November 2, 2016

Yet another Halloween season has come on gone, and like most of you out there probably did, it was the perfect time to revisit and celebrate John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece – a film that has been ubiquitously linked to October 31st, especially for all of us lifelong horror fans.

The beauty of the original HALLOWEEN is that every time I see it, from wherever I am in my life, I tend to see new things to appreciate about it. As a little kid, I just saw it as a scary horror movie with a faceless killer. As a teenager that grew up with HALLOWEEN 2 in constant rotation every October on Network TV (and also got to experience HALLOWEEN 4 on the big screen), it became my primer for those sequels and the ones that came after. As an adult, and a writer, I tend to focus on the filmmaking craft, especially when compared to the vast, impressive filmography of Carpenter’s other genre films. But there was one thing that prominently stood out to me upon my 2016 Halloween season revisit, something that every single HALLOWEEN movie that followed has completely forgotten about: the “trick” aspect of Michael Myers.

Before I delve in and explain what exactly I mean by that, let me just offer a little context. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen a HALLOWEEN film in theaters, and while there are little aspects that I can appreciate about the Rob Zombie-helmed films, I don’t particularly like them very much. Before that, there was HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION, a movie I so desperately wanted to like that I went and saw it theatrically twice. Oof. So, the more I think about it, the more I realize that with the exception of revival screenings of the original, I’ve never gotten to see a great HALLOWEEN movie in theaters. Yes, I can argue that at least PART 4 was a fun time for me when I originally saw it at the impressionable age of 12, it’s still not very good. Or at least it’s not as great as the original.

What is it about Carpenter’s film that these other sequels have tried so hard to emulate and can’t quite hit the mark on? Well, for starters, you have to isolate and only analyze the original movie. Rob Zombie’s mistake is that his remake combined elements he remembered from both HALLOWEEN 1 and 2, and not solely 1. The biggest problem being Laurie Strode’s relation to Michael. If you’re a die-hard fan, then this isn’t news to you. Laurie Strode was never Michael’s sister until the sequel, much like Jason Voorhees wasn’t the killer of the original FRIDAY THE 13TH movie, it was Mrs. Voorhees. Every film after Carpenter’s has been tied down by this one central plot-point that gives a reason behind his madness, rather than simply letting him be pure evil.

In my Icons Of Fright interview with HALLOWEEN 6 screenwriter Dan Farrands, dated way back in 2005, we discussed in depth Michael’s motivations in the original Carpenter classic. During the course of our chat, he explained, “I always felt Michael was, for lack of a better term, a sexual deviant. A child trapped in a particular moment in time. He’s become so fixated on this event when he was a kid, which I think had a lot of sexual context to it and a lot of underpinnings of repressed sexuality to it. The original HALLOWEEN was very voyeuristic in nature, which was part of what made it so scary. It’s something the audience can’t quite put their finger on. But really what Michael does for the better part of the movie is just follow the girls around and watch them. He’s a watcher. And I think, at least in my view of who the character was, is that he became utterly fixated on this particular moment in time [the murder of his sister] and for whatever twisted reason he had to continually replay that for himself. Even as an adult. That’s why he escaped and had to go back and search out a girl who reminded him of a sister that once was. It wasn’t until the sequel [Halloween II] of course, where she [Laurie Strode] literally became the sister. But that was never the original intent. And I always thought it was much more interesting psychologically that Michael Myers fixates on a particular girl that excites him sexually. I think that’s something that all of the sequels have missed out on. They always pushed it into a different realm.”

I completely agree with all of the above, but here’s the thing that really stuck out to me on my most recent viewing. My friend had shown it in his backyard in South Pasadena, and to prep for this screening, I took my roommate to a lot of the original shooting locations in the neighboring area since it was shot in South Pas. Basically, what this did for us was inadvertently put us in Michael Myers’ shoes. So, as we watched the movie, we immediately thought back to standing in those same spots a mere half hour earlier. And it hit me… By HALLOWEEN II, Michael is completely unleashed. The repressed evil within him has struck and taken 4 victims (the 3 kids and the truck driver) and now he’s just out to kill at random. (Hence the girl he walks in on that’s on the phone.) In the original, he’s somewhat of a (for a lack of a better term) prankster.

Kids knock on the door on Halloween night and ask, “trick or treat?” Naturally, we want the candy, we want the treat. But what if it’s a trick? That’s the scary underlining sinister aspect of Halloween. And in the original film, Michael very cleverly stalks his prey. He plays with it. He doesn’t strike at Annie immediately. He holds back. He follows her around the house. He knocks over the plant and makes her look. He locks the car door and makes her go back into the house. After consistent toying, then he attacks.

With Bob, he hides in the freakin’ closet! I’m trying to think, and I’m sure someone out there will think of an example, but in what other slasher movie, or better yet, in what other HALLOWEEN movie, does Michael patiently wait in the closet as someone fumbles around the room before opening and discovering him? And then, he disguises himself as Bob when he goes up to claim Linda. Tell me you weren’t creeped out the first time you saw that door swing open and got a glimpse of Michael wearing a ghost sheet and Bob’s glasses?!

Yes, some of the sequels have tried to tap into that briefly, such as in HALLOWEEN 5 when Michael’s lurking around the house before finally taking out Rachel, which still to this day I consider an injustice. But it doesn’t have that same mischievous Halloween spirit to it, where he’s in the background and doing subtle things to make the characters on edge, so then he can strike on his prey when they least suspect it.

I’ve already written an article a few months back about what we hope to see in the next HALLOWEEN movie. But now, I’d really like to add to that wish list bringing back the “trick” aspect of Michael Myers. The Shape is a voyeur and a manipulator. He’s at his scariest when he plays and then strikes. Let’s go back to the simplicity of the original.