Trick 'r Treat with Filmmaker Michael Dougherty

Michael Dougherty is coming to The Texas Theatre on Friday, October 9, for a night that works its way back to where he started. The evening opens with a 30th-anniversary 4K restoration of Season's Greetings, the 1996 animated horror short Dougherty wrote and directed. After that, the theater screens Trick 'r Treat, the 2007 horror anthology that launched his career, followed by a moderated Q&A with Dougherty himself.

Trick 'r Treat is the one most people know him for, and it's easy to see why. It's a cult classic that runs 82 minutes and carries an R rating, with Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, and Dylan Baker in the cast. It's the film that put him on the map, and from there he went on to helm Krampus and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The night traces that line back to the very beginning: Season's Greetings is the short he made three decades ago, now restored in 4K for its 30th anniversary. Seeing them together gives you a look at the early work that eventually led to the feature.

Between the two screenings, the Q&A lets you hear from Dougherty directly about the films. And there's a bit of a parting gift for anyone who stays: attendees walk away with a goodie bag of posters, trading cards, and stickers. If you've spent years with Trick 'r Treat on your home video shelf, this is a chance to see it in a theater with the director in the room.

Doors open at 6 PM, and the program starts at 7 PM. The Texas Theatre is at 231 W Jefferson Blvd in Oak Cliff.