Day Twelve - Trick 'r Treat (2008)


Another eighties throwback that is being unfairly banished to the world of the straight-to-DVD release. This is a great, moody Halloween movie in the tradition of Creepshow. What makes this anthology film different from previous incarnations is that this one has no framing device to move from one story to another. Instead we have a free-flowing interwoven series of events which play out more like Short Cuts or Magnolia than any horror anthology. It's great fun. Dylan Baker plays a murderous school principal who lives next door to a crazy old man with a dark secret who gets an unlikely visitor. These unfortunate souls interact with Anna Paquin dressed as Little Red Riding Hood looking to find a guy for her "first time", and a group of kids playing a prank at the site of a local legend. This film reminds me of a movie I would have rented for a sleepover in elementary school in the 80s, and that's a welcome feeling. This is good old fashioned horror filmmaking that isn't afraid or ashamed to be a bit goofy.