The Spooky Spectrum: Rhonda from Trick R Treat (2006)

Welcome, my dear readers to The Spooky Spectrum, A Halloween Edition of Breaking the (Autistic) Code. I will be looking at Autistic-coded, and canonical, characters in Horror films during the month of October. It is important to note that I will definitely be discussing some disturbing topics in these essays so be cautious before continuing on. Spoilers will also be a thing as well. I am not a licensed medical professional and this series is not about diagnosing the character(s) with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This series is a personal examination of the film/TV show's plot, the character's traits and personality and how they relate to me as an Autistic woman. I would encourage my readers to seek out different perspectives on disability representation especially from BIPOC disabled creators who are often ignored in the disability discourse.

The film I will be looking at for this essay, is a movie I have heard about in passing and just recently watched it. As you can see by the title, I will be looking at Trick R Treat, a film released in 2007 and became a cult classic, and a favorite among Horror critics, since it's release. I was fascinated by this film because when I searched for horror films featuring Autistic characters, or at least those with traits consistent with Autism, there was one that was talked about and that was the character, Rhonda. The other stories in the film were fantastic but Rhonda's story stuck out to me the most for many reasons.

The first hint the audience is given for Rhonda's neurodivergence is her encyclopedic knowledge about Halloween and it's origins. She goes into great detail about the origins and why those traditions were considered very important in the olden times. Her skill with decorating the Jack-o-lanterns is impressive for a child her age and it shows that she is very dedicated to her special interest. She is called "Rhonda the R*****" and an "idiot savant" by her peers. They view her with such derision and disgust and I am quite confused as to what she did that deserved such scorn. Oh well, can't reason with hateful people. It's important to note that using slurs or derogatory language against a disabled person will inform the disabled person how you view them despite the "intentions" behind the language.

The other, more obvious signs of her neurodivergence is that Rhonda is also socially awkward throughout her time during the film and she does not give direct eye contact to the people she speaks. Autistic people, at least a good majority of them, do not maintain eye contact because it is often physically painful and overwhelming. Most Autistic people can maintain eye contact but it is often at a cost to their energy and can overstimulating in a busy environment. Rhonda shows up about half hour into the film and gets about that much and some change in screen time. I was a little sad about this because Rhonda reminded very much of me when I was a little girl.* We both had extensive encyclopedic knowledge about our interests. We both have robotic tones to our voices; and we both had no tolerance for bullies or cruel pranks. I also found it interesting how Rhonda dressed up as a witch since witches had a conflicted image throughout history as "agents of Satan" and a symbol of women's empowerment.

The children invite her to go to the rock quarry where the supposed "School Bus Massacre" occurred. One of the children tells the story of the massacre. The massacre occurred after the bus driver, being paid by the parent's of the victims to commit filicide because they were disabled, tries to murder the children only to have one of the children escape their restraints and accidently killed everyone in a panic by driving off a cliff. Stories like these ironically highlight the monstrosity of the non-disabled especially when it comes to disabled children. Since during the story, it was empathized that the children were considered such a burden on the parents that murdering them seemed the only option. In fact, it is the disabled children who get to have their moments of revenge against the people, in this case the bus driver, Mr Kreeg, who wronged them. I couldn't understand why the SBM children were considered the monsters in the movie since they were the victims of the massacre.

They, Macy Sara, Rhonda, Schrader, and Chip, plan on taking jack-o-lanterns down to the quarry as a means of paying respect to the children. It is revealed that it was all a prank to scare Rhonda and Schrader, being one of the few children to have sympathy for her, chastises the other peers for scaring her. Autistic people are often more emotionally volatile then their neurotypical peers and this includes being more susceptible to traumatic responses to those moments of vulnerability. Rhonda, even though she is a person with an interest in scary things, reacted like most Autistic people would react when in a frightening situation and considered the prank an act of betrayal. The pranksters soon face the consequences of their actions when the 8 children, who died during the massacre, attack them.

Earlier I said that the demise is hilariously ironic, I said this because the language they used earlier to describe her was meant as a barb against her humanity. They suffer the consequences of dehumanizing a disabled person by being killed by the same people they mocked and scorned. Rhonda leaves them behind because, as most Autistics often are for better or worse, knows that after such a betrayal people like those bullies cannot be forgiven or trusted. Rhonda felt empowered enough to not only assert her boundaries to those children but to be the one to deliver that consequence to them. I felt a strong sense of pride for Rhonda because I expressed similar boundaries to my peers and adults and I had gotten punished for asserting those boundaries in the past.

It is important to have stories of empowered disabled children in movies because too often disabled children, like the SBM victims and Rhonda, are often abused and taken advantage of by adults and peers. Disabled adults and children alike need models of empowerment in order to feel like they can be important members of society. There are numerous real-life stories of disabled children being murdered by their parents and society following right behind to make excuses for them. Stories like these are a great comfort because it shows that disabled people can also assert their humanity even in trying circumstances.

*Please Michael, consider having Rhonda back for Trick R Treat 2 with a more fleshed out story? Thank you.