Trick ‘R Treat’s Stephen King Easter Egg Explained

Trick ‘R Treat’s Stephen King Easter Egg Explained

Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat features an Easter egg from one of Stephen King’s most iconic stories that may be used as an omen in the anthology.

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Trick ‘R Treat’s Stephen King Easter Egg Explained

Michael Dougherty is a master of planting Easter eggs in his horror movies, especially 2009’s Trick ‘r Treat, which features a familiar figure from the works of Stephen King.

Trick ‘r Treat follows Sam (Quinn Lord) on Halloween night. He is a childlike symbol of Samhain, the Gaelic holiday that takes place on the night of October 31st and the darkest hours of November 1st. As he drifts through each segment, Sam weaves each story together without having to say a word, unlike other horror anthologies such as Tales from the Hood and The Mortuary Collection. The character has been apart of Michael Dougherty’s filmography since 1996, when he created a short animated movie titled Season’s Greetings starring the small child, who is depicted wearing festive footie pajamas and a burlap sack on his head. It’s clear that the director is favorable to holiday themed horrors due to the several short films that premiered on the now defunct FEARnet channel; in them, Sam experienced other events such as Easter and the first day of school. Dougherty is also known for his Christmas themed horror comedy, Krampus.

While Dougherty is an obvious fan of any holiday season that could have a horrifying twist, he’s an even bigger fan of John Carpenter’s movies. Trick ‘r Treat features several references to Carpenter’s most iconic movies, such as The Fog and The Thing. However, one Easter egg could easily go unnoticed if it’s not pointed out directly, the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Christine. Beyond just a fun nod to Carpenter and King’s work, the Plymouth Fury also holds a deeper meaning in the context of the scene it appears.

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When the Trick ‘r Treat segment titled “Halloween School Bus Massacre” begins, a group of kids visit a quarry and tell the story of a bus ride gone wrong. As the story begins, a bright yellow school bus drives down a quiet street filled with autumnal colors and bare trees. When the camera pans down to make it the focal point of the screen, the bright red Plymouth Fury named Christine is directly on the left. While it may be Dougherty paying homage to one of his favorite directors, it is also used symbolically as a bad omen for the children inside of the bus.

In Christine, Arnold “Arnie” Cunningham (Keith Gordon) owns the killer vehicle. Arnie is known for being overly awkward and the epitome of an ’80s nerd stereotype. The story of the “Halloween School Bus Massacre” is being dictated to Rhonda by a group of popular kids at her school who intentionally brought her to the quarry to bully her. In this instance, Rhonda’s character reflects Arnie’s. As the tale unfolds, they reveal that the bus was full of special needs children who were supposedly unwanted by their parents, who paid the bus driver to get rid of them. The fact that Christine appears right before the vehicle goes over the edge, killing every child inside, is foreshadowing of their tragic fates. The 1958 Plymouth Fury is a haunted car that went on a killing spree in both King’s novel and Carpenter’s movie. As such, it represents a bad omen that death is not far behind.

While there are several iconic John Carpenter Easter eggs and references in Trick ‘r Treat, the 1958 Plymouth Fury works at foreboding the fate of its segment’s characters better than any of the others, and can be attached to a deeper meaning. Michael Dougherty included the Stephen King Easter egg to pay homage to one of his favorite directors while also using the vehicle to act as an omen for the events that would transpire in one of the darker segments featured in Trick ‘r Treat.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/trick-r-treat-movie-stephen-king-christine-easter-egg-explained/

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