Warner Bros. dump TRICK ‘r TREAT!

Warner Bros. must really have been disappointed with the final cut of Michael Dougherty’s debut film Trick ‘r Treat which was played to the studio at an exclusive screening last night. Bloody Disgusting are today reporting that WB have decided NOT to release the movie - they deem it unmarketable.

The tongue-in-cheek slasher flick which looks to have been made along the same lines as The Tripper and Hatchet - was set to open last Halloween but was pushed back to the Spring when WB were worried about the potential of Saw IV taking away it’s audience. Or so they said at the time.

The real truth is now out and it’s obvious they weren’t confident on making any money on the movie.

Legendary Pictures will now begin shopping the film around distributors hoping to find a buyer who will give it a theatrical run.

In their favour is a cast of actors who may not be stars but they are recognisable faces to movie going audiences. Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox and Leslie Bibb topline the cast.

The film features four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.

You can see the trailer below.

I thought the movie looked quite fun and I had been anticipating it quite a bit. Reminded me of the best horrors of the 80’s and it seemed a lot more self conscious than most slasher films this decade. Shame…

Categories: Anna-Paquin, Brian-Cox, Dylan-Baker, Leslie-Bibb, Michael-Dougherty, Movie News, Trick-r-Treat

8 Comments »

OK, I can understand maybe skipping theatrical distribution - the only time of year that makes sense for this movie to be released is Halloween and it would fail against Saw 5.But “unmarketable”? Bull. There’s plenty of people this would appeal to, and it sounds like Matt, myself and about 100 people on the Bloody Disgusting forums are just waiting to be given the chance to see it. Not to mention that word-of-mouth has been pretty good so far from preview screenings and the marketing material so far has been great.Just another example of “we can’t fit the movie into our narrowly defined boxes so we won’t bother”. I hope that whoever ends up distributing the movie ends up making a large profit. I have $20 for the DVD waiting for whoever wants to take it.

Comment by aphexbr | April 7, 2008

Too bad. I wanted to check it out.

Comment by Lencho | April 8, 2008

The trailer doesn’t look that bad at all, I would have watched it!

Comment by Til | April 8, 2008

This trailer looks a hundred times better than most horror movies that are being released. I would have went to see it. I can’t believe they thin this is “unmarketable”. Even the worst horror movies have a market and this one looked pretty good.

Comment by Eric Bequette | April 9, 2008

I’ve been waiting to see this since it was announced. Sounded like delicious candy for fans of old fashioned horror. And how many of us don’t like a little sweetly dark humour stirred in, just for an extra wicked delight? In the head gears of the Hollywood executive, “original” filters in, gets processed then comes out “unmarketable”.
I’m with ‘aphexbr’ up there; take it to Lionsgate, or Maple or Anchor Bay and put it out DTV. There’s a market for this movie, and it includes me.

Comment by Evan | April 9, 2008

Hi, I saw the Trick ‘r Treat trailer and it was fantastic.

How can Warner Bros. who released “The Exorcist” back in 1973, justify this decision.

The director and producers, and actors should release it independantly and, when it makes money, I’ll wait for the sequel to come out.

Comment by Robert Helliger | April 25, 2008

It was the movie I was most anxious to see this October. All my friends and I were planning to make an event out of its release with a small Halloween party, but then we learned about its postponement we were all utterly shocked. And now, hearing about WB studios completely shooting it down, we’re very upset by their actions.

This movie promises to be one of the most original, Halloween-themed, horror flicks of our generation. For the longest time I’ve been hoping to see a fresh idea like Trick ‘r Treat with a unique plot and a new cast of characters also surrounding my most favorite holiday of the year.

Yes, this may not be full of ‘eye-candy’ actors, but people do want to see it. I can name a few dozen people who anticipated its release. I want to know where Warner Bros. has been getting their sources, because to create a film takes a lot of money and a lot of time to sacrifice. I hope this film gets the all shinning reviews and the profits it deserves.

Comment by Chad Milosevic | May 28, 2008

I “will” wait for it to come out and keep my schedule open. I don’t want so much hard work to go unappreciated. All those who favor the early release of the movie have my full support.

Comment by Chad Milosevic | May 28, 2008

The OWF Team