Trick 'r Treat is a Halloween themed comedy-horror film, directed by Michael Dougherty, and produced by Bryan Singer. It is an anthology, consisting of four different stories, all of which featured the movie's main villain, Sam. It aired on December 7th, 2007.
The film received critical acclaim and even raked in a cult following. In 2013, a Dougherty and Singer announced a sequel in the works, but since then, no other word of such a film has been confirmed.
Plot[]
The film takes place over the course of Halloween in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio. Its story is told in a nonlinear narrative, with characters crossing paths with each other throughout the film. At the centre of the story is Sam, a peculiar trick-or-treater dressed in pajamas and a burlap sack, who appears to enforce the "rules" of Halloween.
In the opening scene, Emma and husband Henry return home after a disastrous night. Emma tears down the seasonal decorations before the night’s end, and is murdered by an unseen assailant. Henry later discovers her mutilated corpse on display.
Charlie, an obese vandal who smashes jack-o'-lanterns, encounters his school principal, Steven Wilkins. Wilkins lectures Charlie on how the rules and traditions of Halloween must be obeyed. Charlie suddenly vomits up poisoned candy, Wilkins’ chocolate spiked with cyanide. Wilkins tries burying Charlie and another child in his backyard, but is repeatedly interrupted by his son Billy, and neighbour, Mr. Kreeg, an elderly, scarred recluse. Wilkins later takes Charlie’s head indoors so he and Billy can carve a jack o’lantern out of it.
Elsewhere, a group of trick-or-treaters – Macy, Sara, Chip, and Schrader – meet Rhonda, an enthusiastic Halloween fanatic, said to be a savant. The group travel to a local quarry where Macy recalls the urban legend of the “Halloween School Bus Massacre”. The legend is depicted in flashback, Macy explaining that eight mentally challenged children died in a school bus on Halloween. The driver had been paid by their parents to dispose of them, and was the only survivor of the crash.
The trick-or-treaters offer eight jack o’lanterns as tribute to the dead children. They pull a prank on Rhonda, posing as zombies, but only terrify her. An annoyed Macy kicks one of the lanterns in the quarry’s lake, causing the dead children to rise themselves as zombies. The group flee, but Rhonda reaches the elevator first and leaves them to die. She briefly encounters Sam whilst leaving.
Laurie, a self-conscious young woman, arrives in town with her sister Danielle, and friends Maria and Janet. They pick up dates, save Laurie, who wants her “first time” to be special. Laurie eventually encounters a hooded sexual predator, dressed as a vampire, who attacks her. At a bonfire, Laurie’s friends witness the man falling out of a tree and unmask him, revealed to be Wilkins. Laurie appears, and the girls transform into werewolves, devouring Wilkins and their dates. Sam witnesses the feast.
During the same time Wilkins is harvesting Charlie, Kreeg scares away children to steal their candy, aided by his dog Spite. Sam breaks into his house, decorating it with Halloween memorabilia. Sam, unmasked as a demonic, pumpkin-headed child, attacks Kreeg. However, when Sam tries to kill Kreeg, he instead eats a chocolate bar that landed on Kreeg’s lap. Satisfied that Kreeg offered him candy, Sam leaves. Photographs in the fireplace reveal Kreeg to be the bus driver.
Later, Kreeg begins giving out candy to children. He observes Sam watching Emma and Henry, going to exact revenge when Emma blows out a jack o’lantern. Kreeg returns inside, only to receive a knock on the door. He opens it, revealing the undead children waiting for him. The final, comic book-like shots of the film show Kreeg being dismembered.