What even just happened?

So it was Halloween yesterday, and I had one last film for October sitting waiting for me. I couldn’t pass it by, but I knew nothing about this feature directed by X-Men 2 screenwriter Michael Dougherty and produced by X-Men 2 director Bryan Singer!
… That sounds like the wrong way around doesn’t it.

The rather lamely titled Trick ‘r Treat, I think, is an homage to the spirit of Halloween and little else, celebrating what the holiday is today with some campy scares and gore. The story is split over unconnected characters as they encounter – and are often killed – by very real monsters on Halloween night.

A good film it isn’t really, but as a film I happened to watch to carve a pumpkin to… I couldn’t have asked for better. The characters are stereotypes, the scares are cookie-cutter while the multiple stories are so short and interwoven you haven’t the time to be compelled by them. It is the film equivalent to scanning your eyes over comic book short stories; some visual intrigue, but nothing comprehensive or grounding.
We have everything here though, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls, spooky stories about local legends, and a weird kid who looks like the Playstation 3 character “Sack Boy” (seen on the poster). There’s even some familiar faces from X-Men 2, Brian Cox and Anna Paquin feature and easily steal every scene they are in.

The film is almost entirely based around one motif: “Oh snap, that’s a REAL dead person / monster!” but if Cabin in the Woods hadn’t done this sort of campy horror better recently, I’d say Trick ‘r Treat would be worth a watch just for novelty.