Michael Dougherty Brings Trick ’r Treat to Dallas

Sam is coming to Dallas, and he is bringing Trick ’r Treat filmmaker Michael Dougherty with him. The Texas Theatre will host Dougherty on October 9 for a special presentation of his Halloween anthology, a screening of the short film that started it all and a moderated filmmaker Q&A.

The one-night event puts a modern Halloween favorite back on the big screen with its creator in attendance, giving Dallas horror fans a rare opportunity to hear Dougherty discuss the traditions and ideas behind the film.

Michael Dougherty Brings Trick ’r Treat to Dallas

Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
Doors: 6:00 p.m.
Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas
Age limit: All ages

The program begins with the 30th-anniversary 4K restoration of Dougherty’s 1996 animated horror short Season’s Greetings. The short introduced Sam, the small burlap-masked enforcer who would later connect the stories in Trick ’r Treat.

A special presentation of the 2007 feature will follow, along with a moderated Q&A featuring Dougherty. The filmmaker also directed Krampus and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

A Halloween Movie Built Around the Rules

Trick ’r Treat weaves several stories together across one Halloween night, with Sam appearing whenever someone ignores the holiday’s traditions. The anthology has grown into an annual October watch for many horror fans, while Sam has become one of the most recognizable modern Halloween characters.

What We Think

This is getting very frustrating for me because we’ll be out of town for this screening, as well as the screening for Bruce Campbell’s new movie. The only thing keeping me going at this point is the fact we’ll be attending Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. We saw Trick ’r Treat in the theater when it came out, and it has become a regular Halloween viewing for us. So watching it with a crowd during spooky season already sounds like a good night, but having Michael Dougherty there turns it into something much more memorable.

The inclusion of Season’s Greetings makes it especially appealing because audiences can see Sam’s origin immediately before the feature that made him a Halloween icon. And with Dougherty there for a Q&A, there’s also the chance to hear directly from him about how those ideas evolved from the short into Trick ’r Treat.