Technical Specs

• Blu-ray
• BD-25 Single-Layer Disc
• BD-Live (Profile 2.0)
• Two-Disc Set
• Digital Copy
• Region Free

Video Resolution/Codec

• 1080p/VC-1

Aspect Ratio(s)

• 2.40:1

Audio Formats

• English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

Subtitles/Captions

• English SDH
• Spanish Subtitles
• French Subtitles

Supplements

• Animated Short

Exclusive HD Content

• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Digital Copy
• BD-Live

Trick 'r Treat (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 2009 / 82 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: October 06, 2009
List Price: $35.99 (Buy it at Amazon and save)

Reviewed by M. Enois Duarte
Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Oh, the horror anthology. Where hast thou been these past couple of decades? Gone are the days when The Crypt Keeper's morbid wisecracks, the bizarre, twisted 'Tales from the Darkside,' and the creepy stories of 'Night Gallery' were a popular weekend watch. Now it seems the subgenre has been relegated to late-night reruns of the less-than-stellar 'Outer Limits' or the baffling 'Friday the 13th: The Series' on the Sci-Fi Channel . . . err, sorry, I mean Syfy. Fans have been left with practically nothing to fill the void. Of course, Mick Garris tried to reignite interest with the series 'Masters of Horror' (later re-tooled as 'Fear Itself' for NBC), but it didn't last beyond a second season. Sadly, the subgenre has faded into the memory banks of horror fiends, where it has dwelt and festered for years.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, rumors spread over the internet of one peculiar title that aimed to fix all that. Unfortunately, just a month shy of its official October 2007 theatrical release, the movie was pulled and shelved. Rumors grew more intense, especially after it received a special one-night screening at Harry Knowles' "Butt-Numb-A-Thon" and subsequently circulated in a few horror film festivals. Early impressions claimed Michael Dougherty, writer of 'X2' and 'Superman Returns,' had created a feature that was sure to become a traditional Halloween watch, together with John Carpenter's 'Halloween.' With its four loosely-related tales surrounding the scariest season of the year, 'Trick 'r Treat' amazingly lives up to the gossip and delivers a fun-filled night of spookiness.

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The film opens with an animated arrangement that harkens back to the E.C. horror comics of the 1950s and the likely influence of 'Creepshow', only with a modern twist. Then, we move on to the stories in no real chronological sequence or conclusion. Rather, the narrative follows various characters in one suburban town where things are not what they seem. And they're all interconnected by cameo appearances by Sam, a little trick-or-treater in a burlap mask. The trickster plays a more prominent role for the movie's denouement, which, by the way, is a very nicely done wrap-up from first-time director Dougherty. But for the first two-thirds, Sam is simply a cute little kid collecting candy by his lonesome and serves as a reminder of respecting Halloween tradition.

One tired couple (Leslie Bibb and Tahmoh Penikett) comes home after a costume bash to discover the penalty of blowing out a jack-o'-lantern too early. It's a good sequence, but isn't really one of the key stories. It's just a way of kicking off things, as each tale is a celebration to Halloween lore and customs, like the warnings many grew up with about checking the candy first before eating it. Dylan Baker imparts this precise lesson with some fatal consequences to a local kid. He plays a very strange and creepy school principal with a killer's tendency, and one scene here has to be the nastiest of the bunch. Another popular tradition is the telling of ghost stories and urban legends, and four particular pranksters learn the horrifying effect of taking their scare tactics too far.

The other two stories of freakish delights have the same mix of the comical and spooky. Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox) is an old-fart with a humbug attitude who'd much rather scare children from his house than pass out candy. After denying three kids, he is visited by one who's none too happy and reminds him why he should partake of the festivities. Laurie (Anna Paquin) is a young, self-conscious 22-year-old woman waiting for the right one. Her older sister (Lauren Lee Smith) and friends try to break her out of the rut by going to a costume party in the woods. As the others go ahead without her, a mysterious hooded figure follows Laurie around town. A homage to the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, the story comes with a very satisfying twist.

The entire film, in fact, is wickedly entertaining and loads of fun to watch. I can't imagine any true horror aficionado not falling in love with this collection of nasty little tales. In addition to 'Creepshow,' Dougherty includes several nods to John Carpenter's classic, 'Halloween.' The film's opening sequence is a clear reference to its famous POV shot; Paquin's Laurie is even ousted as a virgin; and Brian Cox is made to look like Carpenter himself. Especially enjoyable is the costume party in the woods turning into a great combination of 'The Lost Boys' and 'The Howling.' There are a few other references sprinkled all the way through, but I'll let you figure them out, because it's part of the excitement. After watching the whole thing, I must agree 'Trick 'r Treat' will become a staple of must-watch flicks every Halloween and one that no horror fan should miss.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

Warner Bros. debuts 'Trick 'r Treat' with a glossy and visually satisfying picture quality that more than satisfies this viewer's appetite for some Halloween excitement. Almost the entire movie takes place at night with various poorly-lit sequences, and this 1080p/VC-1 transfer is up to the task, with a strong presentation and excellent clarity of the finer details.

The film was shot with a warm palette to reflect the autumn season, and colors display this with terrific, robust saturation levels in various hues. Bloody reds and intense oranges are particularly vibrant, and facial complexions reveal healthy tones and wonderful texture. Blacks are rich and dynamic, providing the image with a great depth of field. Delineation in the deep, dark shadows is exceptionally well resolved, including many of the interior scenes. The picture displays punchy contrast levels and plenty of sharply defined visual information throughout. This works out splendidly for the flick, as we're allowed to see many of the nuances inherent to some of the creatures, as well as all the gory details in each death. While the image is not completely perfect, 'Trick 'r Treat' looks fantastic in high definition and is sure to please horror fans everywhere.

The Audio: Rating the Sound

Accompanying the already enjoyable video presentation is this robust Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, which takes full advantage of the sound system to immerse the audience in all the wickedly good fun.

For a majority of its runtime, the well-designed mix is distributed evenly in the front soundstage, delivering precise dialogue reproduction and exhibiting wonderful room penetration. Vast assortments of ghastly sounds show terrific clarity and detail, generating a convincing aural presence of spaciousness and imaging. From the crunch of bones to the shredding of flesh, and from the shrieks of victims to the moans of the dead, the lossless track remains effective throughout and is nicely supported by some solid low-frequency bass. Plenty of ambient effects create mood and atmosphere, while directionality and pans are seamless and help immerse the audience in the action. As far as direct-to-video soundtracks go, the sound design for 'Trick 'r Treat' is excellent, offering an amusing and engrossing 82 minutes of Halloween evil.

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

Warner Bros. releases this sure-to-be Halloween classic with a good collection of special features. Funny thing is that almost all of them are exclusive to the high-def format and only one featurette is carried over from the DVD.

• "Trick 'r Treat: Season's Greetings" (SD, 4 min) - Michael Dougherty's original animated short film, where he first introduces the character of Sam, is a surprisingly delightful watch. The animation work is rather rough for something made in 1996, but the non-dialogue story has a great ending. It also comes with an optional director's commentary that will interest fans.
  

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

For the Blu-ray edition of 'Trick 'r Treat,' Warner was nice enough to compile the remaining set of supplements as exclusive material for the high-def format.

• Audio Commentary - For this commentary, writer/director Michael Dougherty is joined by Simeon Wilkins, Breehn Burns, and composer Douglas Pipes. Though it features a sizeable group of people in the know, the commentary is a bit of a letdown. The men divulge information sparingly, meaning there are many moments of silence throughout, and the chat is generally scene-specific. Fans will appreciate the interesting details they do offer, but a consistent disclosure of background info is greatly lacking.
  
• "Trick 'r Treat: the Lore and Legends of Halloween" (SD, 28 min) - This surprisingly entertaining piece mixes the historical origins of the spookiest night of the year with modern-day legends and behind-the-scenes footage from the film. Cast and crew are also interviewed, and they discuss the film's plot, its production, the characters, and having to work for a director that loves to pull pranks.
  
• Additional Scenes (SD, 17 min) - Scenes that didn't make it into the final cut are presented here. Although the film clocks in at only 82 minutes, the clips in this collection were wisely removed for a better pace. An optional commentary track from Dougherty is also available to learn the reasons for the cuts.
  
• School Bus FX Comparison (SD, 1 min) - As the title implies, viewers can watch how the CGI effects were integrated into the crash scene.
  
• Digital Copy - The package comes with a standard definition copy of the film for portable devices.
  
• BD-Live - The link takes viewers to Warner Bros.' online portal, where they can find more trailers of other BD releases. At press time, however, no exclusive content relating to the film had been posted.
  

Easter Eggs

No easter eggs reported for 'Trick 'r Treat' yet. Found an egg? Please use our tips form to let us know, and we'll credit you with the find.

Final Thoughts

Coming off the success of 'X-Men 2' and 'Superman Returns,' Michael Dougherty makes his directorial debut in with wickedly fun 'Trick 'r Treat.' Four loosely interrelated Halloween shorts serve up just the right combination of treats for anyone looking to celebrate the spookiest time of the year. The film's Blu-ray edition arrives with a strong A/V presentation and healthy supplemental package, most of which is exclusive for high-def owners. Horror aficionados are sure to be happy with the purchase, and everyone else should check it out just in time for October 31st. This is the best Halloween movie in many years, and for many, the flick is sure to become a scary tradition!

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