Michael Dougherty Is Bringing Sam Back

Michael Dougherty has launched Sam: The Soul of Halloween, a new official home for Sam, the burlap-sacked little trick-or-treater from Trick ‘r Treat. The project went live on October 1 with its own website and social channels dedicated to the character.

Sam first appeared in Season’s Greetings, an animated short Dougherty made as a film student in 1996, so this year marks the character’s 30th anniversary. A restored 4K version of that short has been playing festivals all year, and it will screen at more than 30 festivals and independent theaters through October, including Screamfest, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Telluride Horror Show and Sleepy Hollow Cinema.

New Sam content will roll out on the website and social channels all month, including animated shorts, illustrations and artist collaborations. Dougherty invited a group of artists to put their own spin on Sam, including Breehn Burns, Christopher Shy, Ryan Sawyer, Richard Garcia and Steven Rhodes, with more surprise collaborations to be announced during the month.

Dougherty said he is still proud of Trick ‘r Treat, but for the anniversary he wanted to go back to Sam’s handmade, independent roots and see where the character goes next.

Watch the teaser below.

The launch also opens an official Sam online shop with limited-edition merch built around the original animated version of Sam. The first batch includes T-shirts, posters, pins and stickers, many made with the same artists working on the project.

Sam is also back on shelves this month in Trick ‘r Treat: Witching Hours, a new four-story graphic novel anthology from Legendary Comics out October 13.

You can find everything at samthesoulofhalloween.com.

Source: Bloody Disgusting