The beloved Halloween-themed anthology, Trick 'R Treat, has become a staple for horror fans, as it depicts the "rules" of the holiday via its iconic enforcer, Sam, though its various stories broke the genre's biggest rule in very big ways.
Released in 2007 from director Michael Dougherty, who also wrote the script, and produced by Bryan Singer (X-Men), the anthology features interwoven segments that are all connected by a mysterious "child" named Sam who isn't exactly what he seems. Similarly to other iconic Midwestern in movies like Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, Trick 'R Treat takes place in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio and is set on Halloween.
While Sam has his own "rules" for proper Halloween behavior, which stem from the holiday's roots in Samhain, the horror genre on the whole has certain traditions as well. One in particular has been subverted by films in the past, but is traditionally done in a gentler way. For a long time, the death of children was considered a taboo in horror films, and while it still holds up somewhat in modern times, Trick 'R Treat didn't pay it any mind.
Trick 'R Treat Prominently Featured Dead Children
One particular segment in Trick 'R Treat, the Halloween Schoolbus Massacre, revolves around an urban legend in Warren Valley where a group of developmentally delayed children were all killed in a crash. As the story went, the eight children who were onboard were set up by their bus driver, who was paid off by the children's parents and tasked with murdering them; he ended up being the crash's only survivor, unsurprisingly. Inspired by the legend, a group of kids decide to take eight jack-o-lanterns to the crash site, which is by a quarry and lake, to pay tribute to the dead children. However, this goes horribly wrong when the kids suddenly arise from their final resting places and pick off all but one of the children who dared disturb them on Halloween night.
Another story involves a school principal (Dylan Baker, The Good Wife) named Mr. Wilkins, who has decided to poison all his Halloween candy with cyanide, then passing it out to trick-or-treaters as usual. One particular kid, Charlie, is caught by Wilkins after he takes to smashing the man's pumpkins and is given a lecture on the traditions of the holiday in a way that reflects Sam's own mission for the evening. Charlie, who is an overweight kid, gorges himself on the poisoned candy and ends up dying a gruesome death as a result. Later, Mr. Wilkins is seen attempting to bury Charlie and another kid who has fallen victim to his ill will. Tired of interruptions, Wilkins decides to take Charlie's head to his son, Billy, and the two turn it into their own, disturbing version of a jack-o-lantern as a fun bonding activity.
Trick 'R Treat didn't suffer for its inclusion of dead children, and instead, the choice suited the anthology's overall cautionary tale narrative quite well. Its decision to outright defy one of horror's longest-lasting taboos was done with intelligence and paid the appropriate homage to the darkest aspects of the genre by treading where others wouldn't dare.