If there’s ever a testament to the supernatural element of Halloween, it’s Alex Weight’s “Prank.” Set on Halloween night, director Weight examines what happens when a prank goes one step too far. And when evil plays a hand in pure utter revenge. Three trick or treaters dressed as a clown, a skull, and a devil meet up to go trick or treating for the night, and decide to pay an old friend named Jerry a visit.
I could kind of see where the film was headed in the first minutes, but that doesn’t mean “A Tricky Treat” isn’t worth a heap of praise. Director Patricia Chica delivers a fun and incredibly grotesque short film set to Halloween festivities that turn a classic ritual of the holiday on its ear. Or head as it were.
One of my favorite movie blogs “Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule” recently posted their annual horror quiz in celebration of Halloween, and I was more than happy to take part in it. Their quizzes are usually a lot of fun and ask some interesting questions for their users that allow for an interesting article, so I thought I’d take part in yet another fun Movie Quiz that could inspire some thoughts on my favorite in horror entertainment and fiction. SLIFR is never bereft of interesting questions that cause its players to think hard and long, so I tackled this with immense enthusiasm.
Feel free to copy this quiz for yourself and link back to “Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule,” or feel free to let us know what you think about my answers below!
“Look I don’t want to be rude, but you sad losers should go suck somewhere else.”
Like every other hardcore Simpsons fan, I was a bit surprised that the series decided to not go with “Treehouse of Horror” this year. But FOX publicists assured fans that the following week would bring a new “Treehouse of Horror.” Even the characters address it in the first few minutes, as Homer has to appease Flanders, who asks why Halloween isn’t being celebrated in a treehouse this year. Thankfully “Halloween of Horror” is an experiment, and a damn good one. In all of the twenty seven seasons of “The Simpsons,” there were Christmas and Thanksgiving episodes, but Halloween was a special event with standalone non-canon horror stories meant to pay tribute to everything from Stephen King to Edgar Allen Poe. This year, the series treats us to two Halloween based episodes! Thankfully, “Halloween of Horror” is quite great and reminded me of a time where “The Simpsons were hilarious.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been spoiled by Will Vinton’s Christmas special, but “Comedy of Horrors” just wasn’t my favorite from the man. It’s likely because the narrative he gives audiences just doesn’t fit thirty minutes as a whole. I think this special should have had various segments rather than just one solid story. The story at the center is just never as engaging as I would have loved it to be, and in the end I was kind of disappointed. “Claymation Comedy of Horrors” is filled with a ton of horror references both obscure and mainstream, and I dug the Easter Eggs he included.
Rowan Blanchard and Paris Berelc are two of the most interesting Disney personalities to come around in a while. So it’s pretty disappointing when they’re teamed up to star in a DCOM that’s pretty limp from the get go. Aside from barely being about Halloween at all, the entire notion of the movie never plays out effectively. The movie struggles really hard to find stuff for characters to do, and when it’s failing at that, it somewhat concoct subtle religious commentary. When it’s not doing that, it creates a series of plot holes that just leave the movie feeling incomplete and incredibly far fetched even for a kids movie.
I really enjoy one aspect of “Mischief Night,” and it’s the two scene walk on role by Malcolm McDowell. I mean seriously, who walks around various neighborhoods to quiz people about Halloween and warn them about not opening their doors? Who in the world has that much time? For all intents and purposes, director Travis Baker makes damn good use of the extra money he spent on McDowell’s appearance. Sure the man has nothing to do in the movie, but he’s in there, come hell or high water.