The Witching Hour is Upon Us.

Trick R Treat (2008)

Praised to the rafters by all who’ve seen it, yet left on a shelf for two years by it’s myopic distributer, Trick R Treat finally escapes to dvd. And while it is unfair that it misses out on a totally deserved theatrical release( it puts 90% of horror movies in cinemas to shame with the quality of its cast, script, look and direction), it probably has found its true home, where it can become a holiday fixture to replace John Carpenter’s Halloween(1978), which has been doing all of the heavy lifting single handedly for 30 years. Basically an anthology in the Creepshow(1982) guise, complete with animated inserts, it also brings back happy memories of the best episodes of the Tales from the Crypt series. The joy is that also unlike similar films, no particular story stands out as weak, although the serial killer/werewolf strands could have taken more time, at least they don’t get boring. Brian Cox’s fight with a demon and the ghosts of the murdered children are superior, but it’s also refreshing how the stories both stand alone but also support and guide each other. As stated, the look and color scheme is beautiful mixes of blacks and oranges, the humor complimentary(I was reminded of An American Werewolf in London(1981) and it’s nice to end a film wanting a sequel for a change. 9/10