Review: Trick 'r Treat (2007)

At this time of year (October) there's often people asking what the best film for Halloween is ... and my answer is usually Trick 'r Treat ... it's not a well known film, but deserves to be much well known, as it's simply awesome!

First of all, it's an anthology film, telling four stories much in the same way as the old Amicus gems like The Vault of Horror, The House that Dripped Blood and Asylum.  There's a linking narrative which brackets the stories, and they're all set at Halloween.  But what Trick 'r Treat does so well is to combine the stories so that a) they're all taking place on the same night but also b) that they are intermingled with each other, so you see elements of a different story (the characters etc) while one of the stories is playing out ... it's a very clever way of bringing all the different aspects together into one satisfying whole. Director Michael Dougherty has done an amazing job with this, his first feature.

So we open with a couple, Emma (Leslie Bibb) and Henry (Tahmoh Penikett), returning from a party ... he is dressed as a Buck Rogers-like spaceman and she is dressed as a robot. They're being watched by something.  She blows out the candle in the pumpkin outside their house ... bad move as it happens as it leads to her being slaughtered and added to the Halloween decorations in the garden.

Then there's the local principal of the high school, Wilkins (Dylan Baker), who catches a lad, Charlie (Brett Kelly), destroying lanterns and stealing candy. He gets poisoned by some candy and then his head used as a gruesome pumpkin jack-o-lantern by Wilkins and his son Billy (Connor Levins). But the principal has another secret ... he likes to dress as a vampire and go out killing on this night ... wouldn't it be a shame if he came up against something bigger and stronger than himself ...

There's a group of gorgeous feisty girls, Laurie (Anna Paquin), Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith), Maria (Rochelle Aytes) and Janet (Moneca Delain), who are all out for a good time ... so they get costumes to party in and head off to pick up some boys, and then into the woods ... but what might be happening in the woods ... and why shouldn't you go down there ...

Next door to the principal is a grumpy old man, Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox), who hates the season and hides indoors with his dog ... but he has secrets too, and Sam Hain (Quinn Lord) comes calling, wanting his candy treats ...

Finally there's a group of younger kids, Macy (Britt McKillip), Chip (Alberto Ghisi), Schrader (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), and Sara (Isabelle Deluce), along with 'Halloween traditionalist' Rhonda (Samm Todd), who head to a local sinkhole lake. Legend has it that years ago a busload of mentally disabled children was driven into the hole by the bus driver ... he survived but all the children were killed.  The youngsters descend into the sinkhole with jack-o-lanterns to summon the dead children ... and it seems their plan works!

But guess who the bus driver is?  You got it ... Mr Kreeg ... and his come-uppance will soon be with him ...

Overall it's a stylish and slick piece of filmmaking. I love how the stories interact and overlap, with characters from one seen in the backgrounds and interacting in others. The plots are smashing too and intersect neatly, allowing all the bad guys (and some innocents) to get their desserts ...

There's cracking performances from the main leads, in particular Brian Cox as Mr Kreeg ... but also kudos to little Sam: the pumpkin-headed kids romper-suit wearing wraith who moves through all the action. A great visual and very well realised.

If you're looking for a great Halloween watch, I highly recommend Trick 'r Treat.  Just keep those lanterns alight, and always have some candy to offer ...

Special Edition released 28th October from Arrow Films

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films, approved by writer-director Michael Dougherty
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary with writer-director Michael Dougherty moderated by James A. Janisse & Chelsea Rebecca from Dead Meat Podcast
• Archival audio commentary by Michael Dougherty, conceptual artist Breehn Burns, storyboard artist Simeon Wilkins and composer Douglas Pipes
• Becoming Sam, a brand new interview with actor Quinn Lord
• The Devil is in the Details, a brand new interview with production designer Mark Freeborn
• If Looks Could Kill, a brand new interview with director of photography Glen MacPherson
• Designs to Die for, a brand new interview with costume designer Trish Keating
• Bark at the Moon, a brand new interview with creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos
• Mark Freeborn Remembers Bill Terezakis, a new tribute to the late make-up effects designer
• Tales of Folklore & Fright, an archival featurette with Michael Dougherty, Breehn Burns and Simeon Wilkins
• Tales of Mischief & Mayhem: Filming Trick 'r Treat, an archival interview with Michael Dougherty on the making of the film
• Sounds of Shock & Superstition: Scoring Trick 'r Treat, an archival featurette with Michael Dougherty and Douglas Pipes
• Tales of Dread & Despair: Releasing Trick 'r Treat, an archival featurette with Michael Dougherty and Rob Galluzzo of the Shock Waves podcast, exploring the film's release and fandom
• Season's Greetings, a short film from 1996 directed by Michael Dougherty with optional director commentary
• The Lore and Legends of Halloween, an archival featurette narrated by actor Brian Cox
• School bus VFX comparison
• Deleted and alternate scenes with optional commentary by director Michael Dougherty
• FEARnet promos
• Sam O'Lantern
• Storyboard and conceptual artwork gallery
• Behind the scenes gallery
• Monster Mash comic book set in the Trick 'r Treat universe
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Six postcard-sized artcards
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Becky Darke and Heather Wixson

Review: The Exorcist II

ArrowVideo brings us a new High Definition release of John Boorman's The Exorcist II: The Heretic ... as usual it has some smashing features and lovely packaging (which sadly I don't get to see in the flesh as the reviewer - they just send the disks!

I was never that enamoured with The Exorcist II ... nor to be honest with The Exorcist. I feel it has been overhyped over the years and it just an ok film to be honest. I prefer my horror with monsters, and the 'possession' genre just doesn't do it for me.

In this film we have Richard Burton as the priest Lamont, who is suffering from a lack of faith when an exorcism of his own fails. The Vatican send him to investigate the death and life of Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow from the first film) due to his blasphemous writings. The film has Linda Blair as Regan again, four years on but suffering from the aftereffects of her possession.

The first part of the film is OK, following the impacts and effect of the possession on the people around Regan, but then it goes all trippy and explores belief and other surreal imagery as Lamont is tempted by the demon Pazuzu and goes on a sort of 'Walkabout' to explore the nature of religion and faith and locusts and how to banish the demon ... I guess Boorman was trying to do something different to the first film, and he certainly manages that ... but whether it's good different or bad different is another question.

The score is great - Ennio Morricone at his best - and the performances are good.  It's just that the film fails to engage.

I read that it was not well received at the time and I can see why ... it's just not what fans of The Exorcist were expecting.

However for fans of the genre and of the work of John Boorman, this is an excellent print with some great extra material.

Available 7 October 2024

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 118-minute Original Premiere Version and the 103-minute International Version
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Savieri
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Glenn Kenny and Matt Rogerson, plus an archival interview with cinematographer William Fraker

DISC ONE - ORIGINAL PREMIERE VERSION

• New commentary by film historian Lee Gambin and filmmaker David Kittredge, director of the forthcoming feature-length Exorcist II documentary, Heretics
• New audio commentary by screenwriter and author Kelly Goodner and film historian Jim Hemphill
• Archive audio commentary with director John Boorman
• Archive audio commentary with special consultant Scott Michael Bosco
• It's Okay, He's Gone, a new visual essay by film critics BJ and Harmony Colangelo
• What Does She Remember?, an archive interview with actress with Linda Blair
• Archive interview with editor Tom Priestley
• Theatrical trailer
• Teaser trailer
• Extensive image galleries

DISC TWO - INTERNATIONAL VERSION

• Archive audio commentary by film critic Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
• Theatrical trailer

Review: ILLUMINART V3

Andrew Skilleter is one of the legends of Doctor Who cover art.  For many years in the eighties he provided the iconic illustrations for the covers of the novelisations, and expanded his remit into all manner of other Doctor Who themed items: from posters and prints and postcards to bookmarks and special books celebrating his own work and that of other artists.

His 'Who Dares' company rose from the ashes a few years back, and Andrew has been working on releasing an annual calendar featuring his work, and also three books which together showcase much of his Doctor Who work.

Volume three of Illuminart has just been published, and this completes the set. Within this volume is art covering the Target Covers from 1984-5, which takes in some of my personal favourite pieces of his (and for which I own the original art) like 'The Caves of Androzani', 'Invasion' and 'Planet of Fire'. From there we move to the BBC VHS covers from 1993-1995, which section also includes items like the Dalek tin, the spines for the Key To Time VHS releases, and the cover for the W H Allen book The Key to Time. 

Next up are the Virgin New Adventures novel covers, along with other art from calendars and posters, before heading to 'The Race Point Years' and the art Andrew supplied for the books The Who's Who of Doctor Who and the Unofficial Big Book of Lists.

Then there's several private commissions (the book is peppered with these throughout) and the art for Telos Publishing's special edition of the novella Eye of the Tyger before we head to The Tripods, a lovely Amelia Ducat piece of art which was commissioned by Matt West of Miwk Publishing but ultimately unused on a book. There's the cover for a Knitting Pattern Book, more calendar art, a poster for the BBC, private commissions for Blake's 7, work for Star Wars and Thunderbirds ... the book is simply a panoply of fantastic art!

Along the way Andrew also reproduces early sketches of much of the art, showing how it developed from ideas to final work, and also provides a commentary against each piece giving origins, thoughts and memories of how it came to be commissioned and some of the challenges in producing it.

As a collection of a life's work (so far), the Illuminart trilogy covers practically all of Andrew's Doctor Who work, while also sidestepping into the other pieces he has created over the years. In the introduction he mentions that 2025 will see him  planning to release work looking at non-Who output and private commissions.

There's also a bibliography of books at the back which have been collections or which have extensively featured Andrew's art. Just in case you wanted to track down some which are missing from your own collections!

The trilogy of books is a fascinating work, and well worth looking into for any respecting Doctor Who fan with an interest in the artwork of Andrew Skilleter, and the many and varied ways in which it has been commissioned and used over the years.

There's a standard hardback edition of the books still available (though the first is sadly now sold out):

VOLUME 2: https://andrewskilleter.com/store-gallery/doctor-who/drwho-books/illuminart-book-2-the-doctor-who-art-of-andrew-skilleter/

VOLUME 3: https://andrewskilleter.com/store-gallery/doctor-who/drwho-books/illuminart-3-the-doctor-who-art-of-andrew-skilleter/

Review: THE OGRON OOO MONSTER BOOK and SCRIBBLOGRONS

Sometimes the innovation, humour and sheer talent of Doctor Who fans just astounds. Several years ago now, I stumbled across on Twitter (now called X of course) an account apparently being run by an Ogron called Gruntleigh. Now as any self-respecting Doctor Who fan will know, the Ogrons appeared in two seventies stories, 'Day of the Daleks' and 'Frontier in Space'. They were used as 'muscle' by the Daleks, and were basically low-intelligence ape-like creatures with limited vocabulary. 

If you're interested in seeing Gruntleigh's account, then it can be found here: https://x.com/OgronThe

He muses on life and happenings and what's going on in his life as he clashes with Davros and Adric and others ... basically it's hilarious.

So I was at the 2024 Whooverville event in Derby, and while perusing the dealer room, spotted a familiar cover on a table. But not quite familiar as it was a pastiche of the good old 1975 Doctor Who Monster Book - but this one was The Ogron Ooo Monster Book.  The cover pastiches that of the Monster Book beautifully and includes cartoon/art representations of Gruntleigh along with the third Doctor, Jo, Adric, Nyder, Daleks and even a Cyber-Ogron!  It's superb!  

But there's more. The whole book is a pastiche of the Monster Book - the same articles and layout, with cartoon images of Ogron-ified versions of the art and photos from the original, and a text which also spoofs and pokes fun at all the creatures covered.  Just magnificent!

It had me chuckling right away. 'The Silly Uns' (Silurians), 'The Whirring' (Wirrn) and 'The Suckers' (Zygons) are just some of the monsters you'll find here. All written by Ogwon Tel!

The back cover even features a selection of Ogron Ooo novelisation covers. From Ogron Ooo in Exciting Adventure with Some Mud (by Ogron Dave) through to Ogron Ooo and Puppet Monster Invasion (by Ogron Malc). Truly a work of genius.

This amazing book is the work of artist Martin A Holmes, and copies can be bought from Lulu here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/martin-holmes-and-martin-holmes/the-ogron-ooo-monster-book/paperback/product-p66r58r.html

Sitting on the same table, alongside the Ogron Ooo Monster Book was another, hefty, tome. This was called ScribblOgrons. At 208 pages this is not to be dropped on your foot, and, like the Ogron Ooo book, it focusses on Gruntleigh's adventures. It's a Cartoon Art collection, but there is text as well ... all in colour with cartoons, one-frame funnies, comic strips, features on Daleks and all manner of other Doctor Who creatures, a feature on 'Davros Tries on a Hat Day', life in the Ogron Army, letters from Gruntleigh, Adric features, as does Nyder ... it's a fast moving, incredibly detailed and fascinating collection of Ogron-related funnies.  It's actually hard to do it justice in a mere review!

If you have a sense of humour and like the madness which could arise from being an Ogron trying to get by in the world of Doctor Who then this might be right up your street. It's certainly the most original use of the Doctor Who universe I've seen in ages, and there's so much here that it's going to keep me occupied for months and months!

There's some pages looking at Og-TV - in other words, Ogron-ised versions of some television favourites like The Ogoodies, The Prisogner, Blake's Ogrons, The Ogod Life, Hey! Hey! It's the Gruntleighs ... and many more. Another page discusses politics on the Ogron planet of Ograviss. Another discusses the Master ... yet another looks at Davros' pets.  And the book goes on, page after page with incredible cartoons and funnies and just crazy stuff which is both head-shakingly weird but hilariously funny!

Look, just go and grab yourself a copy off Lulu and you'll see ... you'll see ...

Martin Holmes certainly wins the famous No-Prize for the most fun publications seen in an age!

Available from: https://www.lulu.com/shop/martin-holmes/scribblogrons-paperback/paperback/product-w44ppp9.html