To those of you looking to find this movie, you can get it for $6.99 from Amazon.com, I will put a direct link to the order for it... just copy and paste it in your browser.
http://www.amazon.com/Trick-Treat-Tony-Fields/dp/B000096FVG
Okay here it goes. This is my favorite 80s horror flick EVER. This is the reason I am so obsessed with the genre. This is where the fascination started.
Let me explain why: Okay, here's this kid Eddie. Eddie is your typical 80s headbanger (you know, Motley Crue, W.A.S.P, Anthrax....you get the idea) except Eddie has a brain. Eddie(brilliantly portrayed by Marc Price) is the target for frequent bullying and public humiliation (see the locker room scene). He has exactly two friends and his only consolation comes from his music. His idol, Sammie Curr, happens to share the same hometown as Eddie and Eddie writes the guy (what seems to be) on a daily basis. Well, Sammie dies dies in a hotel fire and Eddie is naturally devastated. So, he goes to see his D.J. buddy "Nuke" (played by none other than Gene Simmons). Nuke sees how torn up the kid is over Sammy's death and gives him Sammie's last record which was never released. Nuke also tries to explain to the kid (apparantly Nuke knew Sammie in high school) that his idol wasn't such a nice guy. "He was always angry." Of course, this means nothing to Eddie. He is totally infatuated with the guy and he believes that the two have some sort of connection.
More humiliation and more torment follow Eddie until he finally plays the record. Upon playing the record backwards, he finds that he can communicate with Sammie's ghost. He also learns that Sammies is more than eager to help Eddie get revenge on the high school jocks who have made his life such a living hell. In a good way, Sammie gives Eddie the nerve to stick up for himself. Eddie also learns that Sammie is bent on wreaking havoc on the town that refused him the right to play in his home town years ago.
You see, this all leads to Eddie having to make a choice: Either turn on his idol OR save the town from mass destruction.
All in all, I give this cult classic a perfect 10. It is totally entertaining and has a very clever script. I especially liked all of the cameos. Gene Simmons as "Nuke" was awesome, Ozzy himself was great as a reverand who despises rock music, and Charles Martin Smith (you know, "Toad" from American Graffiti") he's here too. He was also the director.
There are many reasons to see this movie. The acting is good by the whole cast, there are some genuinely suspensful moments, there is some great humor, there is "the dweeb getting revenge on the jock" scenario, and the music kicks ass. It is also a great flick for anyone who was into the whole "80s metal" movement of the time. I whole heartedly recommend.
Song Info:
01.] "Trick or Treat"
Throwing no punches and taking no prisoners, its a rougher Fastway that is really waiting to roar this time. The lyrics are kinda shlocky with such genius lines as "Knock, knock, knockin' for a sweet surprise, it's a trick or treat!" Yep, gimme some candy baby. The riffs are thick and scorching and King's voice draws comparisions to a gravely Jack Russel, in an almost a dead on carbon copy/evil twin from an alternate universe kind of way. This leads to comparisions to Great White and I suppose in a twisted way you could trace the blues end of the roots back to their scraggly limb world tree. The rest of the fierceness is pure straight up hard rock with a stomping opener that is no holds barred stadium heavy metal a'la Quiet Riot when they grasped the essence of having "Metal Health". A strong chorus barrels in like a pack of hungry werewolves and the guitar strikes it down with its silver bullet, aiming for the heart. Not too heavy or overdone to charring but juicy in a raw fresh blood kinda way, a bit crispy on the exterior, and just right.
02.] "After Midnight"
Everyone knows that its after midnight when things really go down, that's why its called the witching hour and many underworld type dealings are associated with the clock striking twelve. For this quick n catchy rocker, the ghoulish guitar is unleashed, fueling a spooky vocal chase twisting through the obstacle course of the backbeat that surrounds and devours the simplistic grooves whole. Power chords and an AC/DC-ish anthemic rhythm drive it with precision and ease. "Gonna shock you, shock you after midnight, get you..."
03.] "Don't Stop the Fight"
The thundering stomp of this track conjures a cauldron bubbling with horrors. Remiscient of a really good Killer Dwarf track (think "Dirty Weapons") but with a more slow burner feel that begins fuming at its beginning and slowly expands in heat and sound for the wide open chorus that is positively inspiring, rippling with energy.
04.] "Stand Up"
Slow shifts between bottom heavy verses that let the vocals soar in the spotlight and the powerful chorus that reminds me of the "German AC/DC", Accept. It finds footing especially in the bridge that changes gears by building on backing vocals for an effect that pops with melody. Yearning guitar scrabbles to a fading climax and is flanked by another dose of that chorus. Its not rocket science, definitely lacking elegance, but is the kind of straight up hard rock that seems absent from today's metal scene. Like said before, they don't make 'em like this anymore.
05.] "Tear Down the Walls"
No it is *not* Faster Pussycat, who would streak home with their tails in between their legs at the mere mention of this track. Eerie curtain atmospheric opening reveals an absolutely out of nowhere and equally startling "Hey You!". Instead of "who, me?", one should be asking "WHY ME?" after this pointless track that begins promising enough with its spooky graveyard unveiling and proceeds to circle the bowl down the shitter as King continues his near-screaming attention snapping approach with a cheesy yet enthusiastic chant of "Tear down the walls!" behind him. Then it all falls down and the weird effects are back for closure. Two minutes of total unnecessary strangeness. Another "real" song would have been appreciated...
06.] "Get Tough"
Two in a row? Hopefully not. The opening here is weighted down by more unsettling B movie horror setting studio tricks. The song finds itself shortly and ends up being a scrappy Great White-ish rock workout that drives the theme of "get tough, this boy's had enough" to the ends of madness. Yet! There is the ultra melodic cry of "hold on now!" and the post NWOBM Def Leppard like thunder drums and spark guitar that both crosses the lines between early 80s deaf spotted cat classics "Pyromania" and "High N Dry". Toss in a diabetic shock of "Once Bitten..." from Great White and a splash of pounding hunger ripped from Accept's "Metal Heart" and you've got one hell of a rocker. Short n' sweet but all wrapped in the best of the decade.
07.] "Hold On to the Night"
Deja vu, experience the wonder of the musical double take, because this rhythm section screams Golden Earring. I kept waiting for them to break into the main chorus lines from "Radar Love", although I doubt they were crooning about "he's got a knife, in your back" in that 70s favorite. By the time the pushy chorus kicks in, so does realization. So O.K. this isn't 1970s Holland anymore. Instead its much worse. The kind of insane repetition that have driven more patient people to the brink of insanity. Horrifying enough that the drums insist on being a little bit of an annoyance with their repetitive path, but the way King keeps belting the same five words til you just want to smash the song is insulting to the listener.
08.] "Heft"
Slow and ultra chunky, its almost if Fastway is suddenly the new Black Sabbath. What's next, demons, magic and political commentary? I wish it had been a hefty cinch sack to chuck the awful "Hold on to the Night" into but alas its just a plodding track. That description seems negative so let's clear the air, its a pretty darn good hefty piece that does not deserve the same fate as the already mentioned song. King's vocals flirt with the kind of edge of Danzig in his more melodic moments. Spookily haunting atmospheric backing vocals that seem to be the very spirit of lost souls, add their two cents into the background, with an aire of undead indifference. All of these little extras create a nifty addition to the disc that is a world's away from anything else appearing on "Trick or Treat".
09.] "If You Could See"
Massive! Even if everything else let you down, its almost worth the price of admission to see this fantastic stop of their haunted house tour. Moving with emotion and bursting with melody minus all that cheese (although I'm sure the haters will claim its here in droves, doh! consider the time period!). Some verses are light and airey, sparse landscapes that are dependant on acoustic and voice solely, which of course explodes into absolute melodic bliss, kept heavy with guitars that carry all the force of hell behind it. Clarke's contrasts and transistions are brilliant, weaving multi layered webs of delight. "Get Tough" might have been the 'trick', but "If You Could See" is the 'treat' that makes a little previous suffering all worthwhile. "Darkness unfolds as stories are told..."
