Promoted as a slasher film but almost impossible to classify, Trick or Treats is a truly odd offering from director Gary Graver, whose passion for performing magic (encouraged under his apprenticeship with Orson Welles, 
whose tricks were reportedly incorporated here) reached its apex here with the story of an oddly overage babysitter and her precocious charge, a sadistic little kid with a penchant of nasty magic tricks and cruel pranks. There's also a rampaging maniac on hand, too, though it takes almost an hour for him to get out of an asylum and do anything remotely threatening. 
Halloween?
with the most notable names participating in storylines that literally go nowhere at all. Most of the film was actually shot at Snodgress' house, and most of the cast seems to be personally connected in one way or another apart from the married Railsback and Giroux. Aside from his son, Graver's wife at the time, Jillian Kesner (star of the astounding Firecracker and Raw Force), has a bizarre role as one of Linda's pals, a film editor working in front of a poster for Al Adamson's Dracula vs. Frankenstein (which Graver shot) on a vampire/Frankenstein tribute to the Adamson aesthetic. There's even a discussion about the role of a director (or lack thereof) and the nature of watching and making horror movies, so it's surprising this one hasn't been trotted out among all the other supposed inspirations for Scream. By any objective standard it's a pretty terrible movie (and definitely a non starter as a horror film), but as a drive-in insider's commentary on his own industry with a lot of famous friends in tow, it's more than a little fascinating and one of the strangest choices you could make for Halloween viewing. 
colorful oddball comedy with horror overtones, it makes for a diverting view on the 2013 DVD edition from Code Red and a subsequent Blu-ray updade, whose transfer is (not surprisingly) about a kabillion times better than the tape. Sourced from the original 35mm negative and transferred in HD, it looks way better than you'd have any right to expect and even comes outfitted as a special edition to boot. The biggest extra is an audio commentary with Giroux, Jason, Chris Graver and cinematographer R. Michael Stringer. Sean Graver ostensibly moderates, but it's really a random free for all as everyone laughs a lot and swaps random anecdotes about the film (like Snodgress' ex, Neil Young, popping by during the shoot). It's tough to tell who's talking at times since no one introduces themselves at all, but if you're a fan, there's a lot of information to be found here. Also included is a four-minute phone interview with Railsback (who mainly talks about his close friendship with Graver and gets very emotional at the end), a photo gallery, and bonus trailers for Neon Maniacs, Shakma, Devil's Express, and Top of the Heap.