First effort at a movie by TV director Hsu Fu-hsiang, “Trick or Treat” is a messy mashup of various genres and filmmakers’ styles, which aims at entertainment, mostly through absurdity. Let us take things from the beginning, though.
“Treat or Trick” is screening at Asian Pop-up Cinema
Feng is a cop, but as himself states, not exactly a shining example of one, since his connections with organized crime frequently drive him to unlawful actions. During a police raid that ends up in a series of intense events, mostly instigated by Psycho, a trigger-happy colleague, another officer, who works undercover and happens to be Feng’s best friend and in the scene, Chiang, takes the diamonds found and skips town. The local crime boss Feng has ties with, gets wind of what happened, takes Psycho as hostage, and tasks Feng with finding the diamonds in 48 hours, while attaching to him one of his henchmen, Yang. The two of them, along Monk, another policeman, travel to a village where Chiang’s mobile was active for the last time. The villagers, however, act suspiciously, and an intense game of cat-and-mouse begins, where the roles are reversed a number of times. If this were not already complicated enough, the ghost of a woman eventually also appears.
The mashup we mentioned in the prologue is so intense, that the movie can be described as a tribute to past movies and filmmakers. The Guy Richie style of the swooshing succession of scenes frequently leading to flashbacks, courtesy here of editor Wenders Li, the Miike style of comic violence, the “dirty cop” motif, American grindhouse elements, particularly in the way the villagers conduct themselves, HK action style including martial arts, a ghost and slapstick comedy, and even some Poirot moments, are all here, as finding the references of the movie is at least as entertaining as the film itself.
Despite this chaotic approach to the narrative, and also the fact that not everything makes sense, again in HK style, Hsu Fu-hsiang actually makes the whole thing work in an uncanny way, with the combination of gag jokes, absurd characters and situations, violence, and the many plot twists resulting in a movie that is quite fun to watch, also because it does not take itself particularly seriously. The SFX, the overall cinematography with the plethora of exaltations and scenes of beauty, as the ones in the forest, and the occasionally frantic pace, add to the aforementioned elements even more. Lastly, that it is quite difficult to guess what will happen, not only in the end, but in each passing scene, definitely benefits the narrative.
The comments expressed here also move in the same path, with police corruption, the cunningness usually associated with rural people, and the fact that anyone can become a killer under specific circumstances, add some depth, although they are presented mostly through comedy than in seriousness
The acting is also on a very high level, with the cast having adapted to Hsu’s extreme style perfectly. Chen Bo-lin as Feng is great as the hero/clown, Liu Kuan-ting succeeds fully into presenting a character that appears cool but is anything but, while Chen Yi-wen as Hsu, the father of the family, and Pai Ching-I as his wife are hilarious to watch, with the latter stealing the show on a number of occasions.
“Treat or Trick” is not exactly high art, and the truth is that the plot holes are quite a lot here. However, the fact that Hsu does not take neither himself nor his film seriously and his will to mock a plethora of concepts and even himself results in a movie that is truly entertaining, and quite easy to watch.
