10/01/17 – day one of thirty-one days of horror!
I’m kicking off this year’s list with a Trick or Treat – no,
not the perennial Halloween anthology Trick r’ Treat, but the 1986 heavy metal horror entry directed by Charles Martin
Smith. Mark Price – known primarily as nerdy best friend Skippy on 80s sitcom
Family Ties – plays a high school metalhead who, upon playing a cursed record
backwards, unwittingly calls forth the evil spirit of dead rockstar “Sammi Curr”
to wreak havoc on his bullying classmates, resulting in a Carrie-inspired
concert from hell set to fist-pumping anthems courtesy of hard rockin’ Fastway. The concept alone was enough of a sell for my teenage,
metal-loving self, and the fact that my heroes Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne
made appearances made it a must-see. While not a classic by any stretch, Trick
or Treat nevertheless has a surprising amount of heart for what is in essence a
Freddy Krueger ripoff, good Halloween-time fun for those jonzing for a little
80s nostalgia and some big hair-raising mayhem.
