If Trick ‘r Treat was a movie you missed in its limited theatrical release, you’re not alone. Most people didn’t get the opportunity to experience it in a theater. The Boo Crew were fortunate to catch it at Screamfest LA the year it premiered. And much to our delight, we were left wondering after the credits when this movie would see the light of day in wide release. Once the movie was acquired by Legendary/Warner Bros, they had different ideas and plans for its release.

Dougherty discusses how the experience of the film’s release is something he’s accepted as a truly satisfying experience. “That’s part of the fun of it. The reason I would be willing to go through that hell again is that there’s a very rare joy in creating a film where the audience gets to prop it up. We love this. They give the middle finger to the system, the man, whatever you want to call it. And they say No, we love this and we are going to support it.”

“Because a lot of time you make a movie, and I just went through one, where there’s a marketing machine and it’s got promotional deals and tv spots. They almost create mass hypnosis to convince people this is a good movie and you should go see it. And this had none of that. Just bare minimum marketing support and distribution. And when it got eventually released on DVD, it’s audience was grown through pure word of mouth. Whether it was you telling friends, emailing, texting, or social media. And that’s a rare event and it’s something I wish every filmmaker could experience. You know when people come up to you and tell you they loved it, you know they are being honest. Because they weren’t marketed. They were just sort of exposed via friends and word of mouth and they watched it and fell in love with it. There’s a lot films through history and that sort of get to do that.”

The movie Mike Dougherty set out to make was anything but easy. The incredible idea of making it an anthology was something the movie studios did not understand at the time. Even with the backing of horror’s greatest directors, the studios did not fully understand how good this movie could be if given the chance.

Dougherty recalls the difficulty of making the film: “The first draft was finished in 2001 and spent about five years in development hell at various studios. But interesting enough the first producer who really fell in love with it was Stan Winston. So what happened was, I was talking to Stan back in the late 90’s early 2000’s about working together on some projects. He saw my short film Seasons Greetings and really loved it. He’s the one who said ‘You need to be out here in LA making movies. I know you’re doing animation in New York, but you should come out here. And let me know when you’re in town and we’ll sit down and talk about it.’ So I bought a plane ticket the next day and flew out to LA and we sat. He was one of my idols growing up. He said ‘Listen if you any ideas or you ever write a spec, just let me know.’ And that gave me the motivation to spend the summer writing the script.”

“And I finished it in late September, early October. And he was the first guy to say ‘Okay this is great – it’s a modern day Creepshow. Let me try to assemble some directors and maybe we can take this out.’ And so he cobbled together George Romero, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter and himself. And I was like wow, okay, I just assembled the Superfriends of horror. And every studio came back with the following notes: “This movie feels too old fashioned. It’s filled with zombies, vampires and werewolves. Those are too old fashioned. Nobody wants to see those things anymore.” And I’m like okay, now look at us. We can’t swing a dead cat without hitting vampires, werewolves and zombies.”

In Episode 80 we discuss Trick ‘r Treat more in depth, talking about the original design of our Halloween hero, Sam, as well as the look, costumes and design of the kids in the school bus massacre segment. Listen to Mike tell great stories about the production and character designs, casting the movie, and why he wanted to make this movie *the* definitive movie for Halloween. We also delve deep into the books, TV, horror and sci-fi movies that inspired him and his passion for the paranormal, as well as his other movies – Krampus and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Remember always wear a costume, always check your candy and always download the latest edition of The Boo Crew!

Follow Michael Dougherty on:

Twitter: @Mike_Dougherty

Follow The Boo Crew on:

Instagram: @talesfromtheboocrew
Twitter: @talesfromtheboo

The post [Podcasts] The Boo Crew Spends Halloween with ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ Director Michael Dougherty appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That reunion begs the question when a return is in order as fans have been clamoring for Trick ‘r Treat 2 news for a long time. And in an interview with Slashfilm, Dougherty addressed that very topic, although not much new has been added to the conversation.

I’m going to speak carefully about that [Laughs], because the moment I utter a word about the sequel, everybody starts salivating. It is very much my intention to make the sequel. Legendary is very committed to making the movie. Creatively, it’s in process. When it actually happens, I don’t know. But, hopefully, stuff like this — the digital decorations, the comic books, the merchandise, and what have you — will tide people over and I can finally get around to making it. Nothing would make me happier than returning to that universe. Like, I miss Sam. When we were shooting these vignettes, I was getting a little bit emotional because I would love nothing more than to hang out with Sam again for a year or two, bringing him back to the big screen.

While fans may rue the long wait we’ve been experiencing between the original and an eventual sequel, that delay may very well elevate the story into new territories and give it new stories to address.

I think it’d be great to make it a trilogy, at least. So fingers crossed. For me, I think every film should explore a different aspect of Halloween. I felt like the first film was the very traditional, suburban Halloween that we all have some memory of. But as I’ve grown up over the years, I’ve lived everywhere from Columbus, Ohio to New York to L.A., and I find that the holiday is very different depending on where you live. Or even time periods. I don’t see why we should be limited to just present day stories. Halloween is an amazing holiday because it evolves depending on where you live and the time period.

Dougherty took fans for a spin in early July when a picture he posted from the AtmosFX filming sessions convinced many, yours truly included, that the sequel was already filming. Still, we’re getting these awesome Halloween decorations!

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Earlier today, director Michael Dougherty posted a photo from set of what appears to be Trick ‘r Treat 2, the sequel to the 2007 anthology horror film that introduced the world to “Sam”, the adorable yet incredibly vicious and violent trick-or-treater who enforces the rules of Halloween with deadly efficiency. The caption also reads 110 days with a hashtag for “Halloween”, although I would be amazed if they managed to release the film by that time.

Now, this photo may be an old behind-the-scenes photo from the original film but Dougherty’s Twitter bio also states that his next film is the sequel, so this strongly suggests that filming is happening as this is being written.

In the original film:
“Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.”

While none of this is confirmed, it’d be incredible to get another Michael Dougherty film! And who can resist the thought of Sam making his comeback?!

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Behind this new Christmas-themed horror movie, which Kalyn loved (review later this week), is Michael Dougherty.

Dougherty is quickly claiming the crown as the “King of Holiday Horror,” having both made Krampus and the every popular Halloween-themed anthology Trick ‘r Treat.

Even before Dougherty was attached to direct Krampus, he’s been working on a sequel to Trick ‘r Treat, which was prematurely announced two years ago. Now that Krampus is about to get released, what does this mean for the long-gestured Trick ‘r Treat sequel we’ve all been begging for?

In an interview with Kalyn, which will be posted in full this afternoon, Dougherty explains:

“Trick ‘r Treat 2 is a really rough outline at the moment, my hope is now to turn my attention back to Sam and Halloween, so yeah, fingers crossed.”

An official release date is far from being set in place, but the news that Dougherty is still planning on making a sequel to his Halloween classic is exciting news, all by itself.

The 2007 Trick ‘r Treat told five interwoven stories that all occur on Halloween: “An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.”

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Additionally, and this is where things get REALLY cool, I found out that both Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus may very well take place in the same “universe”, with Dougherty telling me that viewers will have to keep a close eye on the events of the latter film to be able to connect the dots!

You can see this exclusive interview below!

In Krampus, “When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.”

Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen with Krista Stadler star in Krampus.

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