Trick Or Treat — Trick Or Treat( UHD/ Blu-Ray/DVD)
During the 1980s,a fair few films locked into heavy metal themes/ concepts, be they horror, comedies, or documentaries- one of the most successful/memorable of these was Trick Or Treat. The mid-80s film blended elements of revenge-focused supernatural horror, high school angst drama, with light touches of comedy & satire. Its plot is fairly simplistic- shock rocker Sammi Curr( Tony Fields)- a Alice Cooper/ Blackie Lawless crossbreed- dies in a fire, but manages to come back to electrified life via raven-haired/bullied teen Eddie, played by Marc Price, who is most known for his role in US Sitcom Family Ties. Here from Synapse Films is – either a UHD, Blu-ray, or DVD release- taking in a new 4k scan, new audio commentary, a lengthy new doc, and a few other things.
From the year 1986, Trick Or Treat is a US production, filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. It was helmed by actor-turned-director Charles Martin Smith. Trick Or Treat was his debut film, going on to release another seven features- these include the likes of action comedy Fifty/Fifty (1992), circus dog joins baseball team family comedy Air Bud (1997), and family drama A Christmas Gift from Bob (2020).
Trick Or Treat is a well-realised and well-made debut film, which blends its genres in an entertaining/engaging manner. With its horror elements sitting more on the PG side of things.
The film focuses on Eddie( Price), a high school teen, heavy metal fan, with only a few friends, who often gets bullied by blond-haired jock Tim(Doug Savant) and his buddies- for example his shorts get pulled down, and he gets pushed into a swimming pool with a weight. His favourite metal artist is black straggled straggly-haired, ripped fish-netted, and leather-trousered shock rock Sammi Curr- who is somewhat of a controversial figure. Parents’ groups hate him; a few of his concerts have been cancelled, and he’s been dabbling in the occult.
It's reported Curr has died in a hotel fire. This, of course, devastates Eddie, whose life is going from bad to worse. One night, he drops into the local rock radio studio- chatting with DJ Nuke, played by Kiss’s Gene Simmons- he finds out that Curr made one last album before he passed, so the DJ passes the vinyl of it onto him, and Eddie’s life starts to change. On the subject of rock/ metal cameos, we also find the recently sadly passed Ozzy Osborne- playing a religious TV preacher.
As the film unfolds, Eddie, his bespeckled buddy Roger( Glen Morgan), and Leslie( Lisa Orgolini), his wants to be girlfriend, try to curb the chaos caused by the Curr, who is brought back to electrified life via backwards playings of his record. We get a neat demon monster & melted ear car attacks, people pulled from TVs, and blue lightning zapped kills- though as mentioned earlier, it’s all fairly PG/ tame.
The whole cast is well chosen- but really Price and Fields take up most of the screentime. The former shifts well from the belittled and trying-to-get-by teen, to panicked and scared. The latter is cool, deadly, and not too chatty, retaining a good feeling of mystery.
The film features a metal soundtrack specially written for the Film by Fastways, which featured ex-members of Motorhead and UFO. It’s great headbanging, fist punching, and chant-along metal craft.
I saw Trick Or Treat when it was first released on VHS in the UK back in the 80s, and I still enjoy it to this day. I guess I recall it having a tad more gore/effects, but it’s no major issues, as the film is still well paced and entertaining throughout.
With this recent(ish) Blu Ray release, we get a 4k scan of the picture- this nicely brings out the 80’s colouring, as well as making the lighting elements truly zing. Also, the audio is nicely crisp, clean and loud, on both the dialogue and with the songs.
On the extras side, we get a decent selection of things- most of which are new to this release. First up is a commentary track from director Charles Martin Smith- this is a passable/ interesting enough director's track. He starts talking about how he had made a few shorts, made a few TV Ads, and directed a few theatre productions. He talks about not being a horror fan, but enjoys Sci-fi more, with one of his favourites being the OG Star Trek series. He talks about how Marc Price was a good actor and a believable metalhead. We find out the film had a budget of three million dollars, and that he was focused on keeping the pace/ flow of the film up when shooting. As I said, a decent one-play track.
Otherwise, we get audio interviews with writer/producer Michael S. Murphey and writer Rhet Topham, moderated by film historian Michael Felsher. And an audio conversation with Paul Corupe and Allison Lang, authors of Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s- these both play over the film.
On the extras side, we get Rock & Shock( 1 hour 21), the definitive/thorough look at the making of the film, with a great selection of interviews with crew members, including a lot of input from Charles Martin Smith. There are also a few actors too been interviewed- including some great input from lead Marc Price. There’s In The Spotlight( 15.07) a very heart-warming tribute to Tony Fields- the dancer who played the role of Curr, who tragically died too young at the age of thirty-six from aids related cancer- with pictures of him & interviews with those who knew him.
On the archive/ not new to here side, we get the following: Horror’s Hallowed Grounds (26.31), which sees Sean Clark revisiting the film's location. There’s a video for one of the film's songs, “After Midnight”- which features Fields dressing up as Curr again. I’d never seen this, so this was a real treat. Other wise there’s: theatrical trailers, tv spots and radio spots, Still Gallery featuring optional audio interview with still photographer Phillip V. Caruso, and Vintage electronic press kit.
When I saw Synapse Films was releasing Trick Or Treat,I was truly pumped. And I’m most happy to report they’ve done a wonderful & thorough reissuing job of the film, with great extras including the feature-length doc and the lovely 4k scan. If you enjoy heavy metal-focused horror/teen drama films, this is most certainly a must-have title.