Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Trick 'r Treat 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 29, 2024

Halloween is imminent as this review is being written, and for those looking for a little spooky viewing to accompany the holiday, Trick 'r Treat should suffice quite handily. The film has already had a few previous releases on 1080 Blu-ray (linked to below) by both home studio Warner Brothers and then by Shout! Factory, but Arrow is back now with this new 4K UHD version, which also includes Arrow's typically bounteous supply of bonus material and non disc swag.

Those wanting a plot summary are encouraged to read Ken Brown's Trick 'r Treat Blu-ray review of the original (and now quite old) Warner Brothers 1080 release. I contributed a Trick 'r Treat Blu-ray review of the Shout! Factory 1080 release several years ago which also may be of some interest.

Trick 'r Treat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in either of the 1080 reviews linked to above for a probably better overall representation of the palette. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score has been intentionally left blank.

Trick 'r Treat is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1 (note that both of the prior 1080 releases were just slightly wider at 2.40:1). Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

Trick 'r Treat has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with 5.1 and stereo audio. The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and DOlby Vision.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K / 16 bit resolution at Warner Bros. / Motion Picture Imaging. The film s was restored in 4K and color graded at Duplitech.

All materials sourced for this new mater were made available by Warner Bros. and Legendary.

QC review was completed by Pixelogic.

This is an impressive looking 4K upgrade for this unusually stylish film. Fine detail levels see some noticeable improvement throughout on everything from Sam's burlap head covering to other costumes various characters wear, along with additional practical items like sets and props. If that particular element is observably better than the generally excellent 1080 release from Shout! Factory that I reviewed, it's probably the palette that has the most visceral improvement. HDR / Dolby Vision bring a number of really nice highlights to the various grading or lighting changes employed, and both the spooky blue infused nighttime material and the especially interesting yellow tinged vignette with the school bus have a discernably wider range of tones. There are still some brief but noticeable issues with splotchy grain, notably in some of the darkest moments, something that tends to echo the 1080 release that I reviewed. On the whole, though, grain resolves very tightly and organically. Based solely on screenshots (since I don't have the original Warner Brothers 1080 release), I'd probably argue that this release looks generally more like the Shout! release in terms of brightness and overall timing than the older Warner release.

Trick 'r Treat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While this release substitutes an LPCM 2.0 track for the 1080 Shout! release's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 option, I frankly found no discernable differences between either it or the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track when doing a playback comparison between this release and the Shout! release. Both tracks offer excellent fidelity and rather wide dynamic range, but the surround track significantly opens up the placement of ambient environmental effects (as might be predictable, a lot of the film takes place outside during Halloween festivities) and perhaps especially with regard to Douglas Pipes' rather evocative score. As Ken noted in his review of the Warner release, things tend to be a bit front heavy quite a bit of the time, but there is engagement of the side and rear channels in some notable moments (outdoor scenes with revelers, the big schoolbus sequence), and Pipes' score resides quite winningly in the surround channels. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly and there are no problems with regard to age related wear and tear, distortion or other damage. Optional English subtitles are available.

Trick 'r Treat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both of the reviews of the 1080 releases linked to above provide quite a bit of information on the archival supplements included here, so I haven't offered additional descriptions.

• Commentaries

  New Audio Commentary features writer-director Michael Dougherty moderated by James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca from Dead Meat Podcast

  
  

  Archival Audio Commentary features Michael Dougherty, conceptual artist Breehn Burns, storyboard artist Simeon Wilkins and composer Douglas Pipes

• Becoming Sam (HD; 9:30) is a newly produced interview with Quinn Lord.


• The Devil is in the Details (HD; 12:12) is a newly produced interview with production designer Mark Freeborn.


• If Looks Could Kill (HD; 17:02) is a newly produced interview with cinematographer Glen MacPherson.


• Designs to Die For (HD; 15:31) is a newly produced interview with costume designer Trish Keating.


• Bark at the Moon (HD; 8:59) is a newly produced interview with creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos.


• Mark Freeborn Remembers Bill Terezakis (HD; 3:20) is a tribute to the late make-up effects designer.


• Archive Extras

  Tales of Folkore & Fright (HD; 16:06)

  
  

  Tales of Mischief & Mayhem (HD; 19:47)

  
  

  Sounds of Shock & Superstition (HD; 11:11)

  
  

  Tales of Dread & Despair (HD; 7:24)

  
  

  Season's Greetings (HD; 3:54) has an optional commentary by Michael Dougherty.

  
  

  The Lore and Legends of Halloween (HD; 27:27)

  
  

  School Bus VFX Comparison (HD; 1:14)

  
  

  Additional Scenes (HD; 17:14) have an optional commentary by Michael Dougherty.

  
  

  FEARnet Promos (HD; 3:48)

  
  

  Sam O'Lantern (HD; 1:00:03)

  
  

  Trailer (HD; 2:28)

• Image Galleries

  Stills (HD)

  
  

  Storyboard and Conceptual Artwork Gallery (HD)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes Still Gallery (HD)

  
  

  Monster Mash Comic Book Set in the Trick 'r' Treat Universe (HD)

In the "but wait!. . .you also get" category, this is another stuffed to the gills release from Arrow in terms of packaging and non disc swag. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a double sided fold out poster, six postcard sized art cards and an illustrated insert booklet featuring new writing by Becky Darke and Heather Wixson. Packaging features a slipcover.

Trick 'r Treat 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Trick 'r Treat rather smartly reinvents the venerable "horror anthology", and even if its intersecting stories may not make perfect sense in terms of an understandable chronology, most of the vignettes here have a definite "creepy" factor, and Dougherty's writing and direction are more often than not smart and enjoyable. Arrow is providing a really great looking 4K UHD upgrade and offering both new and archival supplements, along with a generous assortment of swag. Recommended.