BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 12 & 13 review
It’s double review time for the last episodes of Bleach!
Man, the last two episodes were truly exciting ones with all the action from Zero Squad! I'm glad the animators, director, etc. decided to fully dedicate the two last episodes to Zero Squad. They all have their glorious moments which unfortunately didn't happen in the manga, so I'm glad in the manga they did.
But if anyone was badass, it was Senjumaru! So happy to finally see a badass female taking down multiple baddies in one well swoop! But if we backtrack a bit, it was still awesome to see each Zero Squad member fighting. While they were obviously playing with their Schutzstaffel (Elite/Imperial Guards) opponents (plus with Jugram and Uryuu too), it was still interesting they gave so much room for the Quincies to feel that sense of being at the top.
I think everybody can agree upon the fact Zero Squad had some interesting powers that suited well against their opponents.
It was nice how Kirio proved a stage to their battles, but in the end, also joined into the fighting mix.
Oetsu and Kirinji were both badass and while it looked like a moment Oetsu's game would be over, Kirinji proved himself as a top healer with his abilities. Which was a good thing when going against Askin.
Though the fact when Zero Squad members decided who should go against all the Elite Guards, I couldn't help but snort slightly as they sacrificed themselves to give the full power to one member reminded me of Yhwach stealing all 'non-worthy' Quincies abilities/lives... yet the difference in that was the sole fact the Zero Squad members agreed on that and made it willingly, unlike Yhwach's poor subordinates.
The fact that Yhwach just used all the Quincies below the Royal Palace (at Seireitei) as a stepping stone for him and his Elite Guards to buff it felt bad. Like yes, technically, Yhwach gave them all their powers (as far as I've understood things), but taking those and their lives? Yeah, I think if the Quincies had all known the full details of 'that' deal, they wouldn't have agreed upon it.
The pure rage and disbelief we saw on Liltotto's, Bazz-B's and Giselle's faces summarised quite well what most Quincies probably felt when they had to sacrifice themselves for their majesty.
And all for nothing, as Ichibe turned out to be too powerful toward Yhwach, even when he was at his peak... However, the fact that Ichibe named/made Yhwach a black ant made me chuckle for the future. Because if you didn't know, ants are actually very OP insects, despite the popular belief...
As a side note, Hiyori's comment at the beginning of episode 12 toward Urahara made me wonder why he is still so loyal to Seireitei. I get that it was his home for a long time and Urahara probably understands far better things than most of people, but I think Hiyori's musings were still valid. He would rather sacrifice his best friend (Yoruichi) and Ichigo and company, for the sake of Seireitei and by extension Royal Palace and Soul King. I get that they are middle of a war and sacrifices must be made, but talk about coldness. After all, Hiyori and the rest of Visored from the World of the Living arrived there just a bit late along with Yoruichi's little brother Yushiro, so if they all had gone there and helped...they would have been in much better standing against potential opponents. After all, the group that went there was quite small in numbers...so, why the rush? I get that Ichigo and company are quite powerful, but even so, now that we learned Hiyori and others did come (and were coming) felt like a bad move on Urahara's part. After all, they came there to help.
Not to mention it felt like something in Urahara had changed. I can't quite put my finger on it, but despite the fact he was still his crafty and mysterious self, there was this layer of...hmm, ruthlessness? Something like that. Not sure how to express that, but it feels like Urahara went back to being Omnitsukido's best assassin member who is on a mission and failure isn't acceptable.
Anyway! Senjumaru was truly the MVP of the last episode. I could barely hold back my excitement earlier when she was against Uryuu, because man, she looked sooo beautiful and badass when she made that wagasa (Japanese umbrella) to herself and when she released her Bankai? Talk about a huge and epic one! Her Bankai truly suited her and it was extremely pretty. Not to mention an interesting one. The way she used a cloth to trap her all opponents and defeat those before she sewed them into a cloth? What an interesting way to deal with them. It really made me admire Senjumaru even more.
That ending at the last episode...what was that? xD It really surprised me (and probably many other people) when Kon popped up and showed those few 'deleted' scenes. It was totally random, but fun all the same.
All in all, this cour (season) was a blast and it ended on an excellent high note!
Hey sorry for not dropping the review of mha 241 unfortunately my mums in the hospital and I haven't been able to concentrate on anything else will probably do a double chapter review on Friday but obviously no promises
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War double review of ep 12 & 13
It's double review time for the last episodes of Bleach!
Alright, I must admit episode 12's beginning did surprise me. I always thought back to when Isshin was still a captain, Byakuya, Kenpachi, and maybe Mayuri wasn't yet captains? I don't know, because it makes sense as much time has (probably) passed after Turn Back The Pendulum arc's end when Shinji and company got screwed over by Aizen. Even so...it surprised me. Not to mention the fact you're telling me Mayuri kept that same look for at least about 15-plus years as he had that same look at the beginning of Bleach. I can't accept that, even if I can accept everything else... But it explains everybody's reactions toward Ichigo in the Ryoka Invasion arc as most of the captains seemed to connect Ichigo to Isshin because of the obvious Shiba genes. (Kenpachi can be pardoned because while he can be observant, he isn't that observant.)
But because of this...man, now I feel even worse for Ichigo as he did basically grow up in the dark his whole life. That can be explained because Isshin and Masaki probably wanted to protect Ichigo (and his sisters) from such life, but once Ichigo got pulled into the shinigami business? And Isshin still wouldn't tell him? Or at least help him or protect him or anything? Man, my opinion about Isshin will remain as it's even after he told Ichigo the truth in the end and helped him.
Also, I loved the fact Yamamoto smelled Isshin leaving something untold but decided not to press upon the matter.
Gotta love it when things come back to bite someone's butt, in this case, Ryuuken's. After all, he should have talked with Katagiri if he truly wanted to cover up Masaki's little 'adventure'. But...well, since communication isn't a thing, it isn't. In a sense, Katagiri tried to help Masaki, even though she went against her young master's orders while trying to cover up what Ryuuken said. In that sense, Katagiri should have been honest, so maybe Ryuuken would have understood her point...man, so many unsaid things when both of them just wanted to help as they both are very kind. Just...bad when comes to communication. (Though, I assume in the end they talked with each other as they got married, ditto.)
Hmm, I loved how the animators showed Ryuuken's mother had that scar on her ankle. It subtly showed something bad had happened to her in the past, hence explaining a bit her strict behavior toward Ryuuken and Masaki. (Not to mention concern.) Cool way to add depth to a character with such a small detail.
It seems animators are continuing the line of 'let's cut off the ridiculousness of things to a minimum. Same with possible fan services.' After all, in the manga when Isshin went to rescue Masaki, there was that whole 'you're naked!' scene. It felt...super awkward, but this time around it was brushed aside and not made as a big deal as it should have been. Even though the animators did subtly hint with Masaki's goofy expression and her words something like that...but kudos for that to the animators/directors. Subtle hints like that are much better than just slamming things into the viewer's face. Or, at least I think so. (Though, the reason why I can see some of these subtle hints/changes might be because I have read the manga.)
I think that the movie part that they added for an explanation of 'Masaki was like the sun' was a very nice touch. It was very sweet and ended Isshin's story of 'how I met your mother' on a high note.
I must applaud Isshin's voice actor for spelling 'Auswählen' correctly as I imagine spelling the ä-letter even for Asians is hard, but he spelled the word correctly as far as I can tell. (I bet someone from Germany can confirm that better as I believe Aushwählen is Germany. But at least to my ear, he spelled especially that letter correctly.)
Alright, let's move to the last episode.
I've to ask...how Oetsu managed to send one of his bodyguards into the World of the Living? Like, does Zero Squad have their own portable little senkaimons that act like teleports or what? Because if they have such technology...why they haven't bestowed it to Seireitei? Would make moving between places much easier... Or, did Oetsu put on Ichigo marking or sort of that lead his bodyguard to him? (Like Minato Namikaze from Naruto would do when moving quickly between places.)
The whole scene where Ichigo was once again in the Asauchi pit gave me chills. It felt somewhat very...it's hard to put in words, but I could feel this charged-up tension in that scene as the Asauchi bowed down to Ichigo like he was King. Which he was. He was now finally the TRUE King that his inner Hollow had been mockingly using of him. Yet at the same time, Ichigo acknowledged his hollow/blade as the one. After all, the King needs a trusty blade if he will go to slay the enemy king. Man, that scene felt very intense and powerful in its own way. All the struggles Ichigo had faced were finally bearing fruit and Oetsu's proud smile? Yeah, it was worth seeing it. I bet he hadn't ever seen anything like that and probably won't ever again.
The shift to soul reapers and what they were doing while Ichigo was away was nice. Toshiro going back to basics was important in its own way as it showed one shouldn't look back at what they lost but forward and still do their best. While Hisagi was kind of in contrast to that in a way he was still hung up by the past...hence, both Kensei and Mashiro will show him a bit of 'tough love'. Seeing Akon back to his feet was nice and the fact Mayuri was doing something very...questionable was a nice cliffhanger. I'm happy over the fact they showed that little glimpse of Soi Fon training while Omaeda entertained his little sister. It showed the viewer despite the fact Omaeda is portrayed as this super annoying character, he still cares about his captain and is a good big brother.
I'm still questioning if Komamura's clan is a mixture of dogs and wolves...I mean, the Great Elder looked like a giant dog while Sajin looks like a fox. Sorry, I know Sajin is supposed to be a wolf, but his coloring always made me think he was a fox. I know there was the running gag of Sajin being a dog, but even so...*Shrugs.* This part actually made me a bit sad, because as a manga reader I know what will happen to Sajin. The only comforting thing is that Sajin will get to shine. Not to mention the fact we never got to learn more about Sajin's clan. I hope they'll add a little extra about that in the anime when/if it'll, gets continued. His clan, the fact they have to live in shadows...all that made me very curious about the wolf clan.
Alright everybody, don't take notes from Oetsu on how to forge. Seriously, your vision will get worse without proper protective goggles when forging. Even so, the whole scene when his bodyguards made the forge ready for him was very funny and epic. The music really helped to bring the mood up~.
It's interesting how Ichigo's inner world was now pink-white-grey tones themed instead blue white. Though, it was understandable as it was to set the serious mood and I bet the animators wanted to give their own flavor to it all. Not to mention, now the blue was used to symbolize Quincies. I think the fact when that pink faded into those blue tones was a very nice touch and showed Ichigo embracing himself and his all powers fully. (Also, I know it's cliché but I liked when Ichigo came from darkness to the light -from despair to hope.) The fact Number One was playing in the background when this all happened was a very good way to end the show -especially when we saw Ichigo's new twin Zanpakutos! A very harmonious ending for Ichigo.
And yes, Uryuu showing at the very end in front of Yhwach was a nice teaser for what is to come. ;) Can't wait for the next season as this one was totally worth waiting for all those years! So happy Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War arc's first season ended on such a high note and the series itself was extremely good almost the whole time. Made my inner Bleach fan squeal when watching this series.
Also, it was nice to write these silly reviews each week about the new Bleach: Thousand Year-Blood war episodes.
Since I saw The Mummy recently, I decided to look at the last reimagining of the classic monster movies, The Mummy (The Brendan Fraser one). These ones are pretty well-remembered and well-liked, and there’s a good reason for that; they’re fun, pulpy Indiana Jones-style adventure movies with plenty of jokes, action, and excitement. As someone who loves pulpy Indiana Jones-style adventure movies, these definitely appeal to me. Still, as much as nostalgia has made these films into memorable modern classics, they definitely have some problems that I feel nostalgia has blinded people too. And so, here today, I have come to talk about The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns.
What is this series bringing to the table? The series begins in the 1920s, where archaologist Evelyn Carnahan and her brother team together with former legionnaire Rick O’Connell to find the lost City of the Dead: Hamunaptra. Upon finding the city, they inadvertently unleash an ancient evil known as Imhotep, a man who was cursed with immortality and mummified for his blasphemous acts in ancient times. Over the span of the first film, they work to defeat him before he can use Evelyn as the vessel to resurrect his long-dead lover; in the sequel, they must stop him from fighting and killing the Scorpion King, another ancient being who made a deal with Anubis and commanded his armies. If Imohtep can kill him, he will gain control over the most powerful army in the world.
The first film, The Mummy, is a very strong if somewhat cheesy film. It’s got the Indiana Jones vibe down pat, with good comedy combined with pulpy action and plenty of thrills and likable protagonists, including our lovable rogue Rick, who is likely Brendan Fraser’s strongest performance ever (with apologies to George of the Jungle). The antagonists too are entertaining; cowardly jackass Beni is hilariously pathetic and pitiful, and big bad Imohtep is a surprisingly tragic and complex villain for this kind of movie. Arnold Vosloo’s performance definitely helps cement him as one of the coolest cinematic villains ever, and the early CGI only serves to enhance his creepiness with how unnatural and corroded he looks. Then we have the incredibly handsome and incredibly badass Ardeth Bay, who manages to take on a room full of mummies alone and survive somehow. He was originally slated to die, but he was so cool the director changed his mind.
The sets look pretty good… the CGI, though… It’s kind of easy to be forgiving since this movie came out in 1999, but then you remember that Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park exist and you just kind of sigh and shake your head. Still, as fake as some of the effects look, the movie is still impressive as a spectacle, and the movie has good pacing so you’re having far too much fun to care about that. That’s another shocker; this film is paced quite well, with about an hour of solid buildup before Imohtep rises from the grave. It’s a very slow and suspenseful build to his release, which makes it all the cooler.
You know what isn’t cool, though? How inaccurate a lot of this film is. From showing the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx near Thebes in the opening to the fact Hamunaptra is actually a real place in India to the ignorance of the true final plague of Egypt (which is the death of all firstborn sons of Egypt, not the plague of boils), there are a lot of geographical, mythological, and historical fuck ups in this movie. The plague thing is actually the biggest ones, since it was the Hebrew god who sent the plagues upon Egypt, making it very strange that a cursed Egyptian man would be using them. Thankfully the movie runs so much on coolness and charm that it’s easy to let this slide, but still. With such a rich mythology and country before you, there’s really no need to pull shit out of your ass like this.
Still, as far as cheesy action adventure films go, this one is very solid, and I’d rank it alongside films like the Indiana Jones movies and National Treasure in terms of enjoyable, pulpy, archaeological fun. Despite its flaws, it’s very easy to see why The Mummy is so well-loved these days.
Next we have The Mummy Returns, and boy is this one stuffed sequel! I’d compare it to Dead Man’s Chest in terms of how bloated and over-the-top it is, and I mostly mean that in a good way. This is a pretty fun, action-packed film, though this does come at the cost of a few things, most notably pacing. Instead of a slow buildup to the big plot, we get tossed into action almost right off the bat, though we at least get some warming up and reestablishment of the characters from the first film as well as an introduction to Rick and Evey’s young son. Yeah, that’s right, this one takes place in the FUTURE! …of 1933. Not too much time has passed since the first one. Anyway, the pacing isn’t so much a problem, as we already know most of these characters, allowing you to toss them into the situation and watch how they react and play off of each other. The problem with this action-packed fast-paced plot is that it ends up leading to a lot of spectacle, but not ones you’d like to see. Imohtep doesn’t do nearly as much as the first movie, and in fact one of his biggest scenes – in which he creates a wall of water to crush the heroes – is a rehash of the sandstorm scene of the first film. And when we finally get to the thing the movie has been building up to – an awesome showdown between Imohtep and his god-like powers and the equally powerful half-man half-arachnid Scorpion King – Imohtep is stripped of all power and becomes a mortal. This is such an absolutely wasted opportunity that it kind of stings, even if the final confrontation has some cool moments mixed in with some absolutely cheesy ones.
Since we’re on the subject of cheesiness and the final battle, let’s talk about the Scorpion King. He appears twice in the film: once during the prologue, where he is played by Dwayne Johnson in his big breakthrough into film. He’s pretty cool here, badass too… but this apparently conflicts with his heroic portrayal in The Scorpion King spinoff movie, where he is a traditionally heroic character. This would be a problem I’d discuss normally, but I only bring it up to point out that Word of God is that this is merely a descendant of Mathayus (which is the heroic Scorpion King’s name). So yeah, no problem there. The REAL problem comes from the fact this cool character played by a cool actor who got huge billing is really only in this one short prologue at the beginning and gets five minutes of screentime, and that may be being generous. But he appears in the final battle right? Yes and no. While a monstrous scorpion/human hybrid that looks like Dwayne Johnson appears, it is not the man himself, but a creation of the most unsettling, uncomfortably real early 2000s CGI you will ever see. The Scorpion King of the finale is an absolutely ridiculous nosedive into the uncanny valley, and squanders the big name they got. This final battle is just one disappointment after another, huh?
In a lot of ways, this film reminds me of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, in that it seems more concerned in being a special effects spectacle than being a great sequel. To its credit, though, despite definitely being a spectacle film, it’s actually still pretty good. The armies of Anubis especially are a badass sight to behold, and it’s a shame they aren’t around much either. There’s also the sinking of the Scorpion King’s oasis at the end, which is like the ending of Jumanji when everything is sucked back into the board on a grander scale (pretty amusing, since the temple was that of Johnson’s character, and he is now starring in a Jumanji continuation). Overall, it’s pretty good spectacle, even if the special effects are not quite as impressive as the first film’s to the point of being distracting at times; again, this is most prominent with the entire final battle.
But speaking of Anubis… hoo boy. The first film had some minor mythological miscalculations, but THIS movie just straight fucked mythology up the ass. And they did it from the very opening of the movie! The problems begin with the concept of selling your soul to Anubis. Let me walk you through the reasons why this entire plot is bullshit from the get-go:
1. The entire concept of selling your soul is a Christian folklore concept. No, not even a main Christian concept; Satan is not the ruler of the damned in the Bible.
2. All deceased are destined to meet Anubis, so the Scorpion King selling his soul is just nonsensical for Anubis to accept, because he’d get the Scorpion King’s soul regardless of whether he lived or died. And the Scorpion King was making this deal to avoid death. There’s a huge conflict of interests here.
3. The biggest problem is this: Anubis is not an evil god. Anubis in this movie is very much the same as every depiction of Hades in every movie about Greek mythology: because he is dark and rules over the dead in a way, clearly he’s evil! In reality, Anubis is one of the good gods; a true god of evil in Egyptian mythology would be Set, or even the serpent Apophis. In fact, criticize The Mummy of 2017 all you want, but it was actually mythologically accurate in that regard, as Ahmanet in that movie makes a deal with Set to overthrow the pharaoh. It’s actually a much more sensible deal, it makes more sense mythologically, and Set is actually getting some personal gratification there as he himself overthrew and usurped his brother Osiris.
So yes, the entire basis for this plot is mythologically bullshit. Maybe this all would be easy to accept like some examples of Hades like the ones in Disney’s Hercules and Kid Icarus: Uprising if Anubis actually showed up and had some sort of screen presence, but no, he’s just a vague shadow hanging over the movie who never once appears. This was such an easily solvable problem, I’m not sure why they didn’t have him show up if only for one scene.
Still, I can’t say the movie is totally bad or unenjoyable or anything. It’s fun and solid action, and while Imohtep is not used as well as the first, by the film’s end you’ll feel really bad for him if you didn’t already. This film cements him as a tragic villain, and if for nothing else I enjoy it for that. If I’d say one other thing was truly great, it’s Brendan Fraser’s acting during Evelyn’s temporary death scene, a showcase of his often underutilized acting chops.
All things considered, when it comes right down to it, the first movie is definitely the better film. It has more solid pacing, better humor, Imohtep at his best, and a very solid story. Still, the second film is a fun ride, and not really bad so much as a bit overstuffed with special effects and really weird choices. Still, I definitely recommend both films heartily, as they are both fun fantasy adventures in the vein of the Indiana Jones films, and the world definitely needs more movies like that.
Shame there were never any sequels to this. Oh sure, there was the Scorpion King spinoff prequel film, but that’s it. They never made a third one. What a sad state of affairs that is. So much potential for more stories. But can you imagine making a third film without Oded Fehr. Arnold Vosloo, or Rachel Weisz, and just had really shitty CGI and a horribly underutilized villain? That would suck, right? I’m glad they never did that.
The only two movies I got to see during the holidays were Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Aquaman. These two films don’t have much in common other than the fact that (A) they’re both Warner Bros and (B) they’re both installments in major franchises.
You should have seen these films by now, so I will discuss the spoilers in depth as I wax eloquent about my likes and dislikes of…
Double Review: Trick ‘r Treat/Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween is such a magical time of the year. The costumes! The monsters! The movies! The pumpkins! The candy! It’s probably one of my favorite holidays for this reason, and it has such a specific mood that it would seem very easy to capture it on film… but unlike the other big holiday, Christmas, Halloween just doesn’t get much of a fair shake on film. Like you got some really cool movies set on it like Halloween, some really campy films set on it like Hocus Pocus, but whatever your feelings on those film, you can’t deny that they kind of miss a certain something. They’re good, even great, but they aren’t HALLOWEENIE.
But you know what films ARE Halloweenie?
Trick ‘r Treat and Season of the Witch.
In my life, I have never seen two films that just so completely and utterly encapsulate the season than these two movies. They practically ooze Halloween in every aspect. Yes, the fact they both take place on Halloween helps, but there’s something in the styles, themes, and the atmosphere that pushes them over the edge and makes them the sort of film Jack Skellington would be proud of.
So what sort of stories are these films telling? Season of the Witch is the more complicated of the two, telling a supernatural-tinged film noir story about a man investigating a strange toy factory and disappearances that are linked to it, which leads to some truly insane reveals. Trick ‘r Treat is a lot less focused, instead telling a handful of loosely connected vignettes set on Halloween, with a serial killer school principal, a crotchety old man with a mysterious past, a bunch of kids, and some teenage girls all go out on the town for some fun, all while a mysterious trick-or-treater named Sam hangs out in the background. All manner of Halloween-tinged horror ensues.
Season of the Witch is a film that really could have only been made in the 80s; its plot goes from pretty acceptable film noir/horror to… holy fuck. Let me just put a SPOILER WARNING here in case you want this to be surprise when you watch it, but the head of the toy company Silver Shamrock, which is selling cheesy Halloween masks, has the most insane, nonsensical, batshit crazy awesome evil scheme ever: He has stolen a chunk of Stonehenge and placed fragments in all the Halloween masks, and when the kids gather around their TVs to watch the Silver Shamrock special on television, the masks will activate ancient magic that sacrifices all of the children in the name of the spirit of Samhain. Basically, a mass sacrifice ritual. Holy shit. There is almost no part of this plan that isn’t overly convoluted and insane, but goddamn does it end up being pretty effective and scary. You actually get to see just what those masks do to a child… it really isn’t pretty. And his parents get to watch it happen. YIKES.
Of course, with that you have to sit through some pretty lame romance subplots, and there’s a lot of truly bonkers things going on with Silver Shamrock’s cyborg henchmen that ooze orange goop (which is apparently, according to Dick Warlock, frozen orange juice). But I think the film is definitely more than the sum of its parts, and Dan O’Herlihy definitely steals the entire show as the evil, ambiguously human Conal Cochran. I say “ambiguously” because his final fate implies he may be a spirit of Samhain itself, back to bring about the ancient traditions, but this film doesn’t dwell on stuff like that too long. Aside from him, the best aspect is the creepy, atmospheric score, courtesy of the master of horror himself, John Carpenter. And if that’s not enough for you, the Silver Shamrock jingle is probably the biggest earworm in cinematic history.
Before moving on to Trick ‘r Treat, I suppose I must address the elephant in the room: Season of the Witch is not the full title, and is in fact the subtitle. This movie is actually the third entry in the Halloween franchise, and is quite infamous for having absolutely nothing to do with any of the other movies in the series. This is because the film was meant to push the franchise in a different direction, turning it into an anthology series, with each new entry being a different story set on Halloween. Of course, audiences at the time wanted one thing, and one thing only: more Michael Meyers. And so… they got it, and this film was relegated to obscurity until in recent years it has begun being reevaluated as a cult classic that was unfairly treated in its time and is an interesting case of what could have been. Frankly I wish the anthology idea had come to fruition rather than increasingly ludicrous films where Michael Meyers becomes some weird supernatural Celtic murder spirit or whatever the hell was going on in the Thorn Trilogy.
Now, Trick ‘r Treat is an interesting one, because much like classics such as Creepshow, this movie is a horror anthology, telling a bunch of Halloween stories. This movie, similarly to Season of the Witch, got screwed over, but not by audiences; no, this one was screwed over by the studio, which was supposed to release it theatrically in 2007, which they didn’t. Instead, they dumped it on DVD in 2009, where it soon found life as a cult classic.
Now, the reason why I decided to review these two movies together is because of the feelings they capture, and Trick ‘r Treat is practically the embodiment of those feelings. You see, this film is less concerned with plot and much more concerned with cinematically interpreting the holiday of Halloween itself, with the fears, emotions, atmosphere, and traditions that come with it. Traditions especially play an important role, as not following the traditions of Halloween tend to anger the adorable trick-or-treater Sam, who in the final segment of the anthology is revealed to be not human but rather some sort of anthropomorphic representation of the Halloween spirit (I’m guessing “Sam” is short for “Samhain”).
The segments are as follows: “Opening,” in which a couple divided by their feelings on Halloween take a couple of different approaches – he goes in and watches a sex tape, she decides to take down the decorations early. This does not make our lovable little monster Sam very happy, though. This is followed by “The Principal,” about a school principal who has a secret life as a serial killer; in this segment we’re treated to some hilarious black comedy as he tries to take care of the body of a fat little bastard kid he just killed on his front steps. “Surprise Party” has a group of college girls cruising the Halloween scene, looking for sex (presumably), with the one played by Anna Paquin out to have her first time; can she find the right man before the night ends? “The School Bus Massacre Revisited” deals with a group of asshole kids playing a prank on an odd but nice young girl, a prank revolving around the local legend of a “Halloween Schoolbus Massacre,” in which a bunch of mentally disabled kids were all killed by a bus driver after their parents paid said driver to get rid of them. Finally, there’s “Meet Sam,” which, as the title implies, has a curmudgeonly old man who wants to just ignore the holiday come face-to-face with Sam.
The segments tend to have some overlap, with “The Principal” and “Meet Sam” actually taking place at the same time, and the whole film just crams in as much Halloween goodness as possible. There’s pumpkins, candy, costumes, gruesome murder, urban legends, werewolves, folklore, home invasions, zombies, vengeful spirits, serial killers, you name it. If there’s a trope you could somehow tie to Halloween, it is in this film. There’s quite a few good twists and turns in the movie, and unlike with Season of the Witch I don’t think spoiling these will really help convince you to check this out. Just watch for yourself and see the sweet, bloody goodness that is Trick ‘r Treat.
Both of these films really capture the spirit and atmosphere of the holiday, though I obviously think Trick ‘r Treat captures and encapsulates everything about Halloween more than Season of the Witch does. However, Season of the Witch has the sort of eerie, batshit creativity one would expect for a holiday like Halloween, and is so steeped in creepy folklore and absolutely shocking and disturbing deaths that it manages to come pretty close to Trick ‘r Treat in terms of delivering a perfect Halloween experience. I definitely recommend this to anyone who really loves the holiday, because these are some seriously good cult classic films. They’re not going to be to everyone’s taste of course, but I think these deserve to have the same iconic status as all of those Christmas films that get played over and over every holiday season.
Now, strap on those masks everyone, and look away if you’re prone to epilepsy, because it’s time for the big giveaway! Watch the magic pumpkin… watch…
