"Trick R Treat" Review

I had huge expectations for this movie released today (10/6). The imagery on the trailer got me really excited. I think it's because, believe it or not, there are hardly any scary movies that take place on Halloween night. What does it take to get horror movie makers to realize--hello? There's an audience who wants to see Halloween on, well, Halloween!

My first instinct was, "this might replace the movie `Halloween' for my regular yearly watching." You know, in the psychic world, first instincts work great. Picking movies... not so much.

The movie is broken down into several stories happening simultaneously on the night of nights--Halloween. It has a "Creepshow" feel and campiness and even comic sketches between scenes.

Oh, there's so much they could have done with this movie (stomping foot, pouting)!

I won't thrown the baby out with the bathwater, however. Okay, maybe I should revise that for this genre--I won't throw the pumpkin out with the pumpkin seeds. The truth is, it had some strengths.


PRO: Atmosphere. It did delve into some very awesomely decorated yards, costumed people, creepy costumes, urban legends, Halloween parties, scary foggy pathways, falling leaves, Jack O'Lanterns. If you want your fix of watching a really traditional feeling Halloween, this is a very good fix. In fact, of all the Halloween movies I can think of (can count on one hand), this one really makes me feel like Halloween (unlike "Halloween" that was obviously filmed in California and not the Midwest at Halloween time). I want to jump into the scenes. Since women are extremely susceptible to atmosphere, this helps me to like the movie a lot more than it deserves.

CON: Well, as much as I love the setting, the stories, dialogue, and directing are seriously lacking. Much of it made no sense. You get thrown from one story to another with resultant whiplash. You don't care about the characters. You want more mystery, but it's more in-your-face and less spooky and drawn out. In other words, suspense is seriously lacking.

Okay, if you're going to plunk down the requisite $5-plus to rent the movie, be prepared to just soak in the scenery and not be scared.