Brian Cox Insisted on Looking Like John Carpenter in TRICK ’R TREAT, and Michael Dougherty Shares the Hilarious Story
One of the things I love about Trick ’r Treat is the showdown between Sam and Mr. Kreeg, played by Brian Cox. It's one of my favorite sequences in the movie, with the grumpy old man going to war against a pint-sized Halloween monster.
But there's a hilarious behind-the-scenes story involving Cox, director Michael Dougherty, and horror legend John Carpenter that makes the whole sequence even better.
As it turns out, Cox was determined to look like Carpenter in the film. So determined, in fact, that he insisted on wearing facial prosthetics and a wig, even though Dougherty initially wasn't sold on the idea.
During a Q&A at the FilmQuest Film Festival, Dougherty was asked about his favorite scenes to shoot for Trick ’r Treat. He said it was a tie between sending a school bus over a cliff and filming the big fight between Sam and Cox's character.
Dougherty explained: “I would say that my favorite scene to shoot in Trick ’r Treat is a tie. I really enjoyed throwing the school bus over the cliff. It was a really fun day because how often do you get to do that?
“We actually threw a school bus. It was rigged so that it was supposed to just go off a cliff. It was hilarious to see. But shooting the whole sequence with Brian Cox and Sam, that whole fight between them, was another favorite.
“Because here I am working with the original Hannibal Lecter, right? And then attacking him with my Halloween murder puppet. It was just so absurd.”
That really is a wonderfully ridiculous way to describe the scene. You've got Cox, who played Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter long before Anthony Hopkins took on the role, getting absolutely terrorized by a little creature wearing orange pajamas and a burlap mask.
It's one of those sequences that perfectly captures what makes Trick ’r Treat so much fun. It's creepy, violent, funny, and wickedly insane.
But Cox apparently had a very specific vision for how his character should look, and it involved transforming himself into the director of Halloween and The Thing.
Dougherty continued: “Especially because Brian Cox demanded that he look like John Carpenter. Which is why in the movie he's actually wearing prosthetics. He's wearing a prosthetic nose that gives him a little bit of a hook, and a scraggly gray wig.
“Initially, I didn't want to do it, but he insisted on it. So he went through hours of makeup to look like John Carpenter. I told Brian, ‘You already look like a grumpy old man.’ But he was obsessed.
“I had no idea Cox was wearing prosthetics to resemble Carpenter! It's such a strange and funny creative choice, especially considering how much Trick ’r Treat owes to the classic Halloween movies that came before it.”
Dougherty didn't explain exactly why Cox was so determined to resemble Carpenter, but the actor apparently wasn't willing to let the idea go. He wanted the look, and he got it. That meant spending hours in the makeup chair before filming scenes that required him to get physically thrown around by Sam.
Dougherty said the fight took about a week and a half to choreograph and shoot, giving him plenty of time to enjoy the absurdity of having an acclaimed actor battling his murderous Halloween mascot. When the production finally wrapped Cox's scenes, the actor had apparently had enough of the makeup.
Dougherty shared: “For about a week and a half, I got to choreograph this knock-down, drag-out fight. Then we finally called cut, and we wrapped Brian Cox. He said, ‘Never again!’
“He reached up and ripped off the prosthetics, which was kind of disturbing because it looked like he was ripping off his skin, like the aliens from V, revealing his true self.”
I can just picture Cox, exhausted after days of fighting a killer puppet, finally deciding he'd had enough and tearing the makeup off his face, and I love that Dougherty compared the moment to the aliens revealing their true reptilian appearance in V. That's such a perfect movie-geek observation.
The whole story makes me appreciate the Mr. Kreeg sequence even more. It's already one of the standout moments in Trick ’r Treat, with Sam unleashing all kinds of punishment on a man who has absolutely no respect for Halloween.
Knowing that Cox was secretly trying to channel John Carpenter underneath all that makeup adds another wonderfully fun layer to the scene.
It's also a reminder of how much personality went into making this movie. Between Dougherty's love of classic horror, Cox's unusual character choice, and the practical creature work bringing Sam to life, there's a real sense that everyone was having fun creating something twisted and memorable.