Trick Or Treat is an American supernatural horror film directed by Charles Martin Smith (in his directorial debut), starring Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini, Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne.
It was released on October 24, 1986 by the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Eddie Weinbauer, a high school outcast writes & sends a letter to his hero, a heavy metal musician named Sammi Curr who is known as a hometown hero in Eddie's town & a former student at Lakeridge High School (where Eddie attends).
While watching the news, Eddie is shocked & devastated when he hears that Sammi has mysteriously died in a hotel fire. Later on, he meets his friend Nuke (who is a radio DJ that personally knew Sammi) and Nuke gives Eddie him Sammi's last (and unreleased) album "Songs in the Key of Death" on a acetate disc.
Nuke recorded the disc onto high quality tape & plans to play Sammi's album in its entirety on-air at midnight on Halloween (which was Sammi's original plan). When Eddie returns home, he falls asleep while listening to the record and then has a strange dream about the fire that killed Sammi.
When Eddie awakens, he finds out that the record is skipping and after listening to it for a few seconds, he realizes that something is not quite right about the lyrics that the record is stuck on. After playing the record backwards and hears Sammi speaking to him from beyond the grave.
Sammi gives Eddie instructions on how to get revenge on a group of bullies who tormented Eddie. At first, the revenge is seemingly harmless, but when it starts to become violent, Eddie decides to sever ties with Sammi, but Sammi won't let it happen.
While Eddie is alone in his room, Sammi causes soda to spill onto the record which initiates an electrical surge that gives him energy to escape out of the record & be able to carry out his murderous plans on his own. After meeting Sammi face to face, Eddie destroys his record player & stereo system, hoping to never see Sammi again.
After a cassette tape that Eddie copied of Sammi's album puts the girlfriend of his worst bully in the hospital, Eddie has his friend Roger steal the tape out of the bully's car. But instead of destroying it, Roger decides to play it himself which earns him a visit from Sammi who orders Roger to play his album at the high school Halloween dance or die.
Roger goes to the Halloween dance and plays the tape over the PA system. When the live band playing at the dance begins their performance, Sammi literally explodes out of the lead singer's guitar amplifier and prepares to steal the show. At first, the students think that it's a Halloween tribute to Sammi especially when Sammi begins firing electric bolts from the neck of his guitar which disinergrates the audience.
After the first few deaths from Sammi, everyone realizes that the danger is real and they flee the school as Sammi starts wrecking havoc. When Eddie reaches the school, there are ambulances and police cars surround the building.
As Eddie tries to save the people still inside, he realizes that Sammi can only travel through radio signals, so Eddie starts destroying every radio he sees to try to stop Sammi. After reaching the radio station to stop Sammi's album from being broadcast, Eddie lures Sammi (in a cassette tape) in a police car and starts baiting him with insults until Sammi breaks out of it and attempts to attack Eddie from behind the car's security grill.
In the end, Eddie drives on to an unfinished bridge, speeding over the edge and launching it into the river which short circuits the tape, destroying Sammi Curr once and for all.
Cast[]
- Marc Price as Eddie Weinbauer
- Tony Fields as Sammi Curr
- Lisa Orgolini as Leslie Graham
- Doug Savant as Tim Hainey
- Elaine Joyce as Angie Weinbauer
- Glen Morgan as Roger Mockus
- Gene Simmons as Nuke
- Ozzy Osbourne as Reverend Aaron Gilstrom (cameo role)
- Alice Nunn as Mrs. Sylvia Cavell (cameo role)
- Charles Martin Smith as Mr. Wimbley (cameo role)
Production[]
"Trick or Treat" was filmed from April 21, 1986 to June 6, 1986 and was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Originally, Gene Simmons was offered the role of Sammi Curr, but he didn't think much of the script and ultimately agreed to do only a cameo as Nuke, the radio DJ.
The special effects for the movie were created by Kevin Yagher (who would go on to provide the effects for such horror icons as Freddy Krueger and the Crypt Keeper from "HBO's Tales from the Crypt").
Box Office[]
"Trick or Treat" opened at #5 at the box office, grossing $2,912,687 during its opening weekend with an average of $2,298 and grossing $6,797,218 domestically.
Critical Reception[]
Janet Maslin from the New York Times wrote that it was "genial, not too frightening and even rather sweet" and "As a horror film, though, it's very tame, with slow pacing and a dark look interrupted by frequent bursts of lightning."
In TV Guide's review of the film, they wrote: "Trick or Treat is a well-meaning, humorous look at the kind of rock music that isn't worth the attention paid to it."
The Movie Scene's Andy Webb wrote that the film "is still an entertaining 80s movie and it never gets tired or boring. But sadly for a horror movie it isn't the most frightening of movies."
Trailer[]
Trick or Treat (1986) trailer