I post no movie spoilers in my reviews.
Well some maybe wondering "Damn Gar your reviewing a movie thats on dvd?", well yes I am since this never got a proper theatrical release it was only out in a couple cities for a brief period of time and went to video and was released this past week so I checked it out and figured it was due a review.
Aside from an animated movie called Seasons Greetings this is Michael Doughterty's first real chance sitting in the directors chair for a film. The premise has had my interest for quite sometime, awhile back I saw this creepy pic of kids in elaborate costumes on a school bus and reading it was about 4 seperate tales taking place on the same night of Halloween and I was intrigued. But after along time of waiting its finally here. I was also excited to see that Dylan Baker and Briax Cox were in it because I like them both alot. Im also a sucker for a horror movie, especially one thats built around Halloween.
Direction: The direction in this was very nice, it had its own distinct look and feel with some really interesting shots and angles in it. I was paticullary fond of the lighting in alot of shots, especially of when you see the children on the bus. I was glad to not see that guerilla style camera work or that fucking overused shaky cam style where it like vibrates almost and frames are cut and frame speed sped up. Everything seemed to be saturated with a Halloween feel as well. Streets were lined with jack o lanterns and filled with fallen leaves and just had this very Halloweeneey spirit to it all visually, almost like it was pulled from some childrens fairy tale.
Acting: The acting all in all was pretty solid. Dylan and Brian stood out from the others but nothing here was astounding. All the characters were portrayed just fine though and no one felt out of place or miscast. My only complaint about the acting is there wasnt enough time or story to allow the characters to really be flushed out and given a more human touch to them, this afterall was 4 stories in 90 minutes.
Storyline: This sadly not up to par with the rest of the film and thus the largest problem because any movie without a proper story doesnt stand up straight without alot of support. I really liked the ideas behind all 4 stories but they were rushed to much and felt like they all had something that was left out from the original draft, granted again your telling 4 stories in 90 minutes so you have to cut every corner but it was a real shame it had to be done here. One arc in paticullar could have been left out with the girls as in the end it didnt seem to fit quite as well as the others and didnt really add anything to the movie as a whole. Far as story goes there was alot of potential wasted or just not utilized properly, this could have been such a better movie if it only had been little longer or the one non essential story removed to make room for the others. This was my biggest dissapointment with the movie.
Effects: The sound effects were fitting but nothing special really, was a shame they didnt try to audibly speaking try and make the movie more unique. Sound effects and music were pretty standard and not skimpy in the least but they could have benefited from some more tlc. Visual effects were just fine, not great but good for this movie since this was more of a atmosphereic film than a special effects film. Nothing really looked to fake with the exception of a mask removal at the end which seemed to not quite blend with the rest of the film but even that is a minor complaint (Personally I think the unmasking would have been better left off camera).
Overall: Really, Trick R Treat is a solid Halloween based horror movie with some interesting elements, good story despite needing more polishing and it had its own look and feel. I would have been happy to pay theater price to see it on a big screen but that didnt come to pass. I definitely think this is worth atleast 1 viewing and perhaps Ill get it on dvd later on after the recent rush of new release games is over if I can find it less than 10 bucks as I dont think its worth more than that to own. I was pleased with the movie though and it satisfied the childlike part of my brain that still pines for old fashioned Halloween movies, its not perfect but it gets the job done.
I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
Trailer: http://www.movieweb.com/video/VILY4QPTAVi7PT
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