In 1978 John Carpenter and Debra Hill introduced audiences around the world to the masked murderer, Michael Myers. Returning home to the town of Haddonfield on Halloween night, Myers carved a murderous path through the teenagers of the town.
Changing the face of horror cinema, the film defined the slasher sub-genre of the 80’s spawning countless imitations such as Friday the 13th, Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine, but it has never been bested and stands as the king of the genre.
Making around $47 million off a budget of $300,000, the monumental success of the original meant that a sequel was inevitable however not many involved in the original wanted to go ahead with the idea, believing it would be nothing more than a rehash of the original.
Halloween 2
Carpenter and Hill’s reluctant involvement in the film came about as they felt that they were “owed pay” for their work on the original so both returned as producers with Carpenter penning the screenplay. Fueled by a six-pack of beer a day, Carpenter wrote a “frustrated” script which he regrets to this day as he removed a layer of mystery to Micheal Myers by revealing Laurie Strode to be his sister.
First choice director (and art director of the original) Tommy Lee Wallace described it as being the “antithesis of the original” as the suspense was substituted for gore. A decision which was ironically made in response to the growing popularity of the slasher genre.
After Tommy Lee Wallace left the project, Rick Rosenthal (who would go on to direct the abominable, Halloween: Resurrection) took the helm. His aim was to make the film a direct continuation not only in story but style (which was achieved by returning cinematographer, Dean Cundy).
The film begins directly after the end of the original with a wounded Myers, stalking the streets of Haddonfield, killing anyone that gets in his way in search of his long lost sister. Returning to the film, Jamie Lee Curtis spends most of the time recuperating from the events of the first film in a hospital.
Also returning as Myers “hands-on” psychiatrist, Dr Loomis was Donald Pleasence, who would feature in a further 3 films in the series (despite seemingly dying in an explosion at the end of this film). His significance to the series was described by Executive Producer, Irwin Yablans as being, “the glue that kept the sequels together” but he was much more.
His descriptions of Myers elevated the mystique of the character and the theatrical nature of his increasingly over the top performances were a real draw for the rest of his involvement in the series.
Although Rosenthal’s intention was to make the film his own, it couldn’t escape the shadow of the original by borrowing many cues from it such as Myers gradually appearing from the shadows moments before attacking his prey and the point of view shots from the original. The only real differences came as a result of the scaled-up budget leading to larger set pieces such as the explosive finale in the hospital.
Alan Howarth (who worked on the original score with John Carpenter) took the iconic score and added a Gothic element to it, however it can be argued that too much extra dubbing with synth diminished its impact. He would continue to do the score for every film until Halloween H20.
Upon its release, Halloween 2 was a box office success and went on to be the most commercially successful horror film of 1981. However, the film did not fare as well with critics who viewed it as a pale imitation of the original being quite pedestrian in its approach. Despite this, the film has garnered a greater appreciation over time as being one of the better slasher films of the ’80s.
Season of the Witch
With financial success also came talk of another sequel. Instead of continuing the Strodes/Myers story (which appeared to have ended with Micheal burning to death at the end of Halloween 2), Carpenter and Hill put forth the idea of making the franchise an anthology series with each film being its own story with the only connection being the holiday of Halloween.
This gave birth to Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, a film which was lambasted by critics and audiences alike. It seemed to have buried the franchise for good due to the absence of Myers and the outlandish and nihilistic nature of the film’s plot which centred around an apocalyptic cult.
Shortly after this failure, Carpenter and Hill sold the rights of the series to Moustapha Akkad who sought to bring Myers back to the series in response to Season of the Witch. Although they had ended their involvement in the series Carpenter and Hill handed in a treatment which focused on the aftermath of the events of Halloween night in 1978 in what would have been a ghost story/psychological thriller.
The Return of Michael Myers
Akkad rejected it in favour of something along the lines of the original. By focussing on the original Akkad’s ignored elements of the end of the second film allowing not only Myers but Dr Loomis to return to the series.
The film opens with Myers escaping from an ambulance, escorting him to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, before shifting gear by presenting Jamie (the daughter of the now-dead Laurie Strode and niece to Micheal Myers) who lives with a foster family.
As Jamie, Danielle Harris is terrific in a very mature performance for her young age. Haunted by her uncle’s murderous legacy she gets by with the love and support of her sister Rachel, played by Ellie Cornell (as the film’s proxy Laurie Strodes). Stuntman, George Wilbur assumed the intimidating role of the shape but in between takes he would remove the haunting mask to assure Harris that what they were doing was just a movie.
Working from a script that was written in 11 days director, Dwight H. Little wanted to “capture the mood of the original” as well as “taking chances” with the film. The result was a workmanlike slasher with a shocking ending that ties into the beginning of the first film as Jamie (influenced by the evil of her uncle) attacks her foster mother with a pair of scissors.
Critics had a mixed response to the film but a healthy box office meant that the Return of Micheal Myers was not to be the last in the series. As with the second film, the film has garnered a greater appreciation over time with many fans considering it to be the best sequel in the series.
The Revenge of Michael Myers
Despite being shot down a well by the Haddonfield police department at the end of the fourth film, Myers survived and would return for more carnage in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Micheal Myers. Rushed into production without a finished screenplay the fifth entry in the series would prove to be problematic.
Taking the reigns, director Dominique Othenin-Girard was said to have been extremely eccentric on set adding a “European” touch to the film but a number of inexplicable character decisions (such as making Jamie mute and killing off fan favourite Rachel early in the film) as well as out of place plot points (the inclusion of the Man in Black character) would prove to be a step to far for fans of the series but for some the worst was yet to come.
Enter, Tina Williams (played by Wendy Foxworth) who assumed the lead scream queen role in the film. Her obnoxious eccentricities were so grating that by the time her character met her untimely demise at the hands of Myers, the audience at the premiere were said to have been cheering. However, not all was lost as a returning Donald Pleasence reached peak madness in the film making it at the very least watchable.
In an attempt to create an ending as shocking as the previous film, Othenin-Girard utilised the newly introduced Man in Black character to create a shocking cliffhanger. The result was anything but as a recently incarcerated Myers escapes from a prison cell with the help of the mysterious Man in Black who shoots up the entire police station Myers was kept in.
Unsurprisingly the film became the least successful in the series financially and yet again it was slated by the critics, once again casting doubt over the future of the series. After a series of legal battles, the rights to the film were bought over by Miramax pictures (owned by the infamous Weinsteins). Despite being directed by Joe Chappelle the heavy interference from the Weinsteins resulted in a troubled production.
The Curse of Michael Myers
Picking up 6 years after the events of the previous film, Halloween 6 marked the return of Donald Pleasence (in his final film role) but the same was not meant for Danielle Harris. Being underage at the time of production she was advised to become legally emancipated in order to return to the film (in order to overcome underage night shoot laws).
The process cost Harris around $5,000 but instead of being reimbursed to return to the series she was only offered $1,000. The whole experience led to her departure from the production only to be replaced by J.C. Brady.
In the film, Jamie escapes the cult of Thorn (linked to the Man in Black from the previous film) with her newborn child during a sacrificial ceremony. Her demented uncle (commanded by the Man in Black) soon catches up with her and kills her (but not before she can hide her newborn child). The child is found by Tommy (the boy who used to be babysat by Laurie Strode) who has been obsessed with Micheal ever since his first encounter with him in 1978.
This sets Myers off on a killing spree in pursuit of the child. Sound convoluted? Well, it is.
Daily rewrites (due to constant interference from the Weinsteins) and reshoots, left the film’s third act was left as a disjointed mess. The alternative “producers cut” goes some way to explaining a lot of the film’s inconsistencies but the film seemed doomed from the get-go as the film’s subtitle, The Curse of Micheal Myers perfectly sums up the troubled production.
Despite making more money than it’s predecessor the critical backlash was similar to its predecessor with many citing it as being the worst of the series. The only real memorable aspect of the film is that it marked Paul Rudd’s film debut as Tommy.
H2O
With the huge success of Scream in 1996, interest in the Halloween series grew again. Scream scribe, Kevin Williamson even came up with a story to continue the series where Laurie Strode would be brought back having faked her own death to face off against Micheal once more.
However Halloween 7: The Revenge of Laurie Strode was not to be as producers wanted to completely retcon the series ignoring the events after part 2. This marked the first change in what would become an ever-increasingly confusing timeline for the series.
Although John Carpenter almost returned to direct the film, money disputes meant that he left the project with Steve Miner taking his place. Miner no stranger to the genre having directed parts 2 and 3 of the Friday the 13th series seemed like the reliable option but he turned out to be a yes man for producers.
Despite Carpenter’s absence, Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the series as Laurie Strode as a way of thanking the fans of her early career but the absence of Carpenter and changes to the film (particularly in the climax) which she found disappointing made her publicly declare that she mainly reprised her role for the money.
Taking place 20 years after the events of Halloween 2, the film focuses on Laurie trying to move on from the fateful Halloween night in her home town of Haddonfield (which is not too dissimilar from the 2018 film) but her past catches up with her as Micheal returns once more to finish the job he started 20 years ago once and for all.
Upon its release, H20 was hailed as being one of the best films in the series with a solid cast and a tense showdown between Michael and Laurie at the end but it still paled in comparison to the original. However strong box office figures dictated that despite decapitation (which was easily resolved with a hackneyed switcheroo) Micheal would return.
Ressurection
What followed H20 was arguably the lowest point of the series, Halloween: Resurrection. Despite trying to utilise a found footage gimmick in the series, the film fails on almost every level.
The dire nature of the film can be summed up in the following scene description; “Busta Rhymes Kung fu kicks Michael Myers out of a window”.
That is as good a place as any to leave Halloween: Resurrection.
The Rob Zombie years
Following the success of horror remakes such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead, a remake of Halloween was offered to Rob Zombie to write and direct. Zombie leapt at the opportunity even going as far as seeking John Carpenter’s blessing who told him to “make it his own”.
With this Zombie made the film part prequel/ part remake.
The first half of the film centres on Myers as a child and tries to explain how he became the iconic Boogeyman however this uninspired decision completely demystified the character by essentially saying that Myers became a murderous psychopath because he had a poor upbringing. Zombie even went as far as painting Dr Loomis (played by Malcolm McDowell) as a slimy egotist who wants to take advantage of the Myers case to write a best seller much to the dissatisfaction of fans.
The second half of the film is basically a condensed version of the original film which replaces tension with visceral gore and violence. In doing so the film induces repulsion rather than fear. Released to box office success, critics slammed the film, not for Zombie’s ambition to do something different (which is admirable) but for embracing too many all-too-familiar genre tropes and layering them with a brutal edge.
Originally Zombie was reluctant to do a sequel as he was exhausted from his 2007 iteration of the film but eventually he came on board stating that he wanted to retain his vision for the series. However, this would be to the film’s detriment as Zombie’s intention was to make the film more of a psychological horror that looked at the relationship between Michael and Laurie.
This was a failure as the film felt rushed and silly in places relying on a needlessly brutal edge. With its shortcomings, the series was left in limbo once more in an almost irredeemable state.
Halloween Kills/ Halloween Ends
With the recent release of Halloween (2018) to widespread acclaim and the announcement of sequels, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends (due for release in 2020 and 2021 respectively) the words of young Tommy Wallace from over 40 years ago ring truer than ever: “you can’t kill the Boogeyman”.
What is it that has kept this series alive after so many sequels and misfires? For me it all comes down to Myers and the mystique of his character. How the simple figure of a shape in a mask transforms into a force of nature that infiltrates and terrorises American suburbia to the chimes of John Carpenter’s iconic score.
