To sum it up, watching "Trick 'r Treat" is like reading four interrelated Goosebumps books, where R.L. Stine is allowed to swear and show blood and boobies. Each of the yarns ends with a twist of varying originality and surprise. In some cases, the twist is more of a 15-degree left turn, but nonetheless, the writer seems to have tried to impress us with his ingenuity. By the actual end, you're so aware of the inevitability of a twist that you can't help but feel disappointed by the final tale's conclusion.
The stories are all tied together by geography, as well as the presence of an ominous child-like costumed figure named Sam. I don't know if his name is actually mentioned, or if I just read it on the closed captioning but I imagine that he is named Sam in reference to Samhain, the pagan holiday which has developped into Halloween. Even that is a little weak, since, as mentioned by a character named Rhonda, it's pronounced "saw-win." According to Wikipedia, we can blame the Irish for the weird spelling.
Back to the movie, the cast was mostly unremarkable. Everyone played their parts dutifully, fulfulling certain horror stereotypes. Dylan Baker is the stand-out, as the homocidal Principal Wilkins. Anna Paquin continues to irritate me in a way that is entirely unfair to her, but most of that disappeared by the end of her story (don't worry, I won't tell you).
A lot of people have proclaimed that this is the greatest Halloween-themed movie since the original "Halloween." Having only seen this one," it's hard to make any kind of real comparison. My understanding is that the pool to choose from isn't particularly deep or impressive. All I can say for sure is that if you rent this (don't buy it) you likely won't regret the decision, but your life won't be any better for it.
Rating: 3.0 stars
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