Trick 'r Treat

"Trick 'r Treat" is probably what they intended "Halloween III" to be: A fun little horror movie that takes place at and revolves around Halloween. The episodic structure of the movie and the comic book background are reminiscent of George A. Romero's "Creepshow" and "Tales From The Crypt".

Although there is a certain amount of gore and some nudity this never feels like "hardcore horror", but more like a movie you could enjoy on a rainy afternoon with your kids... and that's a good thing. We've had so many shocking, violence-laden movies lately, that this is a very welcomed return to the more light-hearted, charming horror of our childhood.

"Trick 'r Treat" never strives to be special or meaningful. The episodes aren't especially original or disturbing, but director/screenwriter Michael Dougherty proves that you can breathe life into a horror movie just by taking it seriously, by putting your soul into it. The settings are atmospheric, the cinematography is inspired and beautiful. Some scenes are blatantly stolen from other movies (a scene that involves a little person slicing a grown-ups heel from underneath the bed is taken right out of "Pet Semetary", then we got the hand with a life of its own, that we've all seen before in "Evil Dead II", the Addams family movies and even "Waxwork II: Lost In Time"). However, these moments seem more like respectful nods to the movies we enjoyed as kids.

"Trick 'r Treat" has got its heart in the right place. It's the perfect movie for Halloween. It's charming and lots of fun. Great to see that there are still people like Dougherty out there who make old fashioned horror movies like this one.