Trick or Treat (1986)

With Halloween rapidly approaching, I wanted to discuss a movie that is good for watching around that time of year.  This year, I want to talk about a cult classic of the '80s, Trick or Treat.  Starring Marc Price (aka Skippy from Family Ties), this film tells the story of a metal fan who is an outcast at his high school, which is also the school his hero, Sammi Curr, attended 20 years earlier.  After hearing about Curr's sudden death in a hotel fire, Eddie (Marc Price) swings by the local radio station where he talks to the DJ, Nuke (played by Gene Simmons).  Nuke gives Eddie an acetate of the final, unreleased Sammi Curr album, which cheers the distraught kid up.  Eddie listens to the record at home and soon discovers this is much more than a regular musical recording.  Through this recording, he is able to raise the spirit of his hero, Sammi, who begins wreaking havoc on the town, starting with helping Eddie best the assholes who enjoy harassing him at school. 

U.S. DVD release, featuring top-billing of Ozzy and Gene, who only had cameos

 

Released in 1986, Trick of Treat is very much a product of its time.  This was around the time the PMRC had caused something of a stir over rock and pop music and the supposed negative influence it has on young listeners.  Led by Tipper Gore, the group had a list called "The Filthy Fifteen", which consisted of 15 songs that the group apparently found especially distasteful.  However, a look at the list and a knowledge of the rest of the music by these artists leads one to wonder how much awareness Tipper and the rest of her cronies actually had about this music they targeted.  For instance, Danish metal band Mercyful Fate's song, "Into the Coven" was included for "occultism".  While I can't really argue that content being there, you only have to look at the rest of the same album that contains the song, entitled Melissa, and you will see pretty much all of the band's songs at the time dealt with such subjects.  What was it that was so much more objectionable about "Into the Coven"?  I haven't got a clue.  It is an excellent song, though, from an equally excellent album.

To be fair, the PMRC's initial aim was just to have some sort of warning label on certain albums which could be offensive.  Something which was eventually achieved with the "Parental Advisory" labels that appeared on albums throughout the '90s, having the unintended consequence of directing more attention from the youth to releases that bore such labels.  The issue there is that nothing is really inherently offensive.  It varies from person to person.  Sure, there are things that most people will find offensive, such as the racist rants of some wacko-ass KKK member, but even that isn't universally offensive, as some clearly agree with that sort of view, otherwise nobody would have that view in the first place.  My point is that what is offensive is a subjective concept rather than an objective one.  This makes it a rather difficult and possibly pointless task trying to legislate these kinds of things.  Rather, it is a parent's responsibility to pay attention to what his or her child is listening to or watching, along with the games he/she is playing and books he/she is reading.  Undoubtedly, it is a difficult task, but it is part of what you sign up for by having the little bastards in the first place.  I don't want any such responsibility and don't care much for kids, so I don't have any.  It is not that friggin' hard.

I am getting derailed here, though.  This is clearly a part of the influence on the story of Trick or Treat, along with the idea of backmasking and occult influences in metal.

Original LP soundtrack release by Fastway

 

The end result is an extremely fun and enjoyable movie.  Eddie is pretty likeable, as is the popular girl he has a thing for, Leslie (Lisa Orgolini), who is actually a good person, rather than the typical bitchy popular, attractive girl.  Unlike most of the other students in the school, you can see she is cognizant of how the abuse heaped upon him by the "normal" kids affects him, even going so far as to hand over to him a Polaroid photo taken of him buck-naked in the gym during one bout of his standard abuse at the hands of the school's more popular students. 

 

Back cover of original LP soundtrack release

 

Featuring songs by the band Fastway, Trick or Treat sticks in your mind as a really pleasant memory.  I still remember renting the old VHS which featured Sammi Curr with a BC Rich Ironbird in a circle of flames on the cover.  The unfortunate thing is that this movie has not seen much of a release since the VHS days, at least in the U.S.  There was a DVD release some years ago, which was very bare-bones, but it is still a pretty good-looking version of the film and I still watch this version regularly, especially when Halloween is on its way.  After that, Anchor Bay apparently had plans for a Special Edition DVD release, which was soon abandoned.  There are some Blu-ray editions from other countries, which may be a better option if you are into import video releases (or happen to live in the countries the releases were intended for), however, here in the U.S. the movie has been neglected in recent years, possibly due to licensing issues with music or something along those lines.  Hopefully, any such issues can be soon resolved and Trick of Treat can finally get the home video treatment it deserves.

Hype sticker from original LP soundtrack release