Everyone has their favorite Halloween movie, some that fill different aspects of the holiday, from scares to nostalgia to downright horror, but for me, when I think of a movie that perfectly encapsulates the holiday and all the horror-movie trimmings, TRICK ‘R TREAT easily fills that void. Like A CHRISTMAS STORY during the holidays, TRICK ‘R TREAT is a regular watch during this time of the year and the question has lingered for years about a sequel. Well, after the first-ever theaterical screening of the film at an event that closed out Beyond Fest 2013, director Michael Dougherty revealed that the hopes of Halloween fanatics and supporters of the film will finally be rewarded with a sequel.
That's right, folks, TRICK ‘R TREAT 2 is finally moving forward. After six years of a timultuous journey to audiences, the anthology film will finally return to haunt and inspire. EW chatted with Dougherty about the sequel, which you can read the highlights of below:
On the plot/story of the sequel:
There’s nothing I can reveal yet. It’s still really early in the process, but I can definitely say that we’ll be exploring Sam more and maybe getting into some back story of who and what he actually is.
On what kinds of monsters we may see in the sequel:
I think we’ll shake it up a little bit. There are different archetypes I’d like to explore, different types of monsters. We covered werewolves, vampires, and zombies, but there’s a whole slew of different creatures out there that we haven’t tackled, and I think Sam would probably be pretty good buddies with. So I think it’s time to let them have their time in the sun.
On whether or not the sequel will be released theatrically:
I mean, fingers crossed it will have a theatrical release considering the adventure that the first one took, but I guess if it didn’t have a theatrical release, the first film also proved that you don’t need a theatrical release in order to be successful. Not anymore. This film became the hit that it became because of video on demand and because of Amazon and Netflix and all those new technologies that people have embraced. It was because of that that this film found its audience.
On what he'd like to do with stories beyond the sequel:
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.
On the fan factor that helped get a sequel greenlit:
This is a sequel which is definitely being made because of fan demand, and because of word of mouth, which has been building for years. It’s not a sequel that’s just being rushed out because the movie had a big opening weekend. This is a sequel that people actually want, which I think is a rarity. I’m just eternally grateful for the fans for the constant, constant support.
As an avid fan and supporter of the first film, I couldn't be happier to have even the idea of a sequel moving forward. I see so much potential in the stories that could be told, so hopefully the sequel will be able to soar on the wings of its momentum from the first film and keep the fires burning. I'd be more than down to see a new TRICK 'R TREAT film each year (in October, damn it!).
TRICK ‘R TREAT 2 is freshly announced and no script is written yet, but it's cool if you want to get excited. I know I am. More as this develops.