The Secret Ingredient: He Actually Loves This Stuff
Perhaps the biggest reason Dougherty's holiday movies work is that they don't feel cynical.
They feel enthusiastic.
Trick 'r Treat feels like a filmmaker opening up his Halloween toy box and dumping everything onto the screen.
Krampus feels like someone doing the same thing with Christmas—but replacing some of the toys with demonic creatures.
Dougherty has spoken about his affection for Halloween and his love of the classic horror films that influenced him, including Alien, Poltergeist, The Omen, The Exorcist and Gremlins.
And you can see those influences.
There's a wonderful old-school quality to his work.
He understands that horror can be frightening and fun.
It can be creepy without taking itself too seriously.
It can have monsters without forgetting about characters.
And it can make you laugh immediately before making you wonder why you just laughed at something so horrible.
