After a generic DVD run and Blu-rays released outside the U.S. market under the name Ragman, Synapse Films has answered the prayers of many horror-metal fans with the recent 4K release of 1986’s Trick or Treat. Having “No Wimps” and “No False Metal,” this film is considered by many to be the quintessential heavy metal horror flick, partially thanks to a perfectly apropos soundtrack provided by the band Fastway.
After constantly being harassed by the cool kids at his high school, Eddie Weinbauer aka “Ragman” (Marc Price, Family Ties) finds solace in listening to the music of his idol Sammi Curr (Tony Fields, Michael Jackson’s Thriller) to get through the abuse. Not only is he a famous heavy metal star, but Curr is also an alum at Eddie’s high school where he became an outcast-made-good into metal stardom. And this is why Eddie feels a faux bond and extreme idolization for Curr since he believes they share the same origin story, so to speak. So it is not surprising Eddie has a meltdown after he learns that Curr dies in a bizarre hotel fire.
Eddie visits a local radio DJ, Nuke (Gene Simmons of KISS), for a post-mortem since Nuke went to school with Curr. To cheer up poor Eddie, Nuke gifts him the only vinyl copy of Curr’s last unreleased album that Nuke is ordered to play live on-air during the upcoming Halloween night, as requested in Curr’s will.
When Eddie starts backmasking (the act of playing a record backwards) the new album, he starts receiving personal messages from Curr offering him ways to deliver his abusers a hefty dose of comeuppance. The main targeted offender is Tim (Doug Savant, Melrose Place, Teen Wolf), with whom he is in battle with over the affection of their classmate Leslie (Lisa Orgolini). Tim’s hatred for Eddie is so intense that he attempts to drown Eddie at a secret pool party! But Eddie’s need for vengeance has its limits, as he does not hold the same sinister disposition for his wrongdoers as his dead idol.
After things start escalating, Eddie realizes he’s been betting on the wrong horse and that Curr is only using him as a pawn. Enlisting the help of his best friend Roger (Glen Morgan, The X-Files producer), they work together with Leslie to stop Curr before his evil plot fully manifests once his new album plays over the airwaves on Halloween.
Trick or Treat marked the directorial debut for Charles Martin Smith, mostly recognized for his notable acting work in hit films such as American Graffiti, Starman and The Untouchables. And you can tell he had tons of fun with his first time in the director’s seat by taking the overdone “outcast-getting revenge” plot and differentiating it by having Eddie realize he made a bad pact early on and spending most of the film trying to undo the madness.
Smith provides a nice balance between scares and laughs without it becoming a full-blown comedy, even though a couple kills might make you chuckle in a darkly comedic kind of way. The subject matter is more parodical, poking fun at the infamous “Satanic Panic” hysteria of the 1980s, fueled by both religious fanatics and mega conservative parent groups blaming heavy metal for poisoning the world’s youth. Leaning into the parody even more, he cast Ozzy Osbourne, probably the main target in the “Panic” at the time due to his well-known wild publicity antics, in a hilarious cameo as a TV evangelist damning metal as the devil’s work. It is genuinely funny to see the Oz-Man looking clean-cut to essentially play a caricature of one of his usual detractors perfectly. Kudos to Smith on that one.
Speaking of casting, Smith had an interesting choice for the lead, going with Marc Price during the height of Family Ties’ popularity. Price played the quirky but lovable nerdy “Skippy” character on TV but then ditched the glasses, donned longer hair, and geared-up to be a metalhead on the big screen with much success. Another out-of-the-box yet bullseye casting choice is Tony Fields (who sadly passed away in 1995) as the main antagonist. At the time, Fields was mainly known for his dancing performances, with parts in Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Beat It videos, as well as the big screen adaptation of A Chorus Line with Michael Douglas, but was stellar flashing off his thespian skills while also looking the part as the villainous Sammi Curr.
Fields’ casting was also due to the domino effect of Gene Simmons shifting over to become Nuke after originally being slated to play Curr. Simmons was heavily pursuing an acting career at this time during the paintless KISS era and supplied the goods in a small, but important role as Nuke. Nuke’s motives on why he gifted Eddie the album, whether it was a genuine gesture or punting the curse to someone else, is a spark of debate between fans of the film to this very day. And Simmons’ spot-on portrayal of Nuke, using questionable facial expressions and dialogue delivery, are what fuels this ongoing examination.
The imagery and set design are top notch too. Metal fans’ eyes can feast on posters and albums of artists like Judas Priest, Megadeth, Lizzy Borden, WASP, Motley Crue, Anthrax and more! Coincidentally, these guys were under the “Panic” attack like Ozzy and some were even champions in fighting back against their would-be oppressors—namely Anthrax and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister leading that fight.
While not considered a hit, the movie nearly doubled its $3.5 million budget and was a springboard for most involved. Smith got more directing gigs while continuing to act. Simmons received more acting roles while still making major moolah with all things KISS. Savant hit paydirt playing more protagonist roles, most notably in Melrose Place and Desperate Housewives. Even Morgan moved onto being both a writer and executive producer for The X-Files.
Meanwhile, Price had smaller acting roles before becoming a stand-up comic. In one of his recent public anecdotes, he joked about how a fan asked him to sign a copy of the fan’s DVD cover. The funny part is that Simmons and Osbourne’s names and likenesses are the only things that adorn the DVD’s cover used as a marketing draw—and they only have approximately 5 minutes of combined screen time. However, the DVD cover has zero mention of Price—even though he is the lead star, and Price laughs at the irony of it all. Pretty cool that the former “Ragman” has such a good sense of humor about the whole thing.
Mentioning the old DVD provides a perfect segue way into whether you should or should not upgrade to the new release. Rest assured that Synapse worked on this for quite a bit of time, with some unexpected delays, but did it merit the extra wait? The transfer is immaculate and the best it has ever been, as it should be. Meanwhile, the audio is the DTS-HD Master Audio of the original 2.0 theatrical mix with all-new surround sound, which sounds awesome. So the answer is a resounding “YES,” it was well worth the wait! Synapse even went above and beyond with some sinister features that fans are going to really enjoy.
There are four different versions—three with different slipcover artwork by different artists and one that contains all four slips, but they all include:
- A 4K UHD Blu-Ray (2160p) with the 4k restoration from the original 35mm negative mastered in Dolby Vision and approved by the Director of Photography Robert Elswit, a standard Blu-ray (1080p) and the soundtrack on CD.
- An illustrated collector’s booklet, six doubled-sided collector’s cards and a double-sided Sammi Curr “fan” poster.
- Commentary with director Smith, a making-of retrospective, a tribute to the late Tony Fields, a music video, theatrical trailers, and more.
Besides the transfer, an enormous amount of effort was put into this release, which has sold out at Diabolik DVD at this point. Hopefully this release’s success will lead to more rock/metal horror releases for this subgenre’s fans in the near future. Putting up the bat signal here for a MUCH-needed Black Roses upgrade!
If you aren’t able to grab a physical copy of Trick or Treat and you want to check it out, you can stream the film now on SCREAMBOX.
