Trick or Treat (1986) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A bullied teen inadvertently unleashes the evil spirit of his dead, rocker idol.

Review: So it's October again, and I'm trying to gather up the last of the horror films that actually take place on Halloween; there should only be a few oddball stragglers left after this year. I suppose you can always watch "Halloween" for the 100th time, but it's nice to know the alternatives, right? As for this film, it's surprisingly really good...well, as long as you appreciate '80s slasher shenanigans. While there are plenty of '80s cliches, the story felt original and a straight up nod to rock and metal of the era. You even have amusing cameos from Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne; Ozzy, specifically, had an awesome role. My main gripe is that they did not make Halloween integral to the plot; seriously, if you removed the holiday the movie would not change one bit. Also, there seemed to be confusion in regards to how much humor they should include. Was this due to Skippy, from "Family Ties," being the lead?

The story involves a fake rock star, named Sammi Curr, who is idolized by Skippy whose character is called Eddie. For some strange reason, Sammi wants to play a Halloween concert at his old high school, but he's banned. This doesn't seem to matter since Sammi kills himself to perform a satanic ritual that imprints his spirit onto a record. As you may realize, certain parts of the story do not make sense. Speaking of which, Eddie is bullied at said high school for appearing like a freak even though he's just dressed like a rocker. One minute they say Sammi is popular with the kids, yet, they pick on the one kid showing his fandom? That makes perfect sense. But since this is '80s cornball-land, there is a pretty cute chickadee, named Leslie, that likes Eddie for no reason ever specified. Anyway, Eddie is upset over Sammi's death and seeks solace with the local DJ who just happens to give Eddie the record with Sammi's spirit inside. The DJ also mentions they're going to do a Halloween tribute to Sammi where they play a copy of that record.

Later on, Eddie is further bullied and thinks Leslie set him up. This is when Eddie realizes Sammi's record is communicating with him when played in reverse. This supernatural assistance gives Eddie the confidence to fight back against the bullies, but eventually things get out of hand when the spirit of Sammi tries to kill one of the bullies and Eddie must intervene. For some reason, Eddie still tries to screw with one of the bullies despite his growing fear; this felt out of place to me. The one bully is given a copy of Sammi's record, but the bully's girlfriend listens to the tape instead and is somehow molested by a demon. Ehh...I don't know, they needed a titty shot or something; to be fair, she was into it. This molestation melts the girl's ears and finally Eddie realizes he doesn't want to hurt anyone. The spirit of Sammi grows angry that Eddie wants to stop and escapes from the record to wreak havoc. The effects for Sammi are decent for the time, but I think "Shocker" ripped this movie off big time. In fact, a lot of the special effects were surprisingly well done like when Sammi burns his hands through a door.

Eddie realizes the only way to stop Sammi is to destroy all the copies of the record. What is this, "The Ring?" Eddie enlists the aid of his friend, mostly due to zany antics, in order to recover the molesting-demon tape from the bully. Idiotically, the friend listens to the tape and Sammi forces the friend to play the tape at the high school Halloween party that night. At the dance, Leslie calls Eddie (since she pulled his number from her ass) and he overhears the Sammi tape and rushes off to save everyone. Sammi tries to stop Eddie since Sammi can manipulate radios which magically allows him to control a car with a radio; I'm okay with it since the car chase was cool. When a band tries to play at the dance, Sammi takes over and everyone thinks it is a stunt. Before they even know what's happening, Sammi goes all Carrie White on their asses and blows people up with his guitar; this scene is definitely sweet. Eddie arrives and saves Leslie and his friend who try to stop Sammi by overloading the school's electricity. Further shenanigans causes the police to blame Eddie for the killings as he and Leslie run around town just as Sammi pursues them. Eddie remembers that the DJ had another copy of the record that he was playing at midnight. Eddie and Leslie also realize Sammi is hurt by water. Okay, a little bit of "Signs" thrown in for good measure? At the DJ's radio station, they discover Sammi is guarding the last tape and Eddie concocts a plan to end this nightmare. Eddie puts a radio in the backseat of a police car and provokes Sammi to come out of it. Leslie takes this opportunity to destroy the last tape as Eddie drives the car into water, thus, killing Sammi's spirit. Yeah...just roll with it. The movie ends with Eddie making out with Leslie and some final zinger of Eddie putting on a different tape...whatever that's supposed to mean.

There was a certain charm to this film that is hard to explain. It hit on the right notes (see what I did there?) that made '80s slashers so much fun to watch. At the same time, I felt the crew was having fun with the material as well. There were too many weird nuances and highlights that enhance the cheesiness and allow the film to stand out amongst its peers. I think fans will certainly appreciate the ridiculous nature of the story and the engaging way it's presented. The Halloween aspect was admittedly weak, although, I did like the one trick or treating scene and the ghost kid that almost got ran over; however, the dance didn't need to be Halloween themed, the setting didn't feel like Fall, and a few token decorations aren't cutting it. While I liked the cutie playing Leslie, Lisa Orgolini, her character was completely unnecessary except to give Skippy a love interest. With a few tweaks, especially in regard to the abundance of shenanigans, this movie could have been a classic, but it's still worth checking out for sure.

Notable Moment: Hmm...the chick being molested by a demon and Ozzy as a reverend that hates metal are good contenders, but I can't overlook that boom mic scene. Just wow. How did they not catch that?!

Final Rating: 6.5/10