It’s been a while since we have any book reviews here, so it just seems fitting that the one book I felt like writing anything about happens to be a companion piece to one of my favorite movies – TrickTrick reviews ‘r Treat (our review). But this book goes far past some slick advertisement for the film. It is a big, glossy, beautiful advertisement for the film – with the added bonus of being a nice addition to any of you HalloweenHalloween reviews lovers out there. Sure the book delves into the making of the movie and detail almost every aspect of Trick ‘r Treat from its inception to its filming, but like the movie, this book also touches on a lot of the traditions associated with Halloween and how they originated. JackJack reviews o Lanterns, black cats, trick-or-treating; it’s all discussed in this book. But it doesn’t end there. As an added bonus, the book acts as proverbial trick-or-treat bag stuffed with various treats in the form of comics, masks, stickers, posters, postcards and pumpkin stencils. It is a clever addition that makes Trick ‘r Treat – Tales of Mayhem, Mystery, and Mischief a must-have for fans of the film, as well as fans of Halloween.

Written by John Griffin with artwork and introduction by director Michael Dougherty, Trick ‘r Treat – Tales of Mayhem, Mystery, and Mischief is a companion piece to the film Trick ‘r Treat. When it arrived the other day I was immediately impressed with the fact that the coffee table book was encased in a soft cardboard sleeve. Once I carefully slid the hardcover out from this and did my initial flip-through, I knew I was gonna love this damn thing.

The book is put together sort of like a scrapbook, each page stuffed with information, pictures, artwork, bios, sidebars, storyboards, concept sketches and quotes from people involved with the film. The book is separated into two main parts, the first section is a making-of Trick ‘r Treat bonanza that will answer any question you had about the movie and then some. You learn almost  everything about the film and how it came to be. Detailing the ups and downs in putting this film together and then trying to get it out, as well as all the hard work that went into ensuring Trick ‘r Treat did not miss one detail, no matter how minor.

You will read about the neighborhood they used and how they used it, how the school bus scene was done and the research that went into making the costumes for the children who rode it. You get some insight on just how big of a pain in the ass it was for them to use that number of pumpkins they used in the film, and how they had to constantly battle the Canadian weather. I mean, everything is here and I found it satisfying to learn that some of the things I picked up while watching the movie are detailed fully in the book. The leaves, the cold, the pumpkins, the detail of Mr. Kreeg’s house…all of it is discussed and none of these details were taken lightly.

The special effects in the film are also discussed at great length. From the minor things you may not notice like burning embers rising from a fire, to the more elaborate effects such as the girl’s coming out party and how the Sam and Kreeg meeting was filmed. I have always been a FX lover since my young days with my first issue of Fangoria (issue #007), so I really enjoyed reading how they pulled of some of the practical effects in the film. Especially when they talk about just how hard it was for them to find the right shade of fake blood and how they beat the problem of commercial fake blood not soaking through sheets fast enough.

A lot of info is given on the character of Sam as well. And why not? He is the mascot of the film after all, and the reason why the movie exists in the first place. This mischievous little guy has been on Dougherty’s brain for a long, long time and reading how he started as doodles by a bored student and ended up as a flesh-and-pulp character on the screen was very insightful. All of this info, including the setbacks and hurdles Dougherty had to face, really helps hammer home just how much a labor of love this film was for a fellow Halloween lover to get to this point, and why I feel it is destined to be a future classic because of it.

The second is a more detailed look at the five stories shown in the film, each of them given their own chapter and presented as short stories. Aside from just being good reads, they provide more detail in regards to the characters in the you see in the films. Each story is complimented with their associated photos from the film, artwork, sketches and storyboards to compare how well the artists imagination was transferred to the screen. Throughout all of this, some pages  are dedicated to Halloween and where  some of the things we associate with the holiday originated. Things like like carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and dressing up in costumes. Needless to say, the origins of some current Halloween traditions were not the commercialized, kiddie affair they are today. But even I, a self-confessed Halloween fanatic was unaware of some of the information presented. Kind of funny to think that we could have easily been celebrating Halloween with turnips instead of pumpkins.

Lastly, the extras stuffed inside the book. SpacedSpaced reviews throughout the pages, Insight Editions decided to give the reader some pretty cool items. Here is what you can expect to find inside the book:

8-page comic book Season’s Greetings by Miran Kim
A Sam Halloween mask
A Sticker book containing Mr. Wilson’s Hydroflouric Acid and Arsenic labels as well as the Chubby Bear, Hollie-ho and Lhotka’s candy wrappers, some early Sam drawings, and a few body parts
6 post cards featuring original artword by Dougherty
12-page book of costume sketches by the film’s costume designer, Trish Keating
3 pumpkin stencils you can use to carve your Trick ‘r Treat jack-o-lantern
A replica of original the movie poster by Breehn Burns

So trust me when I tell you that this book was well worth the $30. Aside from it being very well constructed, the content is well written and chock full of any and all information you could possibly want on the behind-the-scenes workings of Trick ‘r Treat. Of course the cool goodies don’t hurt, either. I couldn’t have asked for a better Halloween themed book.

Rating:

Oh, I found this on the book’s Amazon page. Some guy created a quick video showing the insides of the book. I thought about doing the same, as he doesn’t actually show you how some of the goodies come in their own bag of sorts. But screw it, his is just fine.