Trick or Treat (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Mar 26, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Charles Martin Smith

Release Date(s)

1986 (March 11, 2025)

Studio(s)

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (Red Shirt Home Video/Synapse Films)

• Film/Program Grade: B-
• Video Grade: A+
• Audio Grade: A+
• Extras Grade: A+

https://synapsefilms.com/

Review

Over the years since its release, 1986’s Trick or Treat has managed to eke out a cult following of sorts, despite the lack of a home video presence. A film that was tied up legally for decades with enough red tape to sort than even the most complicated of legal proceedings, Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures and the newly-formed Red Shirt Home Video spent much of his professional career chasing down the seemingly labyrinthine-like distribution rights to it. Thankfully, all has been settled and the film is finally available on home video in the United States.

Trick or Treat falls into the 80s subgenre of rock and roll horror films like The Gate, Black Roses, Slaughterhouse Rock, Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, and many others. However, while Trick or Treat does mix hard rock and horror elements, it’s not a gore-drenched exercise in straight-to-video genre banality about a group of drugged-up, fornicating teenagers being offed by a murderous presence. Instead, it goes for something more relatable than just exploitational, with a TV movie-ish vibe about a troubled teen who regretfully resurrects a monstrous spirit.

Eddie Weinbauer (Marc Price) is a heavy metal-obsessed teenage outsider who has little to no friends and is constantly harassed and bullied by his classmates with seemingly no adult intervention. He spends his days listening to the likes of Anthrax, Megadeth, and most of all, Sammi Curr (Tony Fields), his personal hero. Sammi also went to Eddie’s high school before making it and becoming a successful heavy metal front man, but his untimely death leads Eddie down a hopeless path. That is, until his friend and local deejay Nuke (Gene Simmons) hands him an acetate disc containing the only copy of Sammi Curr’s final recording. He brings it home and plays it backwards, revealing Sammi Curr’s voice from beyond the grave, telling him what to do in order to get even with his bullies. After gaining some ground and the attention of his nerdy friend Roger (Glen Morgan), and opening up the possibility of romance with his crush Leslie (Lisa Orgolini), Eddie begins to realize that he’s gone too far, and that Sammi Curr must be stopped.

Charles Martin Smith, who appears in American Graffiti and The Untouchables, among other things, jumped at the chance to direct Trick or Treat after having just appeared in Never Cry Wolf and Starman. According to him, he had spent years watching how filmmakers worked and wanted the opportunity to sit behind the camera himself, and finally got his chance. Marc Price was a familiar face on TV’s Family Ties as Skippy, while Tony Fields had appeared in A Chorus Line for Richard Attenborough and music videos for Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Beat It. The production also brought in make-up effect artist Kevin Yagher, who had defined the look of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge a year prior.

Made on location, as well as on De Laurentiis Entertainment Group’s soundstages, in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trick or Treat is more tongue-in-cheek than typical horror films of the period, commenting on the “Satanic Panic” era and the activities of the Parents Music Resource Center, led by Second Lady Tipper Gore. However, it also has the feel of a “TV Movie of the Week” about a socially-awkward and troubled kid who’s gotten in to deep with his “dangerous” hobbies.” Normally, those types of stories end tragically, or the lead learns a lesson in the end, or some combination thereof. That’s not the case here. Eddie feels empowered initially, but realizes pretty quickly that he’s dealing with something frightening, even sympathizing with his bullies. We’re also told that as a teenager, Sammi Curr’s request to perform at his high school was denied, but he eventually gets to do just that, dealing out some deadly Carrie-like vengeance.

Generally, the first half of Trick or Treat is the strongest, but once Sammi Curr manages to come back to the real world (not unlike Nightmare 2), the story is a little less interesting. Curr seems to have no real agenda, at least not one that’s all that established, and him playing at the high school is more of an afterthought than something that feels like a pay off to a setup. He seems to lack any clear motivation and kills people at random, and although he’s a supernatural being that can seemingly go anywhere and do anything via electricity, he comes across as limited in his abilities. Some of this you can chalk up to budget, I suppose, but his aimlessness is a detriment. It’s certainly not a giant hurdle since the second half is still enjoyable and has some fun moments, but Sammi Curr is far more menacing incorporeal.

Trick or Treat is energized by the hard rock music of Fastway and a percussion-driven score by Christopher Young, as well as some fine performances and excellent special effects. Most people looking in will likely deem it to be nothing more than a cheesy horror film, and it certainly is to some degree, but it has some surprising weight to it. Eddie could have gone very bad very quickly, but the film subverts expectations, making him a more complex character than you might expect at the start. Add to that a great performance from the late Tony Fields, who sadly passed away in 1995, and you have yourself a charming horror romp that’s primed for annual Halloween consumption.

Trick or Treat was shot by cinematographer Robert Elswit on 35mm film using Arriflex 35BL III cameras and spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Red Shirt Home Video and Synapse Films bring the film to Ultra HD for the first time with a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision with the final approval of Robert Elswit, authored and encoded by David Mackenzie of Fidelity in Motion, and presented on a triple-layered BD-100 disc. Trick or Treat was released on VHS by Lorimar in the 1980s, and a given a poor, full frame DVD release by Platinum Disc Corporation in 2002. NSM Records out of Austria produced an elaborate Blu-ray release of the film in 2014, as well, but North American consumers have been left out in the cold for decades. This is what makes the Red Shirt Home Video 4K Ultra HD release of Trick or Treat so special. More importantly, the video presentation is flawless. It’s an amazingly organic presentation with medium grain that’s well-attenuated and a bitrate that sits between a consistent and comfortable range of 80 to 100Mbps, frequently spiking above that. It’s a very clean presentation, but doesn’t appear filtered or digitally manipulated in any way. The color palette is rich with varying hues, which the HDR grades take full advantage of, while also improving contrast with deep blacks and impressive shadow detail. The whole of the presentation is stable from one end to the other. There’s nothing to complain about here whatsoever. It’s gorgeous.

Audio is included in English 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The 5.1 track is a newly-remixed soundtrack, and is the default option when you start the film. The original stereo track is fairly tame in terms of surround activity, despite the fact that the film was released in Ultra Stereo. There’s a tad bit of sibilance on some of the music, but the dialogue, effects, and score are otherwise fine. The 5.1 mix is a substantial boost to the music, score, and sound effects, while not necessarily altering the film’s soundtrack. It’s just bigger with more space to move around in now. Both tracks are more than satisfactory, but the 5.1 has the clear edge.

The standard 4K Ultra HD release of Trick or Treat sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 2025 Synapse Films Product Catalog and reversible artwork, featuring the original theatrical artwork on the front (as well as the slipcover) and the VHS release artwork on the reverse. The 3-Disc Limited Edition release was limited to 2,222 units each (that’s 6,666 total, for those keeping track), but sold out over the course of a couple of days. That edition sat in a clear Amaray case and included a 1080p Blu-ray copy of the film with the same extras as the UHD; a CD soundtrack; double-sided artwork with the original theatrical artwork on the front and the original UK quad theatrical poster artwork on the reverse; six double-sided lobby card re-creations; a double-sided fold-out poster featuring the Sammi Curr poster artwork as seen in the film on one side and the theatrical key art on the other; the aforementioned catalog; and a 60-page insert booklet which contained cast and crew information, the essays 1986: A Year of Tricks and Treats by Michael Gingold, Shout at the Devil: Trick or Treat & Heavy Metal Horror by Samm Deighan, Lost and Found: Or How Trick or Treat Found Its Way Back From Beyond the Grave by Michael Felsher, a series of newspaper clippings, restoration information, production credits, and special thanks. All of this material was housed in chipboard slipcase packaging with a choice of 3 variant covers that featured artwork by Justin Osbourn, Devon Whitehead, or Sean Longmore. In order to obtain this edition now, you may have to fork over some extra dough to third party sellers. However, the standard edition contains the exact same disc-based bonus materials:

• Audio Commentaries:
  • Audio Commentary with Charles Martin Smith, Moderated by Mark Savage
  • Audio Interviews with Michael S. Murphey and Rhet Topham, Moderated by Michael Felsher
  • Audio Conversation with Paul Corupe and Allison Lang
• Rock & Shock: The Making of Trick or Treat (HD – 81:16)
• In the Spotlight: A Tribute to Tony Fields (HD – 15:07)
• Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: The Filming Locations (HD – 26:31)
• After Midnight (Original Music Video) (Upscaled SD – 3:46)
• Theatrical Trailers (HD – 2 in all – 3:26)
• TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 2 in all – 1:06)
• Radio Spots (HD – 3 in all – 2:00)
• Vintage Electronic Press Kit (Upscaled SD – 5:09)
• Still Gallery w/Optional Audio Interview with Phillip V. Caruso by Michael Felsher (HD – 267 in all – 24:28)

Red Shirt Pictures has not only rolled up its sleeves on the transfer of the film, but the extras for it, as well. This is a massive treasure trove of great bonus materials. The first audio commentary features director Charles Martin Smith, moderated by filmmaker Mark Savage; the second is actually a pair of separate audio interviews with writer/producer Michael S. Murphey and writer Rhet Topham, both moderated by film historian Michael Felsher; and the third contains an audio conversation between Paul Corupe and Allison Lang, authors of Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s. In the first commentary, Smith provides plenty of background on the film as Savage keeps the questions coming. In the second, both Murphey and Topham delve into their careers and the film itself as Felsher guides them along. In the third, Corupe and Lang delve into the history of the “Satanic Panic” era and how the film utilizes it. All three are worth a listen.

Rock & Shock: The Making of Trick or Treat is an excellent feature-length documentary about the film, containing interviews with director Charles Martin Smith, producer and co-writer Joel Soisson, actors Marc Price, Elise Richards, Glen Morgan, Larry Sprinkle, and Gene Simmons, film historian and filmmaker Michael Felsher, music supervisor Stephen E. Smith, construction foreman Tom Jones, Jr., assistant set costumer Francine Decoursey, costume designer Jill Ohanneson, special make-up effects artist Everett Burrell, and composer Christopher Young. In the Spotlight offers an emotional tribute to actor Tony Fields, featuring interviews with members of his family, and showcasing that his hometown annually pays tribute to him. In Horror’s Hallowed Grounds, Sean Clark tours many of the filming locations in Wilmington, North Carolina. Next is the music video for Fastway’s After Midnight, which also features Sammi Curr himself, as well as 2 theatrical trailers, 2 TV spots, and 2 radio spots. The Vintage Electronic Press Kit contains on set interviews with some of the cast and crew, including Ozzy Osbourne who is otherwise absent from the rest of the extras. Last is an extensive Still Gallery, which features an optional audio interview with still photographer Phillip V. Caruso, moderated by Michael Felsher.

If you purchased the Limited Edition, the CD soundtrack featuring music by Fastway contained the following tracks:

1. Trick or Treat (2:50)
2. After Midnight (3:41)
3. Don’t Stop the Fight (4:23)
4. Stand Up (4:06)
5. Tear Down the Walls (2:09)
6. Get Tough (3:32)
7. Hold On to the Night (3:24)
8. Heft (5:20)
9. If You Could See (4:37)

Most fans of this film didn’t think they’d live long enough to see Trick or Treat ever released on Blu-ray in North America, let alone on 4K Ultra HD. Indeed, anything is possible, especially since more and more of these types of titles that have been buried in rights and distribution hell for decades are coming to optical disc one after another now. If you missed out on the Limited Edition of Trick or Treat (and you wouldn’t be alone since it went rather quickly), the standard edition still offers a great package unto itself. No matter which option you choose, both come highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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