Movies
[Review] ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ Is An Instant Cult Classic
I know this is going to sound like a backhanded compliment, but I really didn’t expect Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat to be as good as it was. Not only was this Dougherty’s feature directorial debut, but it’s a film that tells four different stories intermingled into one… for most this would mean instant disaster, for Dougherty it means instant cult classic.
Treat takes place in an unnamed town during All Hallows Eve (Halloween) where four groups of people all have their own unique, yet terrifying story to tell. One follows Dylan Baker and his son who have too much fun with trick or treaters; then Anna Paquin and her friends lour a bunch of guys to the forest for a night of partying; all the while a group of kids are taking pumpkins to the site of a bus crash where the spirits of the dead are said to be haunting; lastly, an old-bitter man (Brian Cox) gets visited by a costumed boy named Sam (who becomes an instant horror icon) who teaches him the seriousness of the holiday.
Dougherty has been trying to get this film off of his artwork and into theaters for a long, long time now… it was worth the wait. The best way to describe Trick ‘r Treat is that it reminds me of a live-action Nightmare Before Christmas, or a film that takes place in the same world. The character designs are colorful, unique and completely unnerving, especially the final ‘creature’, Sam, who torments the old man. The gorgeous set design only added to the atmosphere of the film, really bringing this artists vision to life. Welcome to Michael Dougherty’s world.
Dougherty’s screenplay was extremely well written as the conversations were realistic and there wasn’t a single taste of cheese to be found… it was all sweet as sugar. Not only was he able to mingle together four intricate stories into one feature film (without breaking into segments like Creepshow), but he also threw in homage after homage to some of our favorite old-school horror films (Evil Dead 2, The Thing).
The film ends extremely strong and I could hear the audience really soaking it in; they were screaming, laughing, jumping, chattering and hooting as the final scenario unfolds. The audience is very representational of what type of film this truly is… in short, Trick ‘r Treat is F-U-N. It’s a trip back to the ‘80s when the goal was to excite and entertain, not torment you. Dougherty’s film is the type of movie you can bring anyone to, whether it’s a date or your kid. It’s not overly violent or too funny, it’s as Goldie Locks says “just right!” This is the type of film that will ensure you forget about all your worries and will captivate you until the very end (maybe even bring back the spirit of the holiday, which feels long lost).
With all sorts of uber-violent movies hitting theaters every October, this is a horror film made for every single person who enjoys going to the cinema. And don’t count on seeing it only once, you’ll find yourself watching sucker every Halloween until the day you die.
Editor’s Note: review cleaned up on Oct. 29. 2018.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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