Trick or Treats

"Halloween's over. Now it's the kids' turn to get even!"

Director: Gary Graver Year: 1982 Runtime: 91 min IMDb: ⭐ 3.9
Movie Poster

Synopsis

A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night who keeps playing vicious pranks on her. To add to her trouble the boy's deranged father has escaped from an asylum and is planning on making a visit.

Malcolm O'Keefe is surprised one morning at breakfast when two men arrive to bring him to a mental asylum so that his wife, Joan, will have him committed. After a brief struggle in the backyard pool, Malcolm is captured and taken away by the men in white. Several years later, Linda is called to babysit Joan's son Christopher on Halloween night while Joan and her new husband, Richard, attend a Halloween party in Las Vegas, where they are performing as magicians. Christopher plays tricks on Linda, such as using a fake guillotine, throwing a smoke bomb at her, and using a joy buzzer. At the asylum, Malcolm contemplates his escape after having been there for nearly four years. Malcolm manages to escape with help from another inmate and vows to get revenge on those who put him away. After Linda calls her friend Andrea to bring film to her, Linda goes outside to look for Christopher. Malcolm enters the house in search of Joan and hides in the attic. Andrea enters the house, and Malcolm fatally stabs her, mistaking her for Joan. Linda and Christopher go back into the house, and Brett calls Linda. After the call, Linda goes upstairs to find Christopher asleep. Linda goes downstairs, and Malcolm attacks her. She tricks Malcolm and runs outside and hides in the shed. Malcolm enters the shed and sees all his old belongings, reminiscing over them. Malcolm finds where Linda is hiding, only for her to escape again. She gets in her car, but it won’t start, and then she runs back to the house again. Linda then barricades Christopher and herself in Christopher’s room. Unbeknownst to Linda, Malcolm burst through the other door to Christopher’s room and attacks Linda once more, this time to be fatally injured by the guillotine toy altered by Linda to become an actual one. After which, Linda goes downstairs to call the police, and Christopher takes Malcolm’s knife. The movie ends with a freeze-frame of Christopher about to stab Linda to death.

Summary adapted from TMDb and Wikipedia sources.

🎄 Holiday Cheer Breakdown

Content Warnings

⭐ IMDb Parents Guide 🛡️ Common Sense Media

someone is sexually assaulted
Yes
there are spiders
spoiler There are spider Halloween decorations in places throughout the house, but nothing real.
someone gets gaslighted
Yes
someone is stalked
Yes
alcohol abuse
Yes
someone is restrained
Yes
there's torture
spoiler Unless you count the poor babysitter being tormented by the bratty child.
there's finger/toe mutilation
spoiler The boy pretends to cut off his thumb, but it's a trick.
teeth are damaged
spoiler On several occasions a character talks about his teeth being knocked out in the past, but we the audience never see this happen.
there's shaving/cutting
Yes
there's cannibalism
spoiler About one hour in, the boy proclaims he is a cannibal and brings flesh at night.
there's amputation
Yes
someone struggles to breathe
Yes
someone falls down stairs
spoiler The boy pretends to fall down the stairs but is unharmed.
a kid dies
spoiler A child fakes his own death multiple times and the audience is meant to believe a few times that he's actually dead "for real" this time, but no actual harm comes to him.
someone cheats
Yes
a parent dies
Yes
there are jump scares
Yes
there are shower scenes
Yes
there's spitting
Yes
there's a mental institution scene
Yes
there's a hospital scene
spoiler There is a mental hospital that figures prominently into the first 20 minutes.
someone dies by suicide
spoiler A character fakes his own death and taking his own life multiple times, but no actual harm comes to him.
a mentally ill person is violent
Yes
someone has an anxiety attack
Yes
someone is misgendered
Yes
there are "Man in a dress" jokes
Yes
there's ableist language or behavior
Yes
there is sexual content
Yes
someone is sexually objectified
Yes
someone is homeless
spoiler Brief scene about halfway where a homeless man asks for money. Another scene shows two homeless men searching for alcohol.
the ending is sad
Yes
there's blood/gore
Yes
someone drowns
spoiler The boy pretends to drown, but it's a trick.

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