30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. TRICK ‘R TREAT
DAY 16
TRICK ‘R TREAT (2007)
The essential Halloween flick.
Not everybody likes anthology films; they can feel discombobulated, erratic or widely inconsistent. This is not the case of TRICK ‘R TREAT; this movie has a very consistent tone through all of it, which ties all of the stories together perfectly.
The story of the film happens all in one night, the night of Halloween of course. For those who have not seen it, it’s going to be really hard to summarise the film because it follows several stories that interweave together at different points. The characters have encounters with classic legends and urban folklore related to, not only the night of Halloween, but everything that’s scary and of the lonely night.
This film had me thinking about the power of tradition and folklore in horror movies. There is a link between our collective past and the things that terrify us. To me, they speak of warnings, about the importance of upholding our collective history and be wary of the siren calls of change.
There is something inherently conservative about horror films, not all of them of course, but cautionary tales are essentially about not dealing with the unknown. About going into uncharted territory and paying the consequences.
Traditions became traditions because they were an activity that was important to an earlier version of society. Now years after, the roots of the folklore and customs have grown weak, their importance trivial. So we tell stories about what’s going to happen if we don’t follow those old teachings, as if there was a value there, that even though is not clear what it is, is something worthy and should be kept alive.
Sam embodies this wicked guardian of tradition in the film. He is a kid-like creature that follows all the stories of the movie and seems to be punishing those who deviate or break from the customs of the “all hallows eve.”
The film’s tied together nicely, at the end when Sam visits an old hermit that does not want to celebrate Halloween. After a long segment of hauntings and fights, we discover that the man was responsible for a tragedy that occurred years ago in the town, and which is of importance to the plot of one of the other stories. Surprisingly, Sam doesn’t kill the old man; he leaves him. The next scene shows the old man partaking in the tradition. He has learned.
So, what’s the meaning of Halloween? Why is there a night dedicated to everything that’s scary?
History has many answers. It could be a night dedicated to those we have lost, a modern interpretation of a pagan festivity, or just a manufactured celebration to sell more candy. To me, it is about the status quo, about letting everything that’s bad run amok for one night so we can remember how good we have it the rest of the year. Sort of like a very relaxed version of THE PURGE.
Or at least that’s what I learned with TRICK ‘R TREAT.
Tomorrow: APOSTLE (2018)
Yesterday: TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL (2010)
