Trick 'r Treat is an homage to the 1980's horror film. Remniscent of Creepshow, the movie featurs four stories that are somewhat intertwined by the presence of odd little character named Sam, who seems intent on punishing those who break the "rules" of Halloween.
The first story centers around a couple (Leslie Bibb and Tahmoh Penikett) returning from a Halloween party. She wants to blow out their jack-o-lantern. He says to leave it lit - that it's against tradition to blow it out. She blows it out anyway and meets Sam.
In the next story, we meet Principal Wilkins (Dylan Baker), who has his own form of punishment for young chlldren who don't follow the rule of checking your candy before you eat it.
This story seques into a piece about some children gathering jack-o-lanterns. They head out to a local quarry - site of "The Halloween School Bus Massacre, where legend has it some local parents paid a school bus driver to kill their severely mentally challenged and disturbed children. What was suppose to be a prank goes awry when the children return from their watery grave.
In "The Surprise Party", four young women (including Anna Paquin) are buying Halloween costumes and meeting guys to take to a party. There is also a killer attacking in the area who has fake fangs like a vampire. Paquin, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, catches his interest. He follows her on her way to the party, but he and all of the party guests are in for an unpleasant surprise.
Lastly, we meet Mr. Kreeg, Wilkin's crotchety neighbor who has deeper secret. He gets a one-on-one meeting with Sam, which in turn circles back to the the beginning of the story as we see a couple returning home from a halloween party. Kreeg also gets an unwanted visit from some people from his past.
The characters and stories interweave throughout the movie. Trick 'r Treat was a hit on festival circuits, but (sadly) never got a wide theatrical release. It's a fun little horror movie that is must-see for genre fans - especially those that grew up in the 80's.
In the Ames area, the movie can be found at Family Video or it also available on DVD and Streaming from Netflix.
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