Trick ‘r Treat

2007 (but was actually released only at film festivals and went to DVD in 2009)

Demon children/child ghosts have a special place in the pit of my stomach. Something about seeing an undead little person possessed by the devil gives me some serious shudders. Obviously, it has to do with “unfinished business” and “death of innocence.” But I also think it stems from the fact that I have a very rational fear of having my ankles slashed or bitten, something that the demon child in this movie actually does.

This is one of those fun movies that has interlinking plot lines, where the stories of four different groups are connected only by slight overlap, but all connected by a bigger theme. Just like other perennial favorites, such as Love Actually or Crash. In Trick ‘r Treat, the major connection is “Sam,” the pumpkin head kid who wears a burlap sack and footie pajamas and is playing a decades long game of intense “trick-or-treat.” Sam…you’re winning the game. Trust me. Now go back to Satan’s lair where you belong.

The first story is an annoying drunk couple on Halloween night. They deserve to get killed immediately. The only connection they have to the other stories is that they show up in their scenes to provide a timeline. I’ll title this one “Timekeeper.”

The second story is a little more detailed, involving a serial killer who also happens to be the principal of the local school. I can’t tell what his M.O. is since he seems to go after old and young, women and men. The only thing we do know is that his very annoying child is very good at helping dispose of the victims. I’ll call this one “Bonding Time.”

The third story is slightly cliche because it involves a group of tramps wearing highly inappropriate fairy tale costumes for a Halloween party. They lure men into the woods with their boobs and beers for a serious party. However, there is the “virgin” played by the not-her-usual-annoying self, Anna Paquin. She can’t seem to find the “right one” for her big night and finally gives up and heads to the woods party. However, there is someone following her. Oh look, it is the serial killer principal who has been biting women all night to collect their bodies! Anna Paquin invites him to the party by throwing him into a tree. Obviously, these aren’t your typical tramps. They are werewolves who eat men, drink beer, and dance around a fire naked. Let’s call this one “Killing Time.”

The final story is the most intricate. A group of pre-teens brings a social outcast to a rock quarry on the edge of town. They tell her a local legend of a bus driver who killed a busload of “disturbed” children on Halloween because the parents paid him to. After telling her the story, they disappear, only to appear in costumes to make her believe the dead children have risen for their vengeance. Unfortunately the prank backfires and sends the outcast into shock. Then the dead children actually DO come back, and the outcast leaves the pranksters to deal with their own destinies. It’s hard to tell if she left them in the rock quarry on purpose, she was under a spell, or she was in shock. Either way, children’s screams ensue while she walks calmly away.

This story continues to involve the cantankerous old neighbor of the principal serial killer. We find out he was the bus driver who killed the children and was never heard from again. This is when we are okay with the pumpkin head demon child attacking someone. Unfortunately for Sam, he is able to get his treat and can’t perform his trick (kill) on this terrible man. Luckily, the old man gets his in the end when he opens the door and sees the zombie children from the rock quarry. Then it zooms to the first scene of the movie with the annoying couple. Let’s call this one “A Stitch In Time Saves Nine” because it sounds cool and there’s aren’t many other phrases that involve “time.”

In addition to crossing “Sam” of the list of possible names for my future children, I am also never buying them footie pajamas. I don’t care how fashionable they are. You ruin everything, horror movies!