Trick 'r Treat


La-La Land Records (826924110324)
Movie | Released: 2009 | Film release: 2008 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Main Titles2:21
2.Meet Charlie0:46
3.It's Halloween, Not Hanukkah3:13
4.Charlie Bites It1:42
5.Father and Son6:18
6.Meet Rhonda1:34
7.To the Quarry1:42
8.The Halloween Schoolbus Massacre4:56
9.The Elevator / Laurie on the Prowl2:03
10.Halloween Prank4:25
11.Not a Trick / Red and Black3:52
12.Laurie's First Time2:49
13.Old Mr. Kreeg1:53
14.Pumpkin Shooter / Meet Sam12:04
15.The Bus Driver0:40
16.The Neighborhood1:51
17.Trick 'r Treat0:31
18.End Credits6:41
 59:21
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Trick 'r Treat - 09/10 - Review of Oscar Flores, submitted at (English)
The Four intertwined stories that constitute the soon-to-be cult classic, Trick 'r Treat, tell stories for people of all ages and about people of all ages. Oh, do you know the story behind the 'special needs' children school bus massacre? You don't! How about we go to the site of the tragedy on Halloween night? What could go wrong? Yes, Trick 'r Treat is filled with the kind of stories that truly define Halloween — particularly as seen by children. There is no cinematic need for Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or Freddy Krueger to depict the eerie events that happen on that ghostly night every October 31st. While the movie as a whole is not a true horror movie, mainly because of the humor, satire, and psuedospoofs, many of the narrative is based around brutal accounts that take place when individuals don't conform to the rules of Halloween. Scheduled for release in 2007, Trick 'r Treat never made it to a theatre near you mainly due to some concern from Warner Bros. about violent scenes and how children were used in them. Thus, not even critics could convince Warner Bros. Studios to release this film in 2007, 2008, or 2009. Fortunately, Warner Bros. made the decision to release it on video on October of 2009. As mentioned before, this Halloween anthology is an absolute delight to watch. The script, scenery, acting, music, and direction are beautifully presented in a near-perfect motion picture.

Director Michael Dougherty wanted to have a score reminiscent of the brilliant work Jerry Goldsmith had done in the past. In fact, Dougherty has spoken with great displeasure against some of the modern horror scores based on atonal electronic textures that omit any themes or even real notes. Therefore, after being impressed with Douglas Pipes' work for Monster House in 2006, he decided to employ the composer for this project. While many listeners will not instantly recognize composer Douglas Pipes' name —a newcomer in Hollywood— for Trick 'r Treat, Pipes creates a truly outstanding score not centered around electronic or atmospheric elements. Instead, he incorporates Herrmannesque string arrangements, Goldsmith-like passages, Elfman's scoring deviousness, and more importantly, Halloween rhymes right out of the Monty Harper book of songs. Plenty of melodies, strong motifs and first-class orchestration plagues this magnificent score released by La-La-Land Records.

Revolving around the famous rhyme 'trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!' the Main Titles begin this Halloween collection of stories in the most old-fashioned way possible. The Herrmann-like strings dominate the soundscape, but innocent choir voices with a disturbing undertone set off what will be a very memorable score. While there are some harmonic similarities to Elfman's compositions, Pipes creates a very innovative overall composition. In order to keep some sense of musical cohesion, Pipes constantly expands and modifies the main motif that adheres to the peculiar Sam character throughout the movie — the one who connects all stories together. In 'It's Halloween, Not Hanukkah,' Pipes plays this theme very briefly in the beginning. The rest of this track features more dissonant chords, shrilling woodwinds and even an electric guitar. The electric guitar will appear in other parts of the score but will never be dominant.

'Charlie Bites' and 'Father and Son' continue to expand the musicalization of the most disturbing character of this Halloween Anthology: high school principal Steven. Pipes doesn't merely present music that is frightening; he also adds a touch of dark humor with pizzicato strings, heard at the end of Charlie Bites. Even though the passages are quieter, the woodwind orchestrations in 'Father and Son' are absolutely stunning. With arpeggios and harmonies clearly depicting the chilling scenes on screen, Pipes complements the fantastic woodwind section with piano chords reminiscent of Charles Bernstein's score for A Nightmare on Elm Street.

'Meet Rhonda' is an Elmer Bernstein meets Alexandre Desplat musical cue that, despite it's short duration, showcases the superior writing skills by Pipes. Impossible not to remember To Kill A Mockingbird's theme with the charming piano in this track, the oscillation in tonality between the child-like enjoyment of Halloween and the sinister personification of kids during this holiday could not have been written more perfectly.

Perhaps the most haunting and emotional track of the album is 'The Halloween Schoolbus Massacre.' The moviegoer will see a very melodramatic urban legend episode come to life; the film music fan will hear a polished piano melody that never romanticizes the events on the big screen (a similar approach is taken in Laurie's First Time). Also, as the sequence builds up to the inevitable ending for the school bus, Pipes seems to very briefly execute string lines à la Harry Manfredini. The string lines add the final touch for a truly magnificent musical cue. Continuing this outstanding musicality, and as the storyline twists continue in the most unpredictable ways, for 'Halloween Prank,' Pipes unloads spine-chilling and resounding descending brass lines. The variations in orchestrations unleashed by Pipes create a very distinct underscore in this track — aided well by synthetic and electronic elements in the first few minutes.

Undoubtedly, 'Pumpkin Shooter/Meet Sam' is the musical pinnacle of this album. With a little bit over 12 minutes of music, this track resurfaces the main motif heard in other tracks such as the 'Main Titles,' “The Elevator/Laurie On the Prowl,” “It’s Halloween, Not Hanukkah,” and 'The Neighborhood'. Of course, this is Sam's big moment; thus, the main motif is played in a myriad of ways. Slowly, the music evolves from string clusters and tremolos to a massive spectacle of Stravinskian string punctuations, brass accents, and trepidatory choir outbursts.

By making sporadic use of synthesizers and ambient textures, Douglas Pipes creates a defining orchestral horror score for this decade. His understanding of the dramatic, satirical and often comedic characterizations and settings is demonstrated in every musical fragment of this CD. The orchestral palette used by Pipes seems out of this world (at least out of Hollywood's world) with passages beautifully written not only for solo instruments, but also for different instrument sections, each executing equally important notes. In the end, the appropriate use of electronics, commanding understanding of instruments, glorious motifs, and, above all, exemplary orchestrations— varied, rich, and fitting— make this score a definite Halloween masterpiece.
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