This has been billed as "five interwoven stories." That's a false claim for two reasons: 1) There are no stories, just 5 sections of the movie with no characters, no plot, no reason to exist, no entertainment value, and no story, and 2) None of it is interwoven. There are a couple of frames in each section that are from another of the sections. Those tiny little overlaps of 2-3 seconds are the bare minimum to claim in a court of law that the different parts of the film are related. They aren't. There are just a couple seconds that connect the parts. Nothing could be more lazy.
The fans of this disaster couldn't at gunpoint describe a single character, the plot, the story, the motivation of anyone, the reason for anything to be happening or a reason for the audience to care about any of it. Any other movie I've seen I could describe, even really bizarre movies without traditional narrative like Koyaanisqatsi, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, or Tetsuo the Iron Man. They all had a point to them, a cohesive driving force, and at minimum some visual narrative tying everything together. No such thing exists in Trick 'r Treat.
The tone is all over the place. First it's deadly serious, then it's lighthearted, then somewhere in-between. In all cases, it misses the intended mark. It feels like a made for tv kids movie, but it's too graphic for that. But it's clearly written by/for 10-11 year olds, so adults will be bored to tears or rolling their eyes at the sheer stupidity and pointlessness of it.
Here are some questions that the writers, director, and everyone who has seen the movie couldn't answer if their life depended on it: Who is a character in this section of the movie? What are they trying to do? Why do we care? How does this further the plot? What is the plot? What is the name of anyone in the entire movie? What is one thing you've learned about anyone in the movie by the end? How have the people changed from the beginning of their time onscreen to the end?
Absolutely none of those questions have answers because this isn't a story and there aren't characters. If it was moody and atmospheric, or highly stylized and cool, or breathtaking in the visual department, or had an epic score...then maybe the lack of every single aspect of storytelling could be forgiven. But it has none of those.
I can't believe that someone put money into a script without a single character, no plot, no story, and not even a memorable or engaging atmosphere.
Think of any movie at random; it's better than this. I've watched a lot of movies in my life: some I've enjoyed, some I've detested, and many were in-between. This is the first time I've had the displeasure of watching something that isn't even a movie, it just pretends to be one. It is generic Hollywood product, a commodity of "content" that could be replaced by absolutely anything and it would be an upgrade.
The fans of this disaster couldn't at gunpoint describe a single character, the plot, the story, the motivation of anyone, the reason for anything to be happening or a reason for the audience to care about any of it. Any other movie I've seen I could describe, even really bizarre movies without traditional narrative like Koyaanisqatsi, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, or Tetsuo the Iron Man. They all had a point to them, a cohesive driving force, and at minimum some visual narrative tying everything together. No such thing exists in Trick 'r Treat.
The tone is all over the place. First it's deadly serious, then it's lighthearted, then somewhere in-between. In all cases, it misses the intended mark. It feels like a made for tv kids movie, but it's too graphic for that. But it's clearly written by/for 10-11 year olds, so adults will be bored to tears or rolling their eyes at the sheer stupidity and pointlessness of it.
Here are some questions that the writers, director, and everyone who has seen the movie couldn't answer if their life depended on it: Who is a character in this section of the movie? What are they trying to do? Why do we care? How does this further the plot? What is the plot? What is the name of anyone in the entire movie? What is one thing you've learned about anyone in the movie by the end? How have the people changed from the beginning of their time onscreen to the end?
Absolutely none of those questions have answers because this isn't a story and there aren't characters. If it was moody and atmospheric, or highly stylized and cool, or breathtaking in the visual department, or had an epic score...then maybe the lack of every single aspect of storytelling could be forgiven. But it has none of those.
I can't believe that someone put money into a script without a single character, no plot, no story, and not even a memorable or engaging atmosphere.
Think of any movie at random; it's better than this. I've watched a lot of movies in my life: some I've enjoyed, some I've detested, and many were in-between. This is the first time I've had the displeasure of watching something that isn't even a movie, it just pretends to be one. It is generic Hollywood product, a commodity of "content" that could be replaced by absolutely anything and it would be an upgrade.