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Trick or Treat (Pilot): Directed by Bob Balaban. With Barnard Hughes, I.M. Hobson, Max Wright, Joe Ponazecki. Town miser Gideon Hackles spends Halloween hiding IOU's in his house, which he then rigs as haunted and invites local kids to search for the IOU's so he can scare them.
- (656)
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Bob Balaban
- 1983-10-29
Oct 21, 2021 · It starts as two brothers of a foul-tempered old father, who is relegated to giving out candy on Halloween. Unfortunately, the cranky old man is a tight-fisted old curse of a man, who tries his best to deny any, if not all kids that come a-calling. But things go from bad to worse, when a goblin shows up to his house...
- 22 min
- 5.9K
- itfiguresofcourse
Jun 29, 2018 · As part of an annual Halloween "tradition", Gideon invites local trick-or-treaters to explore his house to search for their parents' hidden IOUs. The children who find the papers will have...
- 11 min
- 32.4K
- Joey Cage
- Overview
- Synopsis
- External links
"Trick or Treat" is the pilot episode of the television anthology series Tales from the Darkside, co-written by George A. Romero and directed by Bob Balaban. It was originally aired in syndication by Tribune Broadcasting on October 29, 1983.
Gideon Hackles (Barnard Hughes) is an elderly miser who keeps the residents of his rural town mired in debt. As part of an annual Halloween "tradition", Gideon invites local trick-or-treaters to explore his house to search for their parents' hidden IOUs. The children who find the papers will have their parents' debts cancelled. This year, Gideon invites young Billy Kimble to participate in the hunt. Billy accepts, knowing that his father's farm is being held by Gideon as collateral.
Gideon rigs his house with fake monsters and uses them to scare the trick-or-treaters; he sadistically mocks the frightened children through an antiquated speaker system. Most of the children who try to search the house—taken against their will by desperate parents—quickly flee in terror, their failure relished by Gideon.
However, real paranormal events soon unfold in the house. Not long after scaring off another trick-or-treater, Gideon encounters a mysterious witch at his front door. The witch levitates into Gideon's house and brings his fake monsters to life. She also disperses the hidden IOUs, as well as the money which Gideon has meticulously collected from the townsfolk. As Gideon attempts to retrieve the money, he stumbles into a room occupied by the Devil. A petrified Gideon is then guided into eternal damnation in Hell.
Billy, confident that he can find his parents' IOUs, sneaks off to Gideon's house against his father's wishes. Once he arrives, Billy is greeted by the witch, who gives him both the papers and Gideon's valuables before flying off into the night. Billy travels back home, walking past the old man's grave.
•"Trick or Treat" at the Internet Movie Database
- 3 min
Dec 31, 2014 · An almost-complete collection of TV recordings of Tales from the Darkside: The Series, recorded during the mid-1980s.They contain their original commercials; recording quality varies.
Jul 25, 2023 · A complete and Ultimate Review of the first pilot episode of Tales From The Darkside which aired in 1983, first of 4 seasons in the series. A Detailed explanation of the episode, immerse...
- 11 min
- 711
- The Horror Cabin
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Tales from the Darkside: Trick or Treat is set in a small American town on Halloween where a local businessman & hard-nosed scrooge named Gideon Hackles (Barnard Hughes) virtually owns the entire town with almost all of the residents owing him money.
