That Horrible Pen

  This piece contains spoilers for both Trick ’r Treat and the movie Snow Day . It also contains some discussion of depictions of fatphobia and ableism. Michael Dougherty’s Trick ’r Treat (2009) is a horror-comedy that I have some mixed feelings about. I’ve watched it a few times now—more times than I’ve watched movies I actually like more —so there is clearly something about it that appeals to me. On the other hand, though, I just don’t feel very positively about it. It’s not that I think it’s a bad film because, rewatching it to do this little seasonally-appropriate write-up, I can’t help but notice shots or lines or performances that I like. The horror visuals have held up extraordinarily well also, thanks to good use of practical effects that have a real presence in the movie’s world. That stuff is balanced against some really awkward dialogue in spots and some other issues I’ll get into below, and yet I don’t think the sum total or average of the elements that make up Tri...