With Mike Flanagan’s Carriebreaking Amazon records and the new Peacock hit Crystal Lake giving the Friday the 13thfranchise its best critical appraisal ever, it’s important to remember that the trope of misunderstood youth, bullying, and peer pressure is not only common, but a necessary one. Not just because the EC Comics-style of blending gut-churning horror with “just desserts” is easy pickings for the genre (and it is), but because horror has always appealed to a younger demographic. Horror isn’t just aimed at teens because they crave the forbidden and the taboo in their cinema, but because horror speaks to them in a way most other films don’t. It allows for raging hormones, fear of the future, sexual curiosity, and pent-up feelings a place to purge.
There is a lot of horror that speaks directly to youth culture, and lets them know that “we understand”, or “we’ve been there”, or “it’ll get better” within the confines of a hyperbolic world where you can insinuate yourself or your problems into the story and for 90+ minutes, not feel so alone in your misery. Carrie, of course, being the Everest of “teen bullying” horror/revenge, with King’s Christine being a beautiful runner-up. It’s evident in horror cinema that films of this motif borrow a lot from those films. Most of it was lambasted by critics who thought the gory murder and mayhem of horror was desensitizing and glorifying violence.
But the 80s was just a wasteland of decadence, wasn’t it? I mean, if it wasn’t horror films, it was Dungeons & Dragons, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and maybe most terrifying of all…heavy metal! How ever did we survive? Satan was everywhere! And our government, who naturally always has our best interests in mind (har, har), would gallantly set aside pithy, stupid concerns like a living wage, billionaire corruption, the Cold War, the possibility of nuclear annihilation, the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, and governmental distrust, to focus on real issues. Y’know, like the lyrics in Judas Priest albums, or what in the living hell was Dee Snider about to take a bite out of on that Stay Hungry cover of Twisted Sister’s third album.
THESE were the real issues our government was concerned about. Hey, whad’ya know? Nothing’s changed. I wouldn’t hold my breath, either.
What these overpaid stiffs in Washington never understood (and continue not to), is that neither horror nor heavy metal was “assaulting” the youth of America. It was listening. It was sympathizing. And that no one was listening to disturbing lyrics to get a charge of anger or malice, but because most artists in these fields were tortured souls themselves, and that sometimes a fist-throwing anthem like “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, or “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” let an aimless, misunderstood teen know that metal “had your back”. That there’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself, and even if you’re not brave enough yet, that listening to someone who has been through it before is proof that your situation is not unique, and that there are people out there, miles, states, or countries away that get it.
Enter: 1986’s Trick or Treat, a film that blends horror and metal in the best way, while also providing yet, another lesson. Sometimes, meeting your heroes…can suck.
Trick or Treat (1986)
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Actor-turned-first-time-director Charles Martin Smith, known largely for memorable roles in Starman, The Buddy Holly Story, The Untouchables, and, of course, the lovable “Terry” in George Lucas’s teen classic American Graffiti, cut his teeth in the director’s chair with this heavy metal parable that twists that Carrie/Christine plot into a modern-80s heavy metal headbanger.
A relentlessly bullied high school metal-head named Eddie (recurring Family Ties buddy Marc Price) is devastated when he learns that his idol, a hometown success shock-rocker named Sammi Curr (a wonderfully sinister Tony Fields), died in a mysterious hotel fire. The local DJ (KISS bassist Gene Simmons in a brief, but very effective cameo), gives Eddie Sammi’s final recording as a gift, knowing how much Curr’s music meant to him. It’s an unreleased, one-of-a-kind record called “Songs in the Key of Death”.
Upon listening, Eddie catches the familiar audio anomaly of an inverted message. Sliding the vinyl in reverse, he finds a backmasking message from Sammi on how to deal with his tormentors, namely the preppy douchebag Tim Hainey (Teen Wolf’s Doug Savant, who does a fine job balancing intimidation and genuine fear). The pranks are harmless at first, until some of this “advice” begins to lean towards grievous bodily harm, mutilation, and murder – all to give Sammi enough “electricity” to come back from the grave.
When Eddie realizes that Curr is no metal hero, and simply using him as a conduit to wage war on his hometown, putting Eddie, his mother, and his friends in danger, he refuses to help any longer, forcing Sammi to climb out of the speakers and wreak havoc at the school’s annual Halloween dance, and kill everyone in his way.
One of the many heavy metal (or “Rocksploitation”) horror films of the 80s, alongside the likes of Rocktober Blood, Monster Dog, Terror on Tour, Hard Rock Zombies, Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, Black Roses, Hack-O-Lantern, Slaughterhouse Rock and many others (I’d suggest picking up Heavy Metal Movies by Mike “McBeardo” McPadden for a comprehensive list – there’s truly that many), Trick or Treat stands out largely thanks to honest and convincing performances by Marc Price as the hassled headbanger, Lisa Orgolini as one of the “cool kids” who genuinely likes him, and future Final Destinationwriter Glen Morgan (who also did some uncredited rewrites) as his nerdy, but loyal best friend. With Price in the lead and exhibiting a believable amount of duress and fortitude, it helps the story that Orgolini, Morgan, and even Simmons as the local DJ are sympathetic soundboards for him. When you’re in the middle of the turmoil, you sometimes forget that your allies are in the midst too, and they both are stronger than standard stock characters.
But the real scene-stealer is the late Tony Fields as the perfectly flamboyant and sinister dead rocker Sammi Curr. A former Solid Gold Dancer and choreographer, Fields brings a lot of high energy and attitude to the role that was one part Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P., part Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe, and just a dash of Freddy Kreuger to be able to warp reality a tad and yank televangelist talking heads out of the damn television. Every scene he’s in commands attention and exhibits menace, but it’s never done in a hammy, condescending way, but rather with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek wickedness. The set-up and execution of Curr’s presence and wrath were cool enough to have made him a franchise favorite, but sadly, Fields would succumb to complications of HIV-related cancer in early 1995, robbing us of any “re-Curr-ance” of the spiked, metal madman. I think he’d have gotten a kick out of the mileage the character has had in the genre and the fanbase its garnered and maintained for the last 40 years.
It’s a true testament to the combined efforts of the cast, the writers, and a budding young director in Smith that Trick or Treat has never completely gone away, nor did it come across tone deaf. With the film’s prevailing statement of “No False Metal”, it says something about the team that fit so many cultural triggers into the plot when they easily could have just cashed in. Trick or Treat was, after all, simply a title that studio head Dino De Laurentiis liked, and wanted a horror film with that name out by Halloween of 1986. And while (ironically) Trick or Treat has relatively little to do with Halloween outside of the lead-up to the big dance on Halloween night and the window-dressing it required, the film features allusions to the infamous PMRC hearings, the waning-but-still-active Satanic Panic, the near-constant daytime talk show panels of televangelists (with none other than Ozzy Osbourne showing up in a hilarious cameo – “What ever happened to the good old, simple love song? ‘I love you’, that’s a good word to use!”), and the use of “backmasking” records with subliminal messages. I can’t speak for everyone involved in the writing, but it seems evident that no one came at this for the paycheck and did more than a fair share of metal homework to build something timely, topical, and believable within the confines of the story at hand. There’s very little about Trick or Treat that well-versed metal and/or horror fans alike can take to task. Certainly not its authenticity or spirit to sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
It’s loud, it’s nasty, it’s funny, and features a soundtrack by Fastway that is sure to bang your head. So get your horns up, sleepyheads – iiiiiiit’s Party Time!
HOME VIDEO
After its 1987 release on VHS by Lorimar Home Video, Trick or Treat would sit dormant for fifteen years, with the occasional television broadcast, until 2002 when Platinum Disc Corporation finally released it to DVD, in a careless bait-and-switch bare-bones affair that not only featured images of Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons on the cover as the stars of the film, but from promotional images undoubtably snagged from the internet and not even their brief, cameo appearances in the film. Slapped across a skull, Ozzy and Gene were used to sell the film from bargain bins, with nary a peep about Marc Price (the actual star of the film), or even a hint of Fields’ Sammi Curr – the actual villain. I could probably feature a whole separate article on the laziness in the design of DVD/Blu-Ray cover art for horror films, but I digress (as usual).
Credit where credit is due, Lorimar Home Video had released a small “Ultimate Comeback” Edition of the film in 2016 that featured some behind-the-scenes footage, and a couple of assorted extras, as well as a High-Definition transfer, which was more than we had.
But it wouldn’t be until 2024, when the fellas at Synapse Films and Red Shirt Home Video collaborated on a truly badass release that hardcore fans desperately wanted (and deserved). Released in 3 variant covers by artists like Justin Osbourne (Cover A), Devon Whitehead (Cover B – pictured), and Mariano Mattos (Cover C), and limited to 2,222 units apiece, Trick or Treat certainly made “The Ultimate Comeback” in a set that was brimming with amazing special features. Check out the breakdown below:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HD Widescreen restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative, mastered in Dolby Vision (HDR10) and approved by director of Photography Robert Elswit
- Audio: Newly Remixed DTS-HD Master Audio English 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD Master Original Theatrical English Stereo 2.0
- Subtitles: English
- Start-Up Trailers
- Audio Commentary with Director Charles Martin Smith
- Audio Interviews with Writer/Producer Michael S. Murphy and Writer Rhet Topham
- Audio Conversation with Authors Paul Corupe and Allison Lang
- Rock & Shock: The Making of Trick or Treat
- In the Spotlight: A Tribute to Tony Fields
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: The Filming Locations
- Music Video: “After Midnight”
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
- Vintage EPK
- Still Gallery
- CD Soundtrack
- Limited Edition Hardback Slipcover with art by Devon Whitehead
- 6 Lobby Card Reproductions
- Double-Sided Fold-Out Poster
- 60-Page Collector’s Booklet
- Reversible Cover Insert featuring two original theatrical one-sheet designs
These sold out super-quick and are currently Out-of-Print and fetching for a high price by resellers. That’s the “Bad News”.
The “Good News” is, if you’re willing to forgo the various HardBack Slipcovers, the lobby card reproductions, poster, and collector’s booklet, the actual on-disc supplement features are exactly the same, so while you might not have the physical collectable goodies, those who want the supplemental bells and whistles, along with the first ever 4K restoration of the film will still get the experience of seeing Sammi Curr rise from the dead and wreak havoc in crystal clear clarity.
PURCHASE “TRICK OR TREAT ON 4K HERE!
Bits ‘N’ Pieces
Traum-A-Meter:
2 out of 4
The film is virtually bloodless. Most of the violence is relegated to electrocutions – if not full combustion – and a nasty ear-melting by headphone death. Unless charred corpses (dutifully vacuumed up before mom gets home) bother you, you’ve got little to worry about here.
Today’s Jam: Coincidentally (I assume), Inside the Electric Circus by W.A.S.P. (their third studio album) was released the same week as Trick or Treat, and being that Curr was modeled after Blackie Lawless, it seems fitting that this fresh new album was rocking that cassette deck on your way to theater that weekend.