From Trick 'r Treat to Krampus, Michael Dougherty has accomplished something almost nobody else in horror has managed: he made both major holiday seasons considerably more dangerous.
There are horror directors who make scary movies, horror directors who make funny movies, and horror directors who create memorable monsters. Then there is Michael Dougherty, who apparently looked at the two biggest holidays on the calendar and thought, "You know what these celebrations need? More monsters." The result was Trick 'r Treat, a gloriously twisted love letter to Halloween, followed years later by Krampus, a wonderfully nasty reminder that Christmas isn't always about peace, love and getting exactly what you asked for.
And let's just settle the argument right now: if Trick 'r Treat isn't the greatest Halloween movie ever made, it's certainly one of the strongest contenders—and if Krampus isn't the greatest Christmas horror movie ever made, it is sitting very comfortably near the top of the naughty list. What makes the achievement even more impressive is that Dougherty didn't simply wander into these holidays by accident. He wrote and directed both films, and he also produced Krampus. In other words, the guy practically built himself a seasonal horror empire.
