https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUqsXvBAqRY Trick R Treat is an anthology film, but unlike the old Amicus movies it dispenses with the connecting segments and instead weaves the narratives together in clever and innovative ways. Hollywood still considers such films to be toxic, though, so Warner Bros dumped the movie on DVD and threw their promotional muscle behind The Reaping instead. Among the stories: Anna Paquin plays a virginal trick or treater whos not all that she seems, a group of kids that stage an elaborate practical joke get more than they bargained for and Brian Cox has his peace shattered first by neighbour Dylan Baker (whos burying a murdered kid in his back garden), then by the arrival of a pumpkin-headed monster. Written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer, Trick R Treats fate was fallout from Superman Returns disappointing box office performance - or maybe Warners didnt think it was shallow and stupid enough to compete against the Friday The 13th reboot. Either way, you need to beg, borrow or steal a copy, because this movie deserves to be seen.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'