From MadCap's Couch - Tales from the Darkside: "Trick Or Treat"

Once upon a time, there was a movie called Creepshow. You might remember it as a horror anthology film in the vein of Tales from the Crypt and other 1950s horror comics. It was a hoot! And take a wild guess who produced it.

Go on, guess!

...Google's cheating, you know.

But yes, it's George Romero. Yes, that George Romero - may he rest in peace. Apparently, some Hollywood types wanted to make a series based on the concept, kind of following in the vein of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. However, because Warner Brothers owned enough of Creepshow for that to not be used, the producers decided to change the title of the series to Tales from the Darkside.

The series ran for four seasons from 1984 to 1988, with a Pilot movie airing in 1983...which is the one we're here to talk about.

"Just try and leave a flaming bag of crap on my doorstep, assholes!"

"Trick or Treat" is the pilot for Tales from the Darkside...and it's pretty good. Very flawed and not making any sense when you really stop and think about it, but it's a spooky little tale that would set the tone of the series...which it often didn't follow. Ironically, despite having a very atmospheric and somewhat chilling title sequence, and being executive produced by George Romero, Tales also did science fiction, comedy, and even a few romance episodes.

But horror is what we're here to talk about, and "Trick or Treat" is definitely a good one. It's the tale of an old man by the name of Gideon Hackles (Bernard Hughes). He is rude, callous, and more worried about his numbers and books than people and souls...even his own. He's the model of a miser to make Ebeneezer Scrooge before his fateful Christmas night look absolutely saintly by comparison.



Although Hackles takes it a step further. Rather than just hording his money, every Halloween sees Hackles opening up his home to the children of all the people he is owed a debt by. Not to Trick or Treat, as the title suggests, but to partake in a sadistic game where the children must survive a series of ghoulish animatronic terrors and other rigged up machines that turn the place into the ultimate haunted house. If they can find their parents' debts, Hackles will absolve them...and no one has ever managed to remain in the house long enough to do it.

And in a grievous case of Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Hackles charges his accountants four cents for an extra cup of coffee in the opening scene!!!

But yes, Hackles is a sadistic bastard who gleefully lords his position over the people of the town who owe him debts, insisting to parents who don't want their children to come to the house to find the debts that they do so anyway. It's really not hard to hate this guy...so you don't feel particularly bad when he's visited by a cackling witch comes to his door. I won't spoil the ending for you here, you can easily find it online or pick up the complete DVD box set available from CBS (which is what I did), but needless to say...Hackles gets exactly what he's owed.

With interest.

"Hello, Avon Lady calling!"

George Romero also wrote the episode and, as I stated in the beginning, it's a really damn good one. It's ultimately a simplistic version of "A Christmas Carol", but with an obvious season change to Halloween and a moral lesson of not being a miserly douchebag rather than a redemptive arc for Hackles...though it's very clear early on that there's no redeeming this guy.

That being said, I do wish we had seen a bit more of his backstory to explain why he ended up the way that he is...but how exactly it all happened and the explanation for the supernatural occurances that follow really isn't as important as what happens...something that Tales from the Darkside definitely takes to heart as it goes on...and not always for the better.

Luckily for you, we'll...mostly be avoiding those episodes. And, because this is Horror Month, we will most definitely be focusing on just that: the Horror!

Tales from the Darkside had four seasons, and we have four Tuesdays in October. So, logically, the best step is to highlight one episode from each season, which is what I plan to do! They may not be the best episodes of each season - and, honestly, the series really deserves a full retrospective at some point - but for this Horror Month, I'm going to showcase the episodes that left the most impression upon me, having seen all of them.

Get ready...the Darkside beckons...every Tuesday of October!

Tales from the Darkside: The Complete Series is available on DVD from CBS.

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