Trick 'r Treat: Every Story In The Halloween Classic, Ranked Worst To Best
Horror anthology Trick 'r Treat went from studio afterthought to beloved Halloween classic, and here's how all its stories rank, worst to best. In a prime example of Hollywood just not knowing what they had, Warner Bros. infamously sat on Trick 'r Treat for several years after its completion. Some reports at the time suggested the studio wasn't sure how to market director Michael Dougherty's anthology, but considering how steeped in Halloween lore it is, one wonders why that itself wasn't enough of a selling point.
Trick 'r Treat would quietly get dumped direct to video in 2009, and quickly earn itself a devoted following, since becoming a Halloween staple for many horror fans. For decades, when it came to horror movies that were required viewing on Halloween, there was basically John Carpenter's classic starring Michael Myers, and everything else. With Trick 'r Treat, a new Halloween tradition was born, which would no doubt please lead character Sam, a supernatural being committed to upholding the customs of the holiday.
Unlike many anthologies, Trick 'r Treat isn't just disconnected stories surrounded by a wraparound tale. It's a bit Pulp Fiction-esque in how it blends what at first appear to be separate plots into one, but there are still enough dividing lines to make clear distinctions between them. All four are very much worth one's time, and unlike many other anthologies, there's no real downturn in quality to be found as the film progresses.
The third story presented in Trick 'r Treat focuses on a young woman named Laurie (Anna Paquin), who - along with her sister Danielle and friends Maria and Janet - heads into town to celebrate Halloween. Of course, the other girls seem intent on doing this by picking up guys and getting it on, while the seemingly virginal Laurie talks about making her first time special. It turns out that she's referring to her first kill, as she and the other girls are all werewolves. This reveal comes after Laurie being stalked by a creepy serial killer in a vampire costume, adding a fun fur vs. fang element into the mix.
The killer ends up being Laurie's victim, and while the twist isn't hard to see coming, it's quite fun in a Tales from the Crypt sort of way. Making things more intriguing is the reveal that the killer is Principal Wilkins, who gets his comeuppance after murdering a child with zero hesitation in an earlier story. This connection illustrates why Trick 'r Treat's blending of its stories together was a truly genius move, and one more anthologies should copy.
Speaking of Principal Wilkins, the immoral educator is introduced and examined in more detail in Trick 'r Treat's first story. He at first seems like an okay guy, rightfully giving a candy-stealing pumpkin smasher named Charlie a lecture about respecting Halloween's many rules and traditions. However, he becomes much less likable when Charlie dies from cyanide poisoning thanks to Wilkins tainting the candy. The remainder of the story becomes a hilarious dark comedy, with Wilkins trying to bury his victim in the backyard, only to keep being interrupted by his grouchy old neighbor and inquisitive young son.
In the best twist of the story, it becomes unexpectedly heartwarming, although in an insanely dark way. For a time it appears Wilkins is fed up with his son and plans to kill him next, but it turns out the kid knows full well his dad's a monster, and just wants to help him carve their Jack 'O Lantern, aka Charlie's severed head. The family that slays together, stays together it would appear. While Wilkins definitely deserves his death at the of paws of Laurie, his poor son now no longer has a mentor.
While Trick 'r Treat is a decidedly, and unabashedly, R-rated movie with lots of dark content, this second story is definitely the one most likely to offend people, especially by today's standards. It sees a group of trick or treaters pull an awful prank on a fellow child, a savant. The prank revolves a ghastly local legend, in which a shady bus driver takes money from fed-up parents to drive their intellectually disabled children into a flooded quarry. The legend is true, leading the murdered kids to return as zombies and punish those who would use their tragedy for fun.
Rhonda, the savant character, is also a Halloween super-fan, and it's amusing to see her and Sam exchange a bit of a knowing nod after her tormentors get what's coming to them. While it's unusual to have a group of children get massacred by zombies in a mainstream horror film, it's hard to feel too bad for them, since their idea of entertainment was bullying and mental torture. In a fun twist, the zombie bus riders return later, in the final story, and the best one.
Sam's story ties Trick 'r Treat together, turning the character from just a background mascot into a full-fledged horror icon. Sam targets Wilkins' neighbor Mr. Kreeg, a curmudgeon who hates everything and everyone, and shows zero respect for Halloween traditions. Sam obviously can't abide that, and sets out to make Kreeg pay for his transgressions against the spookiest of holidays. What results is a cat and mouse game, and while Kreeg may think he's the cat at first, he definitely isn't, especially once Sam's true face is revealed, which despite being hideous is also still kind of cute.
When Kreeg inadvertently gives Sam candy, the little creature accepts the offering as a Halloween token, and spares his life. But in the best twist in the whole film, Kreeg still has hell to pay, as it turns out he's the bus driver who killed the kids, and they're here to collect on that debt. To quote The Evil Dead, it's time for a little "bodily dismemberment" on the menu. Also worth mentioning, even though it's not a proper story, are the opening and ending bits about Emma and Henry, the latter of which loves Halloween, and the former doesn't. Sam shows her no mercy, and fans will love it.