences for Rhonda "the Retard," the prankee, as she falls backward trying to escape an advancing gang of child-sized "zombies," hitting her head and blacking out; again, the movie plays with the expectation and one of the kids even says aloud, "Jesus, is she dead?!" But she gets back up and the movie turns its wicked morality upon the group of children doing the pranking as Rhonda ultimately escapes the real zombies, leaving the others behind.
The payoff for Anna Paquin's story is probably the best, and most graphic, but as her segment's also the most underdeveloped, it almost feels a bit wasted. I do have to say, it is one of the most fantastic werewolf transformations I've seen captured on film as she, and the other girls in their Halloween slut-chic costumes, begin to peel not only their clothes off but their skin as well.
And then there's Sam, the lovable little homicidal mascot and possible embodiment of the twisted spirit of Halloween who weaves in and out of one story and then the next as if he's choosing just the right victim. the design is horrifying, something that stays with you and when Mr. Kreeg shoots him and pumpkin guts fly out--sheer genius! Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the awful prosthetic the actor's made to wear when Sam's face is unmasked: I can see that the original design was probably terrifying in Doughtery's artwork, a pumpkin with a skull's features, but it ruins not only the mystery of Sam but also the movie's nearly flawless f/x work. It's not bad by any means, especially for low budget, but it's not as exceptional as the rest of the design work either and one can almost hear the servos whirring as the features move mechanically. That was the biggest disappointment.
And I'm still left a bit confused about the symbolism of jack-o'-lanterns. Rhonda warns them all to keep the lanterns lit when the children from the bus come after them, and the zombies seem to come forth only when the last one is extinguished, but for Mr. Kreeg it seems as if Sam's set-up in the old man's yard attracts the zombie children like a beacon. Henry warns Emma to keep their jack-o'-lantern lit, and she callously disregards him, leading to Sam's attack, so does that mean it would have protected her? Perhaps, like Sam, they are what they are: a mystery, a wicked enigma, symbol of possibly the strangest holiday we've ever come up with.
Bottom line: this movie's a great seasonal staple, perhaps not a classic on the level of, say, Halloween (but what do I know? Maybe people said the same of that back in the day; I was only one when it came out!) or the movie it's most compared to, Creepshow. It's got thrills and scares, some wicked, nasty gore (watch out for that if you're squeamish: a little boy vomiting blood and poisoned chocolate is an image that will stay with you! By no means believe this movie is harmless in that department!) Definitely worth a rental, especially on a dark, autumnal night curled up with some popcorn, or for a showing at a Halloween party.
4/5
Peace, Ghani