Written And Directed by Gary Graver
Christopher: "You're cute. Are you the babysitter?"
Linda: "Well, you're not. That's a stupid thing to do."
Christopher: "It's Halloween!"
Wouldn't you know, prior to last night, I didn't even know this film existed but I was bored and looking for something I hadn't seen before, stumbled upon this and gave it a go. I don't regret but I don't think this would be something I'd highly recommend either.
Anyways the movie started off with husband Malcolm O'Keefe (Peter Jason) getting sectioned at the behest of his scheming wife, Joan (Carrie Snodgress), who then got divorced and married stage magician, Richard Adams (David Carridine). She also seemed a bit too content with being rid of Malcolm.
Of course with the Halloween setting, this movie became more focused on a child and a babysitter. The child being the bratty Christopher (Chris Graver) - son of Joan and Malcolm and the babysitter being aspiring actress Linda (Jackelyn Giroux). To say they were a match made in hell would be underselling.
For the majority of the movie, Christopher revelled in tormenting Linda at every turn with his pranks/amateur stage magic getting increasingly out of hand. Linda also continued to be completely ineffectual, unable to stop Christopher from acting out. It's a miracle she didn't snap and kill him on the spot.
Unfortunately for Linda, a bratty child wasn't her only problem. After being asylum bound for four years, Malcolm chose Halloween to break out and go and get revenge on his ex-wife. If it meant knocking out nurses, stripping homeless men and killing innocent women like Andrea (Jillian Kesner) along the way, Malcolm didn't seem to mind.
The last few minutes had Malcolm return home, initially mistake Linda for Joan and try to kill her before a fake guillotine ended up being his undoing. As for Linda, this should've been the conclusion to an already shit Halloween but that last scene only showed that Christopher had his father's murderous impulses as well.
- Linda's boyfriend, Brett (Steve Railsback) was performing as Othello, despite being too young for the part.
- Orson Welles is credited as a magical consultant for this movie.
- Standout music: Help Is On The Way by Horizon.
- Chronology: A four year gap takes place early enough in the film.
I don't think I'd recommend Tricks Or Treats as a movie but I also wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching it either. At best, it's okay, though Christopher will test your patience, Linda's pretty useless and Malcolm overacts in every scene. Make of that what you will.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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