It seems strange to say that I’ve been waiting several years for a chance to see a movie that only came out in 2007, but here we are. Despite gathering a huge cult following with remarkable speed, WB only gave this movie a handful of fringe screenings before dumping it direct-to-DVD. The movie is so obscure that it’s very difficult to find copies, but its fanbase is so devoted that all the available DVDs are gone come October.

I seriously had my doubts about being able to see this film through legal channels, until I stepped into Movie Madness today. By some freak stroke of luck, there was a copy of Trick ‘r Treat available for rental, at a special price of $1. Needless to say, I didn’t want to waste any time, especially since it’s due back on Saturday.

Reviewing Trick ‘r Treat is going to be even more special for me, since it marks the first anthology film I’ve ever seen. I have no idea what it will be like to watch or write about this film, so here goes.

The movie is based around the conceit that there are four essential rules to Halloween.

1. Never let a Jack O’Lantern go out.
2. Always check your candy.
3. Wear a costume to disguise yourself.
4. If a trick-or-treater comes to your door, answer and be ready with candy.

These rules/traditions (given to us by way of a neat opening credits sequence) were first put in place to protect us from all the evil spirits that roam about on All Hallows Eve. So naturally, our film is comprised of four stories — each one loosely based around a particular rule — preceded by an opening story and wrapped up with a scary-yet-darkly-humorous conclusion at the end.

#1 concerns five young trick-or-treaters (Britt McKillip, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Isabelle Deluce, Alberto Ghisi, and Samm Todd, as if you know any of those names), who are collecting Jack O’Lanterns for (ostensibly) charitable reasons.

#2 is about a young killjoy (Brett Kelly, whom you may remember from Bad Santa) who goes around smashing Jack O’Lanterns and stealing candy before meeting his principal, Mr. Wilkins (Dylan Baker).

#3 focuses on 22-year-old virgin Laurie (Anna Paquin), her sexpot sister (Lauren Lee Smith), and their two equally hot friends (Rochelle Aytes and Moneca Delain). The four of them have dressed up in the sluttiest outfits they can find, out in search of a good time.

#4 stars Brian Cox in the role of Mr. Kreeg. He’s the kind of bitter old grump who’ll chase away anyone and everyone — with violence, if necessary — so he can be left to his own misery.

As for the intro, we meet Henry (Tahmoh “Helo” Penikett) and his Halloween-hating girlfriend, Emma (Leslie Bibb), both of whom make frequent cameos throughout the movie. Their brief story nicely sets the tone for the rest of the film, establishing through some nicely-staged scares that people who show disdain for the holiday and/or break the established rules are in for some very gruesome fates.

Though the intro story is played without interruption, the rest of the film bounces and weaves its way between the other four. Additionally, there’s a lot of crossover between them and the scenes aren’t necessarily in chronological order. This is a solid device for suspense, as we see something strange early on and we’re left to wonder what it was until later in the film.

The terror is wonderfully established throughout the film, in point of fact. Yes, this is one of those movies in which the jackasses pretty much always die, but it’s not usually clear at first just who the worthy victim is. Dylan Baker is an obvious example, as he nicely plays his character in such a way that it’s impossible to tell if he’s an innocent principal or a murdering lunatic until it’s too late. Anna Paquin’s storyline is also another good example.

In case you hadn’t guessed, explaining any more than I already have would be a massive disservice, hence the bare-bones description of each storyline.

Before moving on, I suppose I should mention another of the movie’s essential throughlines: A mysterious burlap-masked imp known only as “Sam.” It’s not easy to describe Sam, since he doesn’t have any dialogue and he doesn’t play any direct role in the stories, save only for the intro and for story #4. He isn’t given a name outside the credits, and it’s never entirely clear what inhuman monster he is, precisely.

As best I can figure, Sam is the very personification of “Trick or treat.” He’s everything that’s mischievous and fun about the holiday when the rules are followed, and he’s the worst possible nightmare that can result in the rules being broken. That isn’t to say that he’s a basic movie slasher, singlehandedly responsible for every single death in the movie, but he’ll happily engage in murder when necessary, to the sound of giggles and little running feet. And on those times when someone else is doing the murdering, Sam will glady sit back and laugh as someone gets eaten by monsters.

Oh, yeah. There are real-life monsters in this movie. I won’t spoil exactly which ones appear, but I will say that the effects on them are very good for such a low-budget production. Moreover, this movie makes full use of the fact that this is the only time of year in which killers and their bloodied victims could both be mistaken for people in costume.

What really helps make this film noteworthy is how it explores Halloween from all possible angles. The child’s perspective (playing pranks, getting candy, telling ghost stories, etc.) and the adult’s perspective (dressing sluttily, getting shitfaced, growing annoyed at the kids, etc.) are both utilized to remarkable effect in this film. In every possible aspect of this film’s design, the movie is about celebrating the past and present traditions of Halloween by mining them for scares. The holiday spirit of Halloween is so deeply ingrained into this film that the movie couldn’t possibly have taken place at any other time of year, nor should it be seen at any other time of year.

The actors all play their parts very well, though Dylan Baker and Brian Cox are easily the standouts. The film was written by Michael Dougherty (writer of X2 and Superman Returns), who also makes his directing debut here. He succeeds both as the film’s writer and the film’s director, elegantly weaving the film’s multiple storylines together in a balanced way. The production design is solid, the score is wonderful, and of course, the costumes are nicely varied and colorful.

Trick ‘r Treat is that kind of movie so wonderfully unique that it’s hard to believe it ever got made, but we should all be glad that it was. The film is superbly crafted in every way, beautifully capturing that fun yet scary tone that makes the holiday so magical. This is a film that works so well as a Halloween movie that I expect it would completely fall apart if seen in any month except October.

Bottom line: This film should be considered mandatory Halloween viewing. I highly recommend that you seek this movie out by any means necessary before November comes.