Trick or Treat

A surprisingly effective satire on heavy metal, on horror films and on those forces who see both of those as immoral and destructive to American society. [29 Oct 1986, p.D15]

It's genial, not too frightening and even rather sweet. Read full review

Director Charles Martin Smith, an accomplished actor, gets some very good performances from his cast, notably from Mark Price as Eddie and Lisa Orgolini as his girl. (Gene Simmons, of the rock group KISS, has a small part as a radio deejay). In his directorial debut, he shows an attractive visual style and a sure hand for both humor and horror. [27 Oct 1986, p.5C]

The treat in Trick or Treat is that the film has a sense of humor about itself, and a genuine feeling for the travails that follow puberty. [29 Oct 1986, p.D10]

Utter rubbish but fun, benefiting greatly from outrageous SFX à la Videodrome, and from two neat cameos by real life HM stars Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons. Read full review

Like a relatively dark street on Halloween night, Trick or Treat is ripe for howls and hoots, but only manages to deliver a choice handful of them when the festivities are just about over. Read full review

A fairly clever sendup of both heavy-metal music and the paranoid parental-action groups that want it banned. Read full review

Far too tame for hard-core horror fans and far too lame for loyal head-bangers, who can see much scarier stuff at a Slayer concert. [27 Oct 1986, p.2]

The premise is marvelous, the music more than adequate (assuming you're a metal fan), the performances appropriately dumb. And it's seasonally funny. [28 Oct 1986, p.D5]