Verdict
Summary
An ’80s heavy metal horror cult classic, Trick or Treat really feeds into the whole satanic panic reaction the media had against Dungeons & Dragons, heavy metal, and horror movies in general, which is interesting because it turns its rock god character into a truly evil guy. Synapse and Red Shirt Home Video teamed up for a deluxe Blu-ray edition of Trick or Treat, which for many years was only available in the U.S. in a crummy full frame DVD edition. The Blu-ray looks astoundingly good with clear and crisp widescreen imagery, thanks to a 4K restoration, and they’ve loaded the disc with a massive amount of bonus features.
Plot:
A bullied “metalhead” teenager taps into the dark side when his idol – a recently deceased rock god – comes back from hell to help him get revenge on EVERYONE.
Review:
Eddie – a.k.a. Ragman (perfectly cast Marc Price) – doesn’t have much going for him in life. He proudly wears his heavy metal shirts and attire to high school and is relentlessly bullied for it. His mom is single and clueless as to Eddie’s pain and struggle to just get by, but there’s a small glimmer of hope for him when a cute girl (played by Lisa Orgolini) sees something in him that nobody else does. When a prank goes wrong (actually several pranks go wrong), Eddie is humiliated by his peers, and it’s just he worst timing ever because his ultimate metal hero Sammi Curr (Tony Fields) is splashed all over the news for having been killed in a hotel fire. It’s like Ragman’s entire world crashes down all at once, and yet – and yet! – he is gifted Curr’s final, unreleased album by a local DJ (played by Gene Simmons), which happens to be the only one in existence. Hoping to find some kind of message from his idol, Eddie plays the album backwards and at different speeds, which does indeed unlock some kind of satanic spell, giving Curr a way out of hell and turning Ragman into his vessel. Curr wants to use Curr to “nail them all” and as a result reap the souls of anyone they kill, but Ragman isn’t a bad kid at all and he realizes that he’s being used. With the big Halloween dance coming up, Curr plans to unleash hell on everyone at Eddie’s school when he has his album played aloud for everyone to hear … which would mean a whole lot of carnage, unless Ragman figures out how to fight back!
An ’80s heavy metal horror cult classic, Trick or Treat really feeds into the whole satanic panic reaction the media had against Dungeons & Dragons, heavy metal, and horror movies in general, which is interesting because it turns its rock god character into a truly evil guy. It’s the bullied rocker kid who unleashes him that serves as the movie’s hero, which is also interesting from a perspective of the movement the media had against all things metal and “dark.” Director Charles Martin Smith (the actor) seems to be having a lot of fun in the driver’s seat here with cool monster and make-up effects (Curr has sort of a Freddy Krueger face), and the soundtrack is as great as they come with a bunch of songs by Fastway, which in my book is one of the all-time great metal soundtracks (and has had lots of rotation over the years in my car). The casting is great, and because it knows its audience so well (watch for Ozzy Osbourne in a cameo), the film ranks really high for me, although it goes completely off the rails with a no-rules approach to how the villain’s powers work. Is he made of electricity? Of fire? Is he some kind of demon? How come water seems to work against him? Does it matter? I really like this movie and have watched it a number of times over the years, so I’m willing to overlook its flaws.
Synapse and Red Shirt Home Video teamed up for a deluxe Blu-ray edition of Trick or Treat, which for many years was only available in the U.S. in a crummy full frame DVD edition. The Blu-ray looks astoundingly good with clear and crisp widescreen imagery, thanks to a 4K restoration, and they’ve loaded the disc with a massive amount of bonus features. The limited edition (which came with a soundtrack CD) sold out in a couple of days, but I’m perfectly happy with the single disc version and all the bonus content.
Bonus Materials
- 1080p Blu-ray of a 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative approved by Director of Photography Robert Elswit
- Lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio of the original 2.0 theatrical mix and an all-new 5.1 surround sound mix
- Audio commentary with director Charles Martin Smith, moderated by filmmaker Mark Savage
- Audio interviews with writer/producer Michael S. Murphey and writer Rhet Topham, moderated by film historian Michael Felsher
- Audio conversation with Paul Corupe and Allison Lang, authors of Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s
- Rock & Shock: The Making of “Trick or Treat”
- In The Spotlight: A Tribute to Tony Fields featuring interviews with the late actor’s family and friends
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: The Filming Locations of “Trick or Treat” with Sean Clark
- “After Midnight” music video
- Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots and Radio Spots
- Still Gallery featuring optional audio interview with still photographer Phillip V. Caruso
- Vintage electronic press kit
- Region free for worldwide playback
- Limited edition O-Card slipcover, available on FIRST PRESSING ONLY!
- Reversible Cover Art
- REGION 0 / REGION FREE
