Last week, we heard the awesome news that the 1986 rock ‘n roll horror film Trick or Treat, one of my all-time favorite movies, is getting a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release (and possibly a new DVD release) from Synapse Films. A specific date for this release has not yet been announced, just that they’re hoping to get it out into the world by the end of 2023 – and ideally, of course, it would be out in October. Synapse Films is collaborating with Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures on this release, and now Felsher has revealed some details to Rue Morgue, confirming that we can expect to see a documentary, a commentary, and interviews on the disc.
Directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay by Rhet Topham, Joel Soisson, and Michael S. Murphey (with an uncredited polish from the Final Destination duo of James Wong and Glen Morgan), Trick or Treat has the following synopsis: This mesmerizing horror adventure takes you into the terrifying dark side of rock’n’roll. Marc Price (Family Ties) stars as Eddie Weinbauer, a teenage outcast who idolizes Sammi Curr, a heavy metal rock superstar. After Sammi dies a violent death, his spirit returns to help Eddie get even with his high school tormentors. In doing so, Sammi begins to gain control over Eddie’s life and brings him deeper into the world of the occult. When Eddie realizes that he has become the tool of Sammi’s evil revenge, he attempts to stop him. The horrifying events that follow leave no one unscathed.
Marc Price is joined in the cast by Lisa Orgolini, Doug Savant, Elaine Joyce, and Glen Morgan, with Tony Fields as Sammi Curr and special appearances by Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons.
Felsher told Rue Morgue that the 4K transfer of Trick or Treat, done from the original negative, is gorgeous, and probably the best the film has ever looked. The Blu-ray / 4K release will have the theatrical sound mix, and they’re also planning to do something more expansive, like a Dolby 7.1 track. They’re hoping to interview composer Christopher Young and members of Fastway, the band that provided the music of Sammi Curr. There will also be a tribute to the late Tony Fields, “either in the documentary we’re doing or possibly separately. That’ll be a long documentary; it won’t be a 30-minute piece. It’ll be closer in length, I would imagine, to what I did for Massacre at Central High and The Kindred, something pretty substantial. Then there’s going to be a still gallery, TV spots, the trailer, all the requisite stuff. Hopefully there’ll be some behind-the-scenes footage, if we can get the original EPK; there’s a whole bunch of stuff floating around out there. I’m also hoping to involve the director of photography, Robert Elswit, who went on to work with Paul Thomas Anderson and won an Oscar for There Will Be Blood.“
In case you haven’t seen the documentaries he mentioned: the Massacre at Central High documentary was 42 minutes and the one for The Kindred was 51 minutes.
Felsher went on to say that Marc Price has already been contacted about recording an audio commentary, and there’s hope they’ll get Charles Martin Smith to chime in as well. Sean Clark is providing a Horror’s Hallowed Grounds episode where he visits the filming locations in Wilmington, North Carolina, and there will probably be variant packaging. Felsher said there “will be the original theatrical artwork, and the reverse side will probably have foreign or UK art. And we’re definitely going to do O-cards or slipcovers; there may be a couple of different pieces of art. This is all stuff we’re trying to nail down and figure out right now, so that we can get it together over the course of the summer. I’m guessing it will be an October release, but that’s not an official announcement, just a hope, because it would certainly make sense to have it out around that time. But when we have the opportunity to make a firm date announcement, you’ll be able to take that to the bank, because we’re not going to announce that until we have everything in hand and ready to go.“
This sounds like it’s going to be a great release, and it’s already a guaranteed purchase for me even before all the details have been worked out.
Will you be buying the Trick or Treat Blu-ray / 4K release? What would you like to see on the disc? Let us know by leaving a comment below.