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October just isn’t October without a scary movie or two. And while you’re probably taking the time this month to dig out some old favorites, you might want to check out a new release, too—like Trick, the story of a serial killer who only comes out on Halloween.
Trick begins on Halloween night in 2015, when Patrick “Trick” Weaver (Thom Niemann) brutally murders a group of classmates at a party. After his arrest, an injured Trick fights his way out of the hospital room. And though Detective Mike Denver (Omar Epps) and Sheriff Lisa Jayne (Ellen Adair) shoot him numerous times, he still jumps from the building and gets away. Though Trick’s body is never recovered, everyone is convinced that he’s dead. But when a brutal massacre takes place the next Halloween—and every Halloween after that—Detective Denver decides that it’s time to stop the evil once and for all.
This Halloween slasher flick incorporates nearly every aspect of the spooky holiday into the horrors. Trick hides his identity behind creepy masks and eerie face paint. He’s seemingly obsessed with jack-o’-lanterns. And he shows up at all of the classic Halloween events: costume parties, haunted mazes, and scary movie screenings. And that makes Trick the kind of scary movie that fits right into the October lineup for movie lovers who feel the need to watch scary movies in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
For the most part, it’s a pretty standard slasher flick. It takes full advantage of jumps and scares. Characters toss out the occasional one-liners, and they tend to race off to places where they really shouldn’t go when there’s a crazed, knife-wielding killer on the loose. And there’s also a whole lot of fake blood—and a couple of rolling body parts for added effect. It’s all relatively entertaining—if you enjoy stabbings and the usual horror movie cheesiness, that is. And, admittedly, that’s the real draw of a movie like this one. But as the characters converge for their last big showdown, the story of this cat-and-mouse game between killer and detective begins to crumble. And when it all comes to an end, it may leave you scratching your head.
Of course, for some bloody Halloween thrills and chills, Trick will keep you entertained (and it might make you more than a little suspicious of masks and face paint). It won’t become a Halloween classic, but it’s worth adding to this year’s scary movie marathon.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
