When it comes to horror movies set on Halloween, there are bigger names, but few have ever been more beloved than Trick ‘r Treat. Writer/director Michael Dougherty’s 2007 directorial debut wins new fans every single October with its depiction of Halloween traditions and the adorable/terrifying creature who protects them all, Sam.
This year, Trick ‘r Treat is heading back to theaters on October 14 and 16 for a limited engagement to show off its new 4K restoration. That means Dougherty is back in the spotlight as a horror director. So, other than his own cult classic, which horror films does he recommend you watch?
Dougherty stopped in to play “Four Favorites” with Letterboxd earlier this month to promote the Fathom Events Trick ‘r Treat theatrical re-release, and he picked a quartet of classics. His picks included John Carpenter’s Halloween, James Cameron’s Aliens, and Richard Donner’s The Omen, but the one that stood out most to me was Tobe Hooper and Steve Spielberg’s Poltergeist. Why? Here’s how Dougherty described its impact on him:
“An absolute all-time favorite haunted house film, I think, because it has such a perfect mix of scares and laughter. The comedy in that is really strong.”
When you look at Mike Dougherty’s horror output, particularly Trick r’ Treat and its follow-up, 2015’s Krampus, you can see Poltergeist‘s fingerprints all over it. These are films that thrive in comedic moments, relishing the over-the-top concepts at their core and throwing seemingly ordinary people headlong into chaos. Poltergeist is an influential movie for virtually every horror filmmaker who came along after 1982, and as Dougherty points out, its comedy is a big reason why.
There’s something so inherently absurd about what the Freeling family goes through in that film, made more absurd by the sheer onslaught of horror they face once the title poltergeist really gets going. These are ordinary middle-class people just trying to settle into a home. The parents get high together in the evenings, the kids ride bikes, they watch TV, and they have breakfast. It’s all so identifiably normal that when it stops being that way, two things happen: You’re scared and you’re laughing.
Like every American family going through any kind of personal crisis, the Freelings are left to contend with the horror of what’s happened to their house while also just trying to get through every day. That means that when paranormal investigators show up and the Freelings reveal the house’s secrets, they’re weirdly used to all the floating objects and strange sounds. Craig T. Nelson alone is comedy gold in the film, but he’s far from the only one.
You can get Trick ‘r Treat tickets right now through Fathom Events.
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