Halloween Horrors: Trick 'r Treat by Michael Dougherty

Trick 'r Treat is an anthology featuring several Halloween-themed films that occur shortly after a couple begin to remove Halloween decorations before midnight, breaking a tradition, and unearthing the horrors of Halloween.

Given it is an anthology, each film focuses on different characters and different scenarios related to Halloween. The culture of Halloween is where this anthology shines: each film tells an equally strange and crime-riddled story, but also contains various fantasy elements such as vampires, jack-o-lantern-headed 'things', and werewolves.

Aside from its common references to the culture of Halloween, Trick 'r Treat manages to actually stand itself up as a horror, thriller, drama, and slasher without feeling as if it copied heavily from other films in the genres.

In terms of cinematography, Trick 'r Treat doesn't need to hide the camera and events behind a curtain of darkness and inevitable jumpscares; it pays homage to the slasher genre in which the deaths and gore are always visible to the viewer in almost homage to the true entries that birthed horror and thrillers.

That said, if you're searching for actual horror in hopes of being scared, Trick 'r Treat may not be for you; it may have the performances, the action, the themes, but it's far from actually scary, and should not be treated as a film with intentions to scare.