Young worked alongside the metal band Fastway, who featured Motörhead’s “Fast Eddie Clarke” shredding the guitar, while Gene Simmons from KISS appeared in a cameo as radio’s DJ Nuke. In other words, Ozzy wasn’t the only hard rock and metal act associated with “Trick or Treat.” His role as a televangelist preacher, however, was dripping with sarcasm, humorously playing the exact type of person who usually denounced Ozzy as evil and satanic. As icing on top of the cake, Sammi uses his demonic, Freddy Krueger-esque powers to swipe through the television screen, giving Pastor Ozzy a blood-curdling scream.
Ozzy’s cameo is indicative of the film’s confusing identity. One one hand, “Treak or Treat” is clearly made by and for metal fans, but at the same time the villain is a metal star who gets his powers through demonic forces, essentially confirming that, yes, metal is a product of the devil. There’s more than an undercurrent of sarcasm here, though, since the film’s inherent goofiness is poking fun of the over-reactionary attitude of the satanic panic. It’s proof that metal doesn’t have to take itself seriously. Ozzy Osbourne, who sadly just announced his official end to touring due to health issues, was in on the joke.
