My quick rating – 7.5/10. How in Sam’s burlap sack-covered name did I let this one slip past me for so long? That was my thought a few years ago when I finally pressed play, and it hit me all over again on my recent rewatch—this time in anticipation of its upcoming 4K theatrical run this October 14th-16th. Some movies are Halloween set dressing, and some ARE Halloween. Trick ’r Treat is the latter. You don’t just watch it, you bask in it like a jack-o’-lantern soaking up candlelight.
The structure is a horror fan’s playground: five interwoven tales, all orbiting around one Ohio town on Halloween night. There’s a mild-mannered principal with a side hustle in murder. A shy virgin (Anna Paquin) looking for her first time—though not in the way you’d expect. A group of kids executing a cruel prank because apparently, Are You Afraid of the Dark? raised a whole generation wrong. A Halloween-hating wife who dares to desecrate decorations before midnight. And finally, Brian Cox as the crankiest old man alive, squaring off against the most iconic pint-sized enforcer since Chucky.
What makes it work isn’t just the individual stories, but how elegantly they’re stitched together. Characters drift in and out of each other’s timelines like trick-or-treaters cutting through backyards. Michael Dougherty wrote and directed the whole thing with the confidence of someone who’s spent his entire life stockpiling urban legends like ammunition. Consequence-filled candy? Check. Ghost children and crashing school buses? Yup. Werewolves? Oh, absolutely. He doesn’t just reference Halloween myths—he weaponizes them.
Then there’s Sam. Sweet, silent Sam. Pajamas. Button eyes. Pumpkin lollipop. The face (or sack) of justice. He’s not a villain so much as he’s quality control. Cross the holiday? Lose a limb. Blow out a jack-o’-lantern too early? See you in hell. IF your doorbell rings, and he says Trick ’r Treat, you’d better oblige. Honestly, if society just agreed to follow Sam’s rules year-round, things might improve.
The production is drenched in peak October ambiance. Leaves swirl in every frame like the crew was armed with industrial-strength fans and a truck full of foliage. The homes look like Halloween Express sponsored them. The practical effects land with the kind of giddy crunch you want from a seasonal horror flick—bloody without being bleak, fun without being fluffy.
Is it perfect? Frighteningly close. Some segments hit harder than others, but this anthology format keeps you from ever realizing it is one. The consistency of the atmosphere keeps everything glued together like caramel on an apple.
If you’ve never seen it, correct that immediately. And if you have seen it, watch it again in theaters this October. Halloween from 1978 may be the reigning champ, but that could happen all year round. Trick ’r Treat is the movie that doesn’t just visit the holiday—it IS Halloween.
