Michael Dougherty’s semi-anthology horror film Trick ‘r Treat has been the subject of a lot of blog talk over the past two years, and now thanks to this week’s DVD release, everyone can see it. So, of course, Dougherty is talking about the sequel. In this case, it’s one I’m very interested to hear more about.

Dougherty tells MTV that he’s got part of the first sequel mapped out. He knows how the sequel ends, and without giving too much away, that’s the most crucial part. Because while Trick ‘r Treat is labeled an anthology film, in reality it is a handful of interwoven tales. While focusing on one, you’ll catch glimpses of the others and in that way fill in some intentional little narrative gaps. And there’s sort of a full-circle narrative style going on, so the end is, in some ways, the beginning.  Once again, the organizing principle here will have to do with Sam, the little guy on the DVD covers above, who is destined to become the series’ mascot and very soon a costume you’ll see every Halloween. Dougherty says,

The whole idea originally, for me, was to do one if not every Halloween, at least every other Halloween. Because it’s an anthology film, it lends itself to telling another four stories which would intertwine – but I think you could take the film and explore how Halloween was celebrated in different locations, different time periods, and the one consistent character would be Sam, the mascot.

Beyond that, I’m not going to evangelize the first Trick ‘r Treat too much. It’s a great movie, a really fun little Halloween flick. Finally got to see it last weekend with a group of friends and, though most were skeptical at first, all were converted by the end. But so much has been written about how it’s the greatest horror movie since [insert last great horror movie title here] that I don’t want to over-inflate expectations at this point. Trick ‘r Treat is out on DVD this week, and if you like fun, well-written horror, you’ll likely enjoy it. That is all.