Having now caught up with TRICK (2019) I am finding it difficult to understand why the film is not better known. It features a straightforward slasher film plot crossed with a police procedural structure to add more to the tale than just waiting for the next set of victims to present themselves. In fact, the ongoing police interest in the initial murder serves to build the mystery of the killer’s possible supernatural nature and deepens the story's darker details. The first multiple murder incident happens at a Halloween party in 2015 with the known killer escaping custody by diving into a freezing river. As the cops and the FBI investigate, they end up following subsequent October 31st attacks that seem to be the work of the same person taking place in places further down the river in which he supposedly died. The small-town atmosphere of the location and its people add a lot to the feeling of a community assaulted by shocking violence and gives the characters more appeal than the usual faceless drones. I would have even enjoyed some more time spent with a few of the students that survived the 2015 attack specifically. The appearance of Tom Adkins as a local restaurant owner and the man in charge of the annual Halloween festival shows how good the added details already are, so I guess I just want more.
The story zigs and zags finding smart ways to pull new scares out of the genre tropes that horror fans know so well. Having the attacks center on Halloween makes for the perfect setting to both hide the killer in the open and make chasing him difficult. Situating an attack in a haunted maze that makes it easy to hide and even easier to disguise fresh costumed corpses is even smarter. The script is also clever enough to factor in a lie being told about the first attack that doesn’t pays off until the third act giving the attentive audience another reason to be curious about how things will play out. The movie has a good cast as well, meaning that the dialog is delivered with the right nuance to make things work when doubts start to surface and questions start being answered. I would suggest that new viewers not learn too much about the film so that the fun surprises can have maximum effect.
If more slasher efforts were this inventive and well made, I could see a resurgence of the genre. Now, I just hope the writer and director have an equally entertaining sequel up their sleeves.
1 comment:
TRICK is not better known because its producers and its DVD/Blu ray distributor didn't give it a lot of major publicity(despite the film being created by Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer[both of MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D{2009} and DRIVE ANGRY fame]) and the film got struck down(and deeply buried) by endless amounts of bad reviews,for maybe it can eventually grow enough of a large fanbase to help keep the film alive and get it out to the masses(as that method thoroughly worked for SLEEPAWAY CAMP and Rob Zombie's post-HALLOWEEN[2007] films).
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