5 reasons Trick 'r Treat is the absolute best Halloween horror movie in existence

2007’s Trick ‘r Treat is pretty much universally known amongst horror fans, and many of us make an annual re-watch a part of our Halloween traditions. But, I don’t know if everyone fully appreciates Trick ‘r Treat’s absolute brilliance as the quintessential Halloween horror film.

That’s right, I said what I said: As much as I love Halloween (and a few of its sequels), Trick ‘r Treat is the best at representing the holiday.

Released on the film festival circuit in 2007, it seemed destined for universal love, but for some reason, it instead quietly disappeared, only reappearing two years later as a direct-to-video release. Critics and horror fans loved the film, which was written and directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus).

Over the years, it has become beloved, but here are the reasons I consider it to be above and beyond all other Halloween horror films:

• It’s scary and gory – Like any r-rated horror film worth its salt, Trick ‘r Treat features plenty of blood onscreen, as well as a good, spooky plotline. Basically, it’s an anthology film woven with intersecting threads. And each of the individual stories is engrossing and entertaining. We get the opening scene with the grumpy Emma and her much more laid-back husband Henry. When Emma decides to take down the couple’s elaborate Halloween decorations early, Sam delivers bloody vengeance on her.

Steven Wilkins is the school principal, and delivers a lecture to Charlie, one of his students when the kid is caught stealing candy and bashing pumpkins. Of course he trusts Wilkins when the man gives him some candy to make the lecture go down more easily. Or so one would think.

The best of the stories involves the kids who make a trip to the local quarry to talk about the Halloween School Bus Massacre. Although they think they are just playing a rather mean prank on Halloween-loving Rhonda, the tables get turned on Macy, Chip, Schrader and Sara.

Laurie, her sister Danielle and their friends are attending a costume party in the woods, but poor Laurie (dressed as Little Red Riding Hood) has to stay in town to find a date. When she meets a man dressed as a vampire, it seems like her fate will be sealed. We have already seen him drain a young woman and leave her in a heap on the ground.

But, who is really the victim…and who’s the prey?

And finally, we learn the in-depth details about our connecting storyline, which involves the deadly Sam and the wheezing Kreeg. Kreeg hates Halloween, and uses a scary costume on his dog to deter any potential trick-or-treaters. Kreeg has his own back story, and his own reasons for hating the holiday.

More reasons to love Trick 'r Treat

• It’s funny! – Despite the genuine thrills and chills that are built into Trick ‘r Treat, it is laced with plenty of humor…much of it of the dark variety. The bodies in the back yard that Wilkins has to continuously whack with a shovel, the way the tables get turned on the “vampire,” Kreeg’s little dog wearing the menacing-looking lighted costume…all of these little touches keep us giggling between goosebumps.

Of course, it makes sense that Dougherty wrote the screenplay with plenty of humor laced throughout, it’s the same thing he would do later with Krampus.

• It has twists and turns – Each of the stories sports a nice little twist that most don’t see coming. We first think we are seeing straightforward tales, but they end up taking a turn in each case. Sure, maybe Emma is just tired and ready to be done with Halloween, but Sam doesn’t appreciate her lack of respect for the holiday traditions.

Wilkins’s story has a twist within the first few minutes, because in addition to being a principal, he is also a child-killing psychopath. But, he has a few other surprises in store for us as well. He gets upset when his little boy keeps nagging him to carve a jack o’ lantern, and please help him with the eyes, but there is a twist to that as well. And Wilkins’s final twist comes later in the film when he shows up in another story in disguise.

The Halloween school bus massacre story is tragic at its heart, but there is also a late reveal twist to it, one that the sharp-eared among us may or may not have figured out.

And that Halloween party in the woods? There is a little more to that festive gathering than just celebrating Samhain.

• The characters and actors are great – The characters in Trick ‘r Treat are just delightful, even the homicidal ones. Sam appears to be a little boy in orange footie pajamas, but when his burlap sack is removed, his face is horrifying (and very Halloween-appropriate).

Dylan Baker’s portrayal of Principal Wilkins is brilliant. Wilkins goes from kindly stern principal to killer in a heartbeat, and we are there for every second of it. Kreeg (Brian Cox) makes us alternately pity him and dislike him, Anna Paquin’s Laurie seems so vulnerable and eager to please, and that rotten Macy in her angel costume makes us want to shake her.

• It LOOKS like Halloween – There is no other film that includes such stunning visuals…visuals that just SCREAM Halloween. Foremost are the hundreds of jack o’ lanterns that Rhonda has lovingly carved. Artfully arranged at the front of the creepy house, they set the stage for a creepy Halloween tale from the start.

Multiple scenes feature falling leaves and seasonal decorations, and the color palette is rich and autumnal. The creepily masked kids on the school bus let us know that this particular tale is going to be very dark. The orange afternoon light outside of the bus makes it abundantly clear that we are in the month of October, and the quarry at night is foggy and filled with dread.

The Halloween costumes worn by the characters are gorgeous and appropriate to the characters. It’s ironic that Macy is dressed like an angel, and while Little Red at first seems to suit Laurie’s personality, we soon find irony in that as well.

Laurie’s sister and her friends being dressed like princesses is an appropriate swerve, and I once again have to comment on the school bus children’s attire. Those simple costumes (a partial vampire mask, a skull, an upside-down princess mask, a creepy clown, a bunny, a brown bag with a horrific face drawn on it) are absolutely terrifying.

In summary, Trick r’ Treat really has everything you could possibly ask or wish for in a Halloween-themed horror movie, and it deserves to be respected. It is essentially a love letter to Halloween. If you haven’t seen Trick ‘r Treat, it is currently available to stream on Max.