With the last days of the
season in full swing it's finally time to end our rundown of Tales
from the Darkside Halloween episodes. This time we wind the clock
all the way back to October 29th 1983, nearly a full year
before the show started running regular weekly tales. I've never
found a proper write-up of how this pilot episode first aired. If it
was a special on broadcast TV, played randomly in syndication, or
given to a paid channel like HBO. Whatever the origin, Trick or
Treat is a tremendous half-hour of television that set the stage
for the series to come while providing one of the best Halloween
specials to ever hit the airwaves.
The series came out
swinging in regards to talent as this episode is Co-written by horror
heavyweight George Romero, and directed by actor Bob Balaban, who may
not ne known as a scary guy but he actually directed the fantastic
cannibalism flick, Parents and the cult comedy, My
Boyfriend's Back. Barnard Hughes, better known as Grandpa from
The Lost Boys stars as the Scrooge-like main character, and
there's even a small part for Max Wright, the dad from Alf.
Would you believe there's also an audio cameo by Tim Curry? The
producers aimed to make a good impression with this one.
The story begins with
small town businessman Gideon Hackles working late at night with his
bankers. The old man stresses how he's always fare, never cheats, but
gets every penny he's owed, a statement showcased by charging for
every cup of coffee the men drink. We learn a great deal about Gideon
in this opening scene. He won't hire clerks for his store as he
doesn't trust people, the entire town is up to their eyeballs in debt
to him, and most importantly of all as the clock strikes midnight we
learn it's his favorite day of the year, Halloween.
Hackles has put together
a twisted tradition over the years. He hides all the IOU papers from
the townsfolk within his home and invites children to visit his
haunted house in search of them. Any child that finds the papers
frees their family of crushing debt, a feat none have accomplished so
far. One father is certain his son will finally overcome the
challenge boasting “I've toughened him up with me strap.” That's
the kind of environment Gideon has fostered over the years, he even
threatens to take the home of one family that refuses to participate,
though their son has other plans.
Upon returning home, the
wicked businessman hides the stack of papers in the chimney and sets
to work preparing his haunted house. This thing is no joke, he's
piratically transformed his home into a massive puppet with pulleys
and wires activating all manner of objects and a crude PA system that
allows him to taunt the kids.
The first child of the
night soon arrives, a little girls dressed as a witch. She does an
admirable job of facing Hackles twisted home until he frightens he
away with some sort of crude ghost. He laughs as she flees in terror
and mocks her mothers attempts to sooth her noting that “the people
of this valley are backwards.”
The old man continues
frightening children until one very special little devil is at his
door. It's the boy who's been on the receiving end of a belt for god
knows how long as training for this moment. He too makes a valiant
effort even as Gideon misleads him about the location of the papers,
so much for not being a cheat. At last he is scared away by a moving
taxidermy bear. Once the boy runs off in horror we get one of my
favorite moments as his father embraces him. You can see the guilt on
his face over what he's done to his own child for the sake of money.
Preparing for yet another
round, Gideon finds his traps going haywire until receives a rather
unexpected guest, an adult dressed as a witch, or at least that's
what he thinks until she starts flying around his home and cackling
like a true bride of Satan. Soon enough his entire home is a
supernatural hot-spot as a zombie pirate raids his safe, and devils
taunt him from what appears to be a tunnel to hell.
At last the boy whose
family wanted nothing to do with this crude tradition arrives at the
door dressed as a pirate only to be greeted by the witch who flies
away leaving behind plentiful riches and no sign of Gideon Hackles,
save for one that I don't wish to spoil that is.
Trick or Treat
ranks as possibly my personal favorite Halloween special of all-time.
The story, similar to Halloween Candy praises the power of a
holiday and how it can lash out at those who abuse it. Above all the
production is just fantastic with possibly the best classic style
witch to ever hit the airwaves. There's more than enough drama,
atmosphere, and fright to make this one turn on every year. This is
no exaggeration. If you think of yourself as a nostalgia TV junkie
then this deserves to be on the top shelf alongside classic Treehouse
of Horror entries and Garfield's Halloween Adventure.
As with the previous two
episodes I think it best if we pair our viewing with a treat. I could
have gone with something new like Burger King's Black Fanta slushie
but a true classic deserves to be paired with another classic. That's
why we're going with Halloween Oreo.
Not many people bother to
talk about these as they seem so antiquated next to the steady stream
of bizarre new Oreo flavors, but just consider what Halloween would
be without them? It's the sort of item that serves as that missing
piece to a holiday. After all the decorating, pumpkin carving, scary
movies, apple picking, and everything, these cookies and their bright
orange cream make the season complete.
Even with the end of
October being so near, I want to remind you all there's still time to
fit in some good memories. Just over the weekend I was able to swing
by our local courthouse which had been converted into a haunted
attraction, went to a cousins countryside wedding, and finally
remembered to get one of those McDonald's pumpkin pies. Even now
there are plans to get out and see the new Halloween between
bouts of schoolwork, pumpkin carving, and various bits of
preparation.
Considering all there is
left to be done before the big night this will most likely serve as
the final entry of this Halloween season, though there may be an
aftermath report. We've done a lot this year. Beyond talking about
this trio of great anthology stories, we revisited a series of horror
games about dinosaurs, went on a bat walk, constructed our first
official mood table, discovered a great Korean ghost movie, found
some awesome old books, ate so many snacks, and even managed to start
school and attend a wedding. There's always an item or two that gets
lost in the shuffle, very little can be done about that. When it's
late on Halloween night and all the ghouls have gone to sleep, I hope
you'll have your Griswold moment as you look back on everything
you've accomplished, smile, and say with full pleasure “I did it.”
Thank you all for making
CosmicSparky a part of your holiday. 2018 has been a crazy, rushed,
and complicated year and it makes me happy to think this website
could provide even a little entertainment for anybody. May you have
the happiest of Halloweens. Eat the best candy, watch the scariest
movies, and show kids that life can actually be pretty great. I'll be
here with more crazy crap for you all throughout the coming months as
we celebrate more great holidays. For now, go have some fun.
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