3 Dead Trick or Treaters (2018)- An extremely unique and very effective take on anthology horror-A perfect Fall film-Fitz of Horror Review

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) October 22, 2018

Synopsis- After stumbling upon the graves of three murdered trick or treaters, a small town paperboy discovers a series of handwritten horror stories tacked to the children’s headstones. Penned by a deranged pulp author driven mad by his craft, the stories chronicle grisly tales of Halloween rites, rituals and traditions. Absent of dialogue and heavy on atmosphere, 3 Dead Trick or Treaters is a horror anthology unlike any you’ve seen before.

Let me start by saying that director Torin Langen took a huge risk releasing this film without any dialogue but man did it ever pay off. Going into this movie I didn’t realize that it was supposed to be like this and by the second story noticed that nobody had said anything yet, it was then that I started to truly appreciate the viewing experience I was having.

The fact that there is no dialogue does not make this a “silent movie” nor does it mean the characters are deaf or mute, it simply means that instead of using words the characters brilliantly use action and convincing facial expressions to convey emotions. Langen also does a great job at musical transitions, when I felt a character was going to finally speak the music would change and masterfully so would the direction of the scene so words were no longer needed. Through sheer directing and acting brilliance I knew exactly what was happening the entire time and also knew what the characters were “saying” even with the absence of words.

The wraparound is a paperboy (paper man) that stumbles upon 3 graves each with handwritten letters of terror written by a deranged man that takes his writing a little too seriously. The stories that follow (Fondue, Malleus Maleficarium, Stash and Delivery) are all highly original and could easily play as their own short films but also work beautifully as an anthology. All stories center around 20 something young adults in varying but horrifying scenarios that are both heavy on atmosphere and very creepy. The intensity that the film builds towards its final act is mostly due to the absence of dialogue and the viewer relying on heightened senses that lend to the feeling of fear and somewhat uneasiness.

I want to give a huge shout out to all involved with this project, this could have easily been a disaster in the wrong hands with the wrong actors but instead it turned out to be a work of art. Full cast roster HERE.

The feel of 3 Dead Trick or Treaters is spot on with the fall/Halloween season. Halloween is in full effect from the masks to the candy and the colors of fall are on full glorious display. This will definitely be in my Halloween movie rotation from this year forward and will also be a film I highly recommend to friends, especially the ones that think they have seen it all!

Be sure to grab a limited (only 1,000 made) Blu ray DVD combo set with reversible art work before they’re gone! ORDER HERE

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