Trick ‘r Treat: Tales of Mayhem, Mystery & Mischief (Book)
Reviewed by Elaine Lamkin
Forward by Bryan Singer and Introduction by Michael Dougherty
Text by John Griffin
Published by Insight Editions
For those of us who bought this book back in 2007, thinking the film would be released soon after, well, I hope everyone held on to their copy as Trick ‘r Treat (review) is FINALLY seeing an October, 2009 release date!! Don’t know what the hold-up was (this has GOT to be THE Halloween movie of all times – and before you start in with me about John Carpenter’s Halloween, that movie was SET on Halloween. Trick ‘r Treat is ABOUT the holiday – a holiday we horror fans yearn for more than Christmas or Hanukkah).
Trick ‘r Treat: Tales of Mayhem, Mystery & Mischief is more than just a making-of book (and don’t let the 110 pages make you think there’s not much to it). Beautifully designed, coffee table-sized, protected by a colorful slipcover, and illustrated throughout with over 300 color photos as well as Mike Dougherty’s quirky, creepy art, the book is more like an overstuffed scrapbook covering the genesis of the Halloween holiday and all of the traditions connected to it: carving pumpkins, dressing up in costume, trick or treating, etc. Included are an 8-page comic book, “Season’s Greetings” by Miran Kim, about the origins of the character Sam, a Sam Halloween mask, a sticker book of art and illustrations from the film, postcards of Mike Dougherty’s original art, and much more.
The first part of the book deals with the making of the film, which just happens to star Anna (“True Blood”) Paquin and Brian (Manhunter) Cox, and delves into how costumes were designed and special effects pulled off. Part two is comprised of the stories which make up the film itself: “The Ghost of Halloween Past”, “The Killer Next Door”, “The Quarry”, “Girls Night Out”, and “Old Mr. Kreeg”.
This book is SUCH a must-have for horror fans! I’m going through my copy as I write this and STILL discovering extras I didn’t notice before – little pockets with “goodies” in them, for instance. I did see a few typos in the text, which can be irritating, but the sheer beauty of this book makes little things like that insignificant.
Trick ‘r Treat: Tales of Mayhem, Mystery & Mischief is available from Evilshop via the below link. Grab a copy before they sell out! Especially now that a release date has been set. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Trick ‘r Treat Sam Figure – It’s something everyone should have on their shelves.
5 out of 5
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