Trick or Treat Review: An Ensemble Cast of Quirky British Characters

Release date: October 25,2019
Running time: 84 minutes
Starring: Frances Barber, Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Richard Carter, Craig Kelly, Dean Lennox Kelly
Director: Edward Boase
Writer: Geraint Anderson 

Greg Kielty (Craig Kelly)'s life is turned upside down when his estranged brother Dan (Dean Kelly) turns up, claiming to have drunkenly run someone over. But has Dan just murdered a gangster's son? Or maybe there's an even more sinister explanation.

Trick or Treat has an ensemble British cast that includes some well known names, including Frances Barber as the crime lord Miss Ferguson.  The cast of characters do a good job of creating a quirky mystery with some light horror elements. I especially liked Greg, a middle aged former gangster who has tried to turn his life around but might be dragged back into the lifestyle by his estranged brother.  Miss Ferguson was an interesting and unpredictable person.  And I also really liked Shaun Parkes as Clarence, he had the right balance of camaraderie with Greg due to their past but also unpredictability and ruthlessness given his current employer.  And there is a Taxi driver that gives some motivational life advice that I really appreciated.  It was something that a lot of us might need to hear right now and it was a nice touch for this film.

The overall premise of this film is a strange situation, but it has some fun sharp writing that keeps the story going.  And part of this is the complexity of the characters, and especially the main character Greg, who have many different motivations underlying their predicament and reaction to this situation.  There are a few characters that I thought were misses, such as a silent tough guy who doesn't come off as intimidating, but overall the characters are fun to spend time with.  However, despite the Halloween themed name and it taking place on Halloween night, the story is more of an independent situation that happens during Halloween.  Other than a strange plot thread involving a costumed individual, the movie itself could have been set at any time.  And the story does take a long time to develop and then seems to go off the rails towards the end, which leads to the interesting ending but getting there is a little bit of a stretch.  

Trick or Treat's cast of quirky British characters, sharp writing, and nuanced situations make for an interesting night for the mid-life crisis main character. 

Rent it.

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