KEY POINTS:
Trick or treat? Helen Clark's Halloween reshuffle hardly puts the frighteners on the National Party.
And the absence of surprise promotions or demotions makes it more difficult for her to convince voters that Labour is having major rejuvenation within its ranks.
Like the plot in a Stephen King horror thriller, yesterday's pre-election-year rejig demanded some corpses on the Cabinet room carpet to have real impact.
But the Prime Minister puts a premium on caucus discipline. That means rewarding loyalty and respecting seniority. The reshuffle is consequently more treat than trick in keeping colleagues sweet.
Unlike Jack Nicholson in The Shining, the Prime Minister has wielded the axe very sparingly.
Mark Burton is the only Cabinet minister heading for the backbenches - and he says he is going of his own volition.
You have to believe him. Helen Clark has never sacked a minister for poor performance. Damien O'Connnor's survival is proof of her reluctance to ditch colleagues no matter how huge the provocation.
With Rick Barker, who also slips down the rankings, Mr O'Connor has been given the message that he will not be back in the Cabinet after next year's election.
But Labour has to win the election first. Desperate times call for drastic measures. A reshuffle that was supposed to give Labour a fresh face looks more like a facelift.
Sure, nearly half of the 61 portfolios have changed hands. But much of the reallocation followed from Steve Maharey's departure and the need to punish Trevor Mallard for last week's parliamentary punch-up.
Mr Mallard has been dumped from the nine-strong front bench. But that punishment looks token, as he has been relegated in the Cabinet rankings only from seventh to tenth.
Far more wounding for Mr Mallard will be the loss, with Sport, of his Economic Development portfolio, and with it ministerial responsibility for the Government's "economic transformation".
Chris Carter and David Cunliffe are unsurprising promotions to the front bench, replacing Mr Mallard and Mr Maharey.
Mr Cunliffe will have to get a handle on the complexities of the Health portfolio in short measure. Under Pete Hodgson, who moves sideways into Economic Development, health moved back on to the political agenda. Mr Cunliffe's job is to get it off the agenda. He should not disappoint.
Installing Mr Carter in the Education portfolio is more problematic. He deserves promotion. He is a former teacher. He will grab the portfolio with an enthusiasm Mr Maharey, his predecessor, lacked.
But with middle-class voters in mind, National is already painting Mr Carter as "Mr Political Correctness". Coming from the Labour left, he will have to win parents' confidence by showing he will not pander to the teacher unions and will give the Ministry of Education a much-needed rocket.
If Labour suddenly looks more vulnerable in education, Helen Clark has shut down its exposure on law and order by bringing in the heavy brigade. Annette King adds the Justice portfolio to Police, and Phil Goff gets the job of sorting out the troubled Corrections Department.
There is another major positive for Labour in Michael Cullen's becoming responsible for Treaty negotiations - a move that should give real oomph to the drawn-out settlement process and help Labour regain ground in the Maori seats.
Otherwise, the cautious revamp reflects Helen Clark's belief that reshuffles do not win elections, that the risk of demotions creating unhappiness and disunity means they can instead help lose elections.
The reshuffle is consequently not as radical as some in Labour might have hoped, but it goes about as far as could be expected.
