STREAM THIS WEEKEND: Trick 'r Treat 🎃 & The Ritual 🌲
Happy Thursday! I am still in the throes of TIFF — you can follow my musings here — so today’s recommendation is a re-up of some old favorites to get you in the mood for spooky season. For you scaredy cats, my first rec is more spooky than scary. The second, though, might be a little intense for you.
Have a terrific weekend! — Karl
Trick ‘r Treat 🎃
Trick ‘r Treat is made up of four spooky stories all set in the same small town on Halloween — a trick gone too far, a bus driver haunted by his past, a trick ‘r treater who got more than he bargained for, and a group of college kids finding dates for a party. At the center of it all is a kid wearing worn-down orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. What’s that about? Here’s the trailer.
Why you should watch it: You’d be hard-pressed to find a horror movie that captures the feeling of Halloween quite like Trick ‘r Treat. More spooky than scary, the movie has a fairytale quality to it with everything from a quaint overly festive town to ghost stories told on a foggy night. It’s all tied together in a neat, darkly funny package that never ceases to surprise you just as a good spooky story should. It’s the perfect movie to snuggle up to on a crisp autumn night. 82 minutes.
Fun fact: Most of the Jack O' Lanterns were made out of foam or ceramic. The crew joked that no pumpkins were harmed during the making of this movie.
The Ritual 🌲
A group of college friends gathers for a trip to the remote Swedish forest to honor a late friend. However, after losing their way, they realize that something in the remote wilderness may be following them. Here’s the trailer.
Why you should watch it: The Ritual may not be the most original, but it makes up for it with pure nightmare fuel. Mixing all the best of slow-burn horror with well-executed jump scares, director David Bruckner (whose new movie The Night House I reviewed here) creates an atmosphere of darkness and dread that never feels safe.
The early set pieces pull from The Blair Witch Project by hiding what’s terrorizing the group. Instead, the horror comes from what you can’t see and what’s happening when they’re not aware. The plot gets a little too muddy in the final act and a touch overwrought, but for a sleek 94 minutes it’s completely worth it for the economical horror.
Fun fact: The film is set in Sarek, Sweden, which is so far up north that the sun doesn’t set in the summertime. That’s inconsistent with the film’s depiction of nightime, but let’s just say it’s an intentional spooky occurrence.
📽 P.S. You can see every movie I’ve ever recommended right here.
🍅 I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find new movie reviews here and here.