Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival 2023 – Writer/director Wesley Mellott excels at capturing mood and tone in his horror shorts. This is true of Stalked, which successfully depicts fall in a rural Philadelphia-area county. In Trick or Treat!, he certainly portrays the magic of Halloween in a suburban neighborhood. Like his other short, Mellott’s latest is both a love letter to the autumn season and a creative slasher.

The short features a couple, Beth (Shelby Hightower) and Travis (Eric Francis Melaragni), who just want to celebrate Halloween in their new home after they run out of candy. However, a stranger in a skull mask and magician costume shows up and refuses to leave. Because the couple’s light is still on, he assumes they have candy. The creepy magician (Andrew Glessner) disappears and then suddenly reappears and demands that the couple either choose a trick or a treat. Of course, either choice has deadly consequences. This is a slasher after all.

The film certainly has an interesting premise that makes it different than the countless other slashers. However, there are some resemblances here to the famed anthology Trick ‘r Treat, specifically Sam. Like that little guy in orange, the magician resembles the spirit of Halloween and shows up when a couple isn’t quite following the rules, leaving their light on even though they’re out of candy, and like the anthology, so much about this short relies on mood, atmosphere and tone, portraying that special Halloween feeling.

Overall, Mellott’s Trick or Treat! is well-shot, though somewhat restrained in terms of the gore. It also could have used a little more editing to tighten things up a bit. That said, he has a fun concept here and timely too, considering the recent slasher revival. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

7 Out of 10