DirectorMichael Doughertyis the king of holiday horror. For Halloween, he delivered the cult classicTrick ‘r Treatwhich has since becomea staple of the spooky holidayin part thanks to its adorable little mascot Sam. Those looking for holly jolly scares, however, can turn to his 2015 filmKrampuswhichtwists the legend of the Austro-Bavarian folklore figure into a nightmarefor Christmas. The former of the two films is finally moving forward with a long-awaited sequel, but Dougherty also has ideas should he get the chance to revisit the horned holiday demon. During a Q&A following aTrick ‘r Treatscreening forScary Perri’s Horror Series, he teased one of his plans for a sequel to Collider’sPerri Nemiroff.
“We have an idea for a sequel on that one, too,” he revealed when asked aboutKrampus. “It doesn’t necessarily center around a family as much as it might be about a group of strangers who are trapped somewhere.” That plan would be quite a departure from the originalwhose heart and soul ran through its family dynamic.Krampusunfolds in the days before Christmas as the dysfunctional Engel family struggles to get along during the holidays. All the squabbling kills the young son Max’s (Emjay Anthony) holiday spirit, and he inadvertently summons the horned demon to drag them all to Hell. They’reforced to band together in the spirit of familyto survive the beast’s hunt.
UnlikeTrick ‘r Treatwhich weighed a sequel as far back as 2009, there’s been no real movement toward bringingKrampusback for the holidays. In fairness,Trick ‘r Treatis built better for a sequel asit’s an anthology filmthat could simply tell new stories withits good boy Samat the center. It’s also not quite as beloved as the Halloween film, but it stillmanaged to clear a place on the shelf for many fans of Christmas-themed horror, even earning nominations at the Empire Awards and Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film of 2015. A fantastic cast also helps spread the cheer as Anthony is joined byAdam Scott,Toni Collette,David Koechner,AllisonTolman,Conchata Ferrell,Emjay Anthony,Stefania LaVie Owen, andKrista StadlerwithGideon Emeryvoicing the titular beast. A new angle focused on a different group dynamic as Dougherty proposed would be a good excuse for the horned demon to reinforce the Christmas spirit once more.
‘Krampus’s Team Is Back Together for ‘Trick ‘r Treat 2’
While a sequel toKrampusisn’t in the cards for now, the writers behindthe Christmas horror storyare reuniting with Dougherty to continue Sam’s tale withTrick ‘r Treat2. Doughertyrevealed he has a “really good script” in the workswithTodd CaseyandZach Shields, though a lot of work remains before the film will see the light of day. Dougherty is working closely with Legendary to bring everything together and all parties seem committed to finally pulling the sequel out of development hell.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Dougherty’s upcoming projects including theTrick ‘r Treatsequel currently in development. Check outour guide for where you can watchKrampusahead of the Yuletide season.
