Almost ten years later, Trick 'R Treat still holds up with its scares, dark comedy, and practical gore and makeup effects. Director Michael Dougherty is an obvious fan of horror and he took his favorite aspects of the beloved genre and mixed in a great cast of characters that all cross paths over Halloween night. He mixed a great sense of horror and terror with some excellent and comedic dialogue to keep things moving at a fast pace. There are some amazing visuals and genuinely scary moments throughout the film that has an underlying message of celebrating Halloween. It's an original anthology film that I hope sees sequels sometime soon.
For the full analysis, read M. Enois Duarte's 2009 review HERE!
Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Trick 'R Treat comes with a 50GB Blu-ray Disc from Scream Factory with brand new video and audio presentations. There is no insert for a digital copy. The cover artwork is reversible where the disc is housed in a hard, blue plastic case and a cardboard sleeve.
Trick R' Treat comes with a brand new and excellent 2K scan from the original elements of the film, which looks better than ever. Everything is enhanced on this image. The video presentation from a decade ago was good, but it had some problems here and there, at least on Blu-ray. Colors are brighter and bolder in this new 2K scan and look more realistic. Perhaps the biggest improvement here takes place during the ghost-children scene down at the rock quarry and in the old man's house in the last segment.
The black levels are much richer and deeper as are the solid colors of gray and different blacks in this scene. The kid's costumes stand out with reds and the angel white color much better than the previous release. Each rock, piece of dirt and even the orange pumpkins can be easily seen here in the fog. In the old man's house, it's a decayed and muted palette where everything looks weathered and moldy. With the new 2K transfer, every split and tear in the wallpaper can be seen along with the hordes of magazines and pictures in the background. Sam the short monster pumpkin head showcases every bit of gooey pumpkin innards as well as his cloth mask stitching.
Other great instances of detail show up in the werewolf scene where guts, blood, and fur can be seen individually. Against a lot of the darkness of the Halloween evening, different orange and yellow pumpkins, as well as the red blood that is shed everywhere, contrast nicely with every other element. There are no video issues to speak of and is the best this movie has looked thus far.
This new Collector's Edition comes with a new lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and sounds even better than the previous Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix because it's encoded at a bigger and higher data rate this time around. There's a larger dynamic range and louder sound effects that go bump in the night. The ghost-kids in the rock quarry are heard better in this audio presentation, from the rear speakers, as are some of the rocks clanking together. Other ambient noises of kids trick r treating around the town sound fuller as well.
Each knife slash and bone crunch has a little extra bass to it that makes it all that much more queazy to listen to. The haunting score always adds to the terror and dark comedy of each situation and the Marilyn Manson song during the werewolf scene brings the bass hard. Dialogue is clear and easy to follow along with and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and shrills.
Trick 'R Treat is still as fun and scary as it was a decade ago and I hear there is a sequel on the horizon. The way Dougherty weaves his characters and storylines in and out of each other with ease is no easy feat, but it has that Pulp Fiction quality to it. I'd personally argue it's the ultimate Halloween film, competing with John Carpenter's original Halloween. The new 2K video transfer and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix are excellent and the many new bonus features are all worth your time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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