One of my favorite movies is the 2007 film Trick ‘r Treat. This film is about five tales of horror— a woman who refuses to follow the rules of Halloween, a demented high school principal, a young lady looking for the perfect man, a twisted bus driver who encounters a demonic entity of trick or treating and a group of teens whose prank goes horribly wrong. Trick ‘r Treat weaves these five stories together to form one cohesive story. So, even though it leans towards being a horror film anthology, much like the classic Tales from the Crypt, this film has a bigger picture to it because all the stories are in the same town and, at some point, cross paths. Now if you don’t want spoilers please avert your eyes, as I take a deeper dive into the film. I warn you this is an R-rated film; it has gore and violence. I won’t include those details here, but you should know that before you go looking for the film.
This film is good at keeping you on the edge of your seat. Though it isn’t super scary or crazy like many others, it has just enough horror, twists, gore, and mystery to make an overall good movie. It has become a favorite of mine and has been added to my list of must-watch movies for the Halloween season.
The principal character who ties the stories together is named Sam. He is an entity of some sort; we never truly find out what he is. It is assumed he is more of a spirit of Halloween. He wears a burlap bag for most of the film, but we do get a glimpse of his real face, which looks like an alien, later in the film. We also learn he can’t die, after Mr. Kreeg attempts to kill him. Sam does not talk and is only seen in a few glimpses throughout the film until the end where we see him more prominently.
But Sam, like many others in this film, will only cause harm if you don’t follow the rules of Halloween:
Always wear a costume
NEVER blow out a Jack O’Lantern before midnight
Always respect the dead
Always check your candy
If you follow those rules, you’ll live.
To me, this film deals with a lack of respect and the disappearance of Halloween traditions. Growing up, I noticed a lack of holiday spirit and a lack of respecting the dead, and I have watched this holiday slowly vanish. Realizing this brings a new light to this film that helps me understand this desire for people to love and respect this holiday and its traditions.
When I was younger, we had neighborhoods that decorated for and celebrated this holiday, now I hardly see anyone decorate or go out during the season. Halloween was the biggest holiday for our family, surpassing even Christmas. So it holds a special place in my heart, as it does for many others. To me, Halloween is a time to celebrate the living as well as the dead. It’s time we watch the world change, getting ready to rest during the winter to be renewed in the spring. People are allowed to be unapologetically what they want, we can be a pop star, a knight, a superhero, a farmer, and so much more.
So why the rules? That goes into the superstitions of the holiday. How we wore masks (or costumes) to disguise ourselves from spirits. How we would light candles or jack-o-lanterns to guide our loved ones home or to ward off evil. How we need to respect our dead, for they may come back to haunt us. And how, due to some horrid crimes, we need to check our candy. This holiday is surrounded by legends, but they all come with a lesson and a rule to protect us, which leads us back to the film. If the girl at the beginning hadn’t blown out the jack-o-lantern and had kept her costume, Sam wouldn’t have killed her. If the child had checked the candy the principal gave him, he wouldn’t have died. If the teens had respected the dead, the dead wouldn’t have sought revenge. This film provides us with a look inside the world of Halloween superstition and the world of “what ifs.”
So, has this rekindled your love for the holiday, that desire to bring back what we had when we were young? Why do we lose that as we get older? What makes that flame dwindle and snuff out? Can we bring Halloween back? Well maybe, but only if we follow the rules …
Maddie is a 24-year-old full-time university student. She is currently getting get bachelors degree in English from Arizona State University. She is also a member of Delta Sigma sorority and a writer for The Spark Newsletter. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching movies, D&D, and playing with her two-year-old dog Sam.
