This short animation is very short indeed, but I really enjoy the eerie tone and atmosphere that it manages to establish in the limited amount of time. It's a classic old tale of the deceptive role-reversal kind, in which we see what appears to be a little boy trick or treating all alone in the spooky dead of night, and a missing child poster tells us that the neighbourhood isn't exactly a safe nice one. And then a dark and sinister figure appears who we can safely assume is responsible, and he approaches the strange burlap sack-headed kid in an alley, and although it's all done in silhouetted flashes, I still found the violence against a kid pretty nasty, as well as the solitary splatter of blood. It's quite the creepy and tense moment. Oh, but what is this? It wasn't the kid's blood, nor was that any ordinary kid! It was perhaps the bad man that should have watched out for him! Very cool stuff. I loved the Gothic beautiful style of the animation, which is one of my favourite styles and it was a great way to introduce an early version of that lethally mischievous impish spirit of Halloween "Sam" who I personally wouldn't tag as "iconic" just yet. In time sure, he has all the right pathos to make him a bonified "Movie Maniac" one day. I thought Michael Dougherty make spectacular use of him in the "Trick 'R Treat" anthology, which was one of the most fun and well-made I'd seen in years. Watching that film reanimated a little of my own Halloween spirit and appreciation of the season. There's really no better time to watch it, or indeed this little work of art which is much grimmer than it first seems. It's awful quick, but it has a beginning, it builds, and it has a good payoff. Excellently done, Mr. Dougherty! Happy Halloween. : )
Review of Season's Greetings
