Tales From the Darkside - Trick or Treat

People make their own misfortunes.

Devious debt collector, operating a lucrative business thanks in part to early success selling "snaps" and the like, especially enjoys Halloween where he can exploit the scary aspects by rigging his house with props associated with the holiday (imitated thunder, wind, lightning, vampire bat, spooky voice enhancer, moaning and screeching, howling and maniacal snickering/giggling, stuffed ferocious bear) to frighten the children of adults enduring hard times with the debts/IOUs hidden in his house if they can find them. A few kids try and fail because he scares them, but soon he's visited by a witch and other ghouls, including Ole Scratch himself, who invite him to join them in a place perfectly suited for him. Fun seasonal inaugural episode of Tales from the Darkside with delightfully malicious Bernard Hughes, well shot by Christopher Guest comedy vet Bob Balaban to convey his greedy, scheming, insidious nature. Because he's photographed with an expressively sinister face, along with that richly slithery voice, Hughes is an entertaining heel. His victims--honest, hardworking locals operating farms and rural small businesses--forced into desperately relying on the endurance of their children to withstand the Halloween antics of Gideon Hackles in his holiday-themed home are a sympathetic lot falling on tough times not helped by their debtor's glee. Joe Ponazeki and Eddie Jones are just two fathers humbled by life's financial challenges, reminded of this by Gideon when they must visit his establishment. When the anthology series was good, it could be really good. It is the very definition of the good, bad, and ugly. There were some real stinkers during the show's three seasons. This one was a good one. It has a game Hughes and Ed French's makeups to give the Halloween setting at night in the evil bastard's house a memorable start to a popular show key during the 80s. Although most episodes stay almost exclusively in one setting, this pilot made in '83 had three, including Gideon's backroom parlor to revel in his successes with associates, Mr. Bindle and Mr. Bundle, at the store counter to gloat in the faces of pitiable debtees, and at home to scare the kids. A strong example of how the show could get it right sometimes.