Trick 'r Treat In Theaters Tonight!

Yes, it has become an annual mandatory Halloween viewing for all of us, but we've never had the opportunity to see Trick 'r Treat in theaters. Until tonight! From it's original straight-to-DVD release back in 2007, tonight marks the first time Mike Dougherty's mistreated cult classic gets the theater experience it has always deserved.

I have literally seen this film at least 30 times, but I'm still going to get out and see it on the big screen. We get two nights - tonight and Thursday - to see it. Maybe theaters can make this an annual occurrence and a new Halloween tradition? Let's make it happen!

In the meantime, Slashfilm has a great article that covers the full history of the maligned-to-cult-classic film. Give it a read before going to the theater! And then enjoy Douglas Pipes' incredible soundtrack! Enjoy!

  

Trick 'r Treat In Theaters Tomorrow!

Well, I have been sitting on this one since I first heard about it, but... Sam FINALLY gets to bring his show to the big screen. I THINK I'm excited about this? Since 2007 when it got a "straight-to-DVD" release, I have faithfully and gleefully watched Trick 'r Treat on Halloween eve (and a few other times throughout the Halloween season). But for the first time ever, due to it's ever-increasing popularity as a new cult classic, fans across the country get to watch it all on the big screen.

I quickly went back and forth, but decided that I simply HAVE to see it in the theater. It's too great not to! It's too important of a Halloween tradition to skip out on, so I will most definitely carve out a time (see what I did there?) to head to my local theater and take it all in.

Regal Cinemas starts their showings tomorrow, with other theater chains starting soon after, so let's make Sam a box office hit.

Even if it IS fifteen years late...

And on a Trick 'r Treat sidenote, Spirit Halloween is also doing a themed giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a pack of their Sam-themed tchotchkis here!

  

Douglas Pipes - Trick 'r Treat

Today's torrential downpours have really taken it out of me. Quite a few little things left to do before the big night, but tonight I think I'm just going to crawl under a blanket and watch my annual Halloween classic.

But until then, I think I'm going to fire up the trusty turntable and spin the amazing soundtrack to said annual Halloween classic...

Always wear a costume

Hand out treats

Never blow out a jack-o-lantern

Always check your candy

The Final Countdown

I've always kinda hated that song, but the title is very fitting. Revision after revision, I had the final list of projects for the Halloween display. One by one, I went down the list, checking off each task. The jack-o-lanterns were carved. The lights were all set, along with a bin full of extension cords. The props were staged, ready to be placed in the yard with lightning quick precision.

As I continued to whip through my list, I kept seeing that one last project: fix the animated shiatsu massager ground breaker. It's a prop that I have always loved, but also hated due to the finicky nature of it working and not working.

By the time I decided to go for it, it was already getting late. At this point of the night, I was already contemplating shelving the whole thing for another year. But I still ended up pulling it out, at least to assess the amount of work needed to fix it. I remembered that the arm had broken off the last time it was used in my display.

As I pulled it apart, the extent of damage was quickly evident. The entire "rotating nub" of the massager itself had broken off. Not good. It would require more work and time than I had originally planned for, but I decided to see what I could do.

After running through different ideas of replacement bolt nubs or even gluing, I realized that there was a different fix. I had a second shiatsu massager sitting in a corner. What transpired next was a blur of disassembly and reassembly that would make Dr. Frankenstein proud.

I was able to swap out the entire massager unit, make a few arm piece length adjustments, and then rig up two straps to hold the neck and arm PVC pipe pieces in place without clunking into each other. All told, the entire switch took and hour and 15 minutes. I plugged the new massager in and hit the button. The zombie sprung to life as the head twisted side to side and the arm swung wildly back and forth. I sat on the basement steps, watching in amazement as the prop continued to work flawlessly.

As I sat and marveled at my work, I realized that I was not yet done for the evening. I turned the prop off and headed back upstairs.

The clock already read 11:00, but I had a certain tradition to continue.

I sat my weary body down on the couch and fired up the Blu Ray player...

After my annual Halloween Eve viewing of Trick 'r Treat, I pulled my body into bed to catch a few hours of sleep before having to get up early and get the big show started. It's always a ton of work, but it's always worth it!

'Twas The Night Before Halloween...

The excitement is building! Tomorrow is the big day!! The props are all done (for the most part), I'm sitting on the couch watching my Indians try to win their first World Series since '48, I'm drinking an ice cold one, and I'm about to put in my annual Halloween Eve viewing tradition...

I even had a minute to engage in some pumpkin carving - something I haven't done in about 7 or 8 years, as I have always left that to the expertise of my mother. Well that and the fact that I have always been knee deep in setting everything else up in years past...

And while things seem to be going smoothly so far, the final weather forecast for tomorrow only helps things along! This will be the first Halloween without rain in 4 or 5 years!!

 

I'll still wake up nice and early for tomorrow's big set up. It all goes up tomorrow morning, finishing just in time for the neighborhood trick-or-treat, a quick video and photo session to document this year's display, and then it all gets taken down. So if you're in the area, come out early or miss it for another year!

Good luck to all my fellow haunters who are getting ready to do their thing tomorrow. Keep your traditions going, scare those kids good and most of all, don't forget to have fun! It's the reason for the season.

  

Rules

Wear a costume.

Pass out treats.

Never blow out a jack-o-lantern.

Always check your candy...

Only 21 more days until Halloween.

Friday...

Only 267 days until Halloween...

Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead

From Amazon:

From the twisted imagination of Trick ‘r Treat creator Michael Dougherty (director of the upcoming Krampus and Trick ‘r Treat 2 and screenwriter of X-Men 2 and Superman Returns) alongside a top-notch team of creators including writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields (Krampus), Marc Andreyko (Batwoman) and artists Fiona Staples (Saga), Stephen Byrne (Buffy/Angel), Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker’s Death Ship) and Zid (Son of Merlin) comes this 4-part collection that paves the way for the Trick ‘r Treat film sequel.

Days of the Dead takes readers on a journey through Halloween history with 4 chilling new Trick ‘r Treat tales. Discover old-world lovers whose romance takes a chilling turn and Western pioneers who discover the dark side of the frontier. Travel to 1950s Los Angeles for a tale of pure horror noir and into the heart of small-town America to see some pranksters taught a lesson they'll never forget.

Across centuries of Halloween horror, wherever fear lies, Sam will be waiting…

Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead is available today!

It's Time To Make The Props!

I've got a full, uninterrupted evening of Halloween prop making ahead of me tonight, and I can't wait to get started! I've got the night's soundtrack all cued up...

Have a great weekend everyone!!

The Night Before Halloween

Less than 24 hours to go! It's the night before Halloween, and I'm working in circles to get things done for tomorrow's big show. I'm bleary eyed, but the adrenaline shooting through my veins is keeping me going...

All of the big props are done and ready to go, all of the little pieces parts are in their proper staging areas and the makeup reference photos are all laid out. Tomorrow's checklist is written so that I can knock out each step in order to be ready to face the onslaught of trick-or-treaters.

I had time for my annual "Night Before Halloween" movie:

And I even had a chance to get a nice teaser pic for tomorrow night's display. Weather aside, I'm hoping to pull off our best yard haunt yet.

After months of planning and building, the big night is finally upon us. Halloween is here. Are you ready?

On The Eve Of Halloween...

Here we are, the day before the big celebration. Halloween. The last of the props will be finished tonight, all pieces have been diagrammed and all props and lights have been tested. We're almost ready to go. Almost.

Four months of planning and building all come down to this. A flawless execution of set up and tear down in less than 18 hours. Our commitment to the season. Our commitment to trick-or-treat.

This one will be tough, because as I look at the weather forecast, Mother Nature looks set to play her trick on us. The past 4 days have been sunny and relatively mild. Tomorrow? 100% chance of rain. The third or fourth year in a row where it rains on Halloween. But we have decided to press on. We will give the neighborhood the show that they have come to expect from us. I just hope that all of our props and lighting can withstand Mother Nature's nastiness.

As in previous years, I like to give a juicy little snippet of things to come and this year is no different. A teaser to stoke excitement. A nugget of things to come.

I've put a lot of time and effort into this year's display and a little weather won't stop me. Tonight, I'll put the final touches on the pieces for the yard, I'll slowly start to relax, pour a Drunken Jacko-approved beverage and pop in my annual Halloween Eve BluRay of Trick 'r Treat and get set to put on one hell of a show tomorrow.




And be sure to stop by tomorrow morning as I have one last treat up my sleeve to share with everyone!

Halloween Teaser

Okay group, I hope that everyone is having a great Halloween Eve! Whether you've got your trick or treating tonight, going to a Halloween party or just staying home with a scary movie, I hope it's full of screams and terrorific fun!

We're just putting the final touches on this year's edition of the cemetery. I've got one more prop to fix, lay out the extension cords for all of the lighting, pop in my zombie contact lenses and don the annual costume with makeup and we're ready to go.

Just wanted to share a quick teaser photo for tomorrow's haunt. We're expecting a ton of friends and co-workers to stop by and even more neighborhood children to pass through our ghastly gates. I've been working all day, but I'm still wound up tight. The past 3 months of work will all pay off in 20 short hours. How am I supposed to sleep tonight?

Okay, the teaser shot is similar to last year's, but we've redone our front porch and I can't wait to post the pics. A big thanks to Jenn for taking the lead on the redesign. It looks great!! Here is the skull shelf...

 

Okay, that's all we're revealing tonight. I just finished printing this year's t-shirt and we're going to sit down at watch our annual Halloween Eve movie, Trick 'r Treat.

Okay, Halloween is tomorrow. The final weather report:

47 degrees and partly cloudy, with a 20% chance of rain.