Tuesday, January 1, 2013

#91 - Trick 'r Treat - 2007


The 7th and final movie of my "Halloween" week that I decided to watch was the 2007 straight to DVD flick Trick R Treat. During my usual glance of upcoming DVD releases I noticed this one last year and immediately rented it because it looked intriguing to me. Even though this film was scheduled to be released in 2007 it never reached the big screen and went straight to DVD two years after it was made. This was one interesting movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Below is my detailed review.

This film did not include any big hollywood A-listers but had some familiar faces none the less. Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, and Leslie Bibb being the most recognizable but all of the actors were good in this film and it wasn't really one of those movies that needed a bunch of A-listers to be good. This film was driven more by the storylines than the actual acting itself but with that being said the characters in this film were vital to the flow of the film and each individual storyline so good acting was a necessity for this film.


This film was quite unique and intertwined four storylines or subplots you may say within the entire movie. One would think that this would make for a long movie but actually it was quite short, only 84 minutes to be exact. For a movie to be less than an hour and a half, have four separate storylines, and actually be good is something one might now expect but this is clearly the case for this film. It wasn't just good, it was great! This movie had excellent atmospheric presence, original storylines, and unique and disturbing characters all which led me to a conclusion that this is one of the better Halloween movies out there.


As mentioned above there were four separate storylines that made up this film. Each storyline at some point or another intertwined with the other even showing characters from one story appearing in a different story all together. It was pretty cool. All the stories themselves had different aspects to them that I really like and none of them were boring or lack luster in any way, shape, or form. Sometimes this can be the case when you have sub plots in a film but that was not present in this film as they were all four equally as good as the other. Sure I had my favorite but they were all great! With that being said lets dive into each of them.


Lets start with Principal Wilkens (Baker). At first he looks to be an ordinary run of the mill father and principal but things are not as they seem. Turns out he is a vicious killer who poisons young trick or treaters and then kills them even going as far as beheading one of them. Vicious just like I said. There is a scene of sheer vomiting that to me would be impossible to actually happen but hey its movie right. Not for the faint of heart when it comes to those who don't like seeing vomiting on film. The burying scene in the backyard was pretty good and had an unexpected jump in there so that was cool. I do however find it hard to believe that a Dad would let his son in on his evil dark side like Principal Wilkens did but again lets draw that up to it being a movie and move on.


The next little storyline involved fittingly four women who were searching for a good time on Halloween. All young and beautiful these women brought to the film the sultry sexy visuals that are quite often evident in horror films at some point or another. These women just like the Principal are not as they seem. They are in fact werewolves who feast on helpless victims and devoured them with great delight. In this story we see a very cliché scene with Laurie (Paquin) the virgin (named that because she hasn't had her first kill yet) of the group meandering aimlessly through the woods. Her costume is Little Red Riding Hood. There she gets attacked by a masked man who turns out to be Principal Wilkens who after enduring a gruesome broken leg gets eaten alive by a pack of hungry werewolves. In the transformation scene where we first see what these women are the Marilyn Manson version of Sweet Dreams plays in the background which was actually a perfectly fit tune for this scene. Very creepy and very cool!


The next storyline involved an urban legend, kids, a prank, and a rock quarry, need we say more. We originally see three children trick or treating at Principal Wilkens house this obviously prior to his brutal death. These kids along with another friend all plan to play a prank on an unassuming "idiot savant" as one child suggests. That idiot savant was actually a girl who had nothing but good intentions and went along with the other kids. It is during this story that we see the horrendous urban legend of a school bus of mentally disabled students that went off a cliff to their deaths way back when. The story itself was horrible but led to a wonderfully creepy and astonishingly dark setting for this prank that these kids would play. This "accident" took place at the rock quarry and the entire scene where the kids play the prank at night at that same rock quarry is just wonderful. Dark, scary, suspenseful, and satisfying in every way. If for nothing else in this film it is worth a rental just to watch this scene and make sure to do so with all the lights out and the surround sound on! Easily my favorite story of all four.


The remaining story had to do with the bus driver of that fateful group of students that went over the cliff at that rock quarry. This story was a bit shorter than the previous three but provided for some nice little jumps and scares. I love the old creepy 2 story home which conveniently is located right next door to Principal Wilens home. I'm a sucker for a scary movie that includes a scene in a dark desolate house environment with a crackling fire burning. Add in Sam, the pumpkin headed killer back for revenge and you have the makings of a great final sequence to this film.


There were a lot of great scenes in this movie and they all flowed together so incredibly well. There were two houses in this film that were so brilliantly decorated it made me want to create that same scene outside a house should I ever own one. I am speaking of the house at the beginning with all the hanging ghosts and then the girls house with all the pumpkins, both amazingly gorgeous visual scenes for any Halloween fans out there.


Speaking of the opening scene, the kill scene at the beginning with Emma (Bibb) was a great start to the movie. Very scary! I also thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin killer with his mask off, he looked like an alien zombie and the opening and closing credits to this film were awesome. Their comic book presentation with what sounds like a modern day psycho theme song was just brilliant! All in all this movie was phenomenal and I would easily give it an A+!

I love this picture

This is a picture of my wife and I at one of my favorite places in the whole wide world, Knotts Scary Farm also known as The Halloween Haunt. This was taken after the Boofet Dinner and prior to the entrance where ghouls and goblins and monsters and witches were waiting to take us down! Gosh I love this event. This is truly one thing I am going to miss when we move out of California!

PS - did anyone see my zombie? haha

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Bodie and Brooke

I just love this picture of my daughter and Bodie, soooooo cute!! Tis the Season at Disneyland during Christmas time!!

Friday, September 21, 2012

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In 37 days I’ve lost more weight than the total weight of my 1 ½ year old daughter. There are some crazy facts for you on a Friday afternoon!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Golf Tee Time Tomorrow!

Im looking forward to my tee time tomorrow with my friend Thuy, 10:01am. Its crazy to think that this September we will have been friends for 24 years! WOW! I dont think a lot of people can say they have friends they have remained close with for THAT long! Ive included a pic from my 33rd birthday when she made a cake after learnign the the Dark Knight was one of my favorite movies ever! Pretty cool huh and yes I was still in constume, haha.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Daughter

BEAUTIFULLY
RAMBUNCTIOUS
OUTSTANDING
OVERJOYED
KINDRED
ENERGIZER

My Daughter!

You light up my day in ways I never knew possible and I am so thankful God gave you to me and your Mom. I never knew being a Father could be so rewarding and as I watch you grow each and everyday you amaze me more and more my beautiful most precious girl in the world!

I love you!
From: Daddy

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

ONE YEAR LATER

I am now a year removed from intentional deceitfulness, lies, and disgraceful actions by a group of people to bring me down. As I look back all I see are fake individuals with personal agendas and it reminds me how it “used” to be.


Now, one year removed from that volatile environment I am so much happier, so much more successful, and so much more hopeful than ever before. I’ve come to learn that what took place was just a mere blemish in my life and that God has so much more planned for me. I'm not sure why it happened when it did but it happened and it was God’s way of protecting me from evil.

 
Some say you don’t realize what you have until it is gone but in this circumstance I’d say I never realized how bad it was until I moved on, whether it was my choice or not. God protected me throughout and when I decided I was going to fight back God had my back and with God on my side nobody stood a chance.

I defied what some people thought was an uphill fight and I turned the tables. I fought lies with truths, and false statements with facts. I exposed what needed to be exposed and could have even exposed more but decided not to. I took the high road and it paid off!

 
There are moments when you look back and realize certain people deserve certain people and they surround themselves with “like-minded” individuals, that couldn’t have been more evident of this particular group of people. They deserve each other and are fit to a tee!


So today, August 15th, 2012 I am thankful for some many wonderful blessings in my life and being a year removed from all the lies just makes me more excited for all the years to come with positive people, not negative, truthful individuals, not liars, and people who are genuine, not completely and wholeheartedly fake!