August 18, 2005

Being an avid horror fan much like the rest of you faithful readers out there, we know that there are a few certainties that we will have to face in our lives. Death, taxes, and the inevitable return of Michael Myers. The question on the lips of all Halloween fans across the country though is “When?” We’ve all been eagerly awaiting any breaking news on the next Halloween film, which we’ve been promised by the Akkad’s since the release of 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection. So, what’s the hold up? And what exactly is in store for Michael Myers on his next deadly outing? No one knows for sure. But let’s take a look at all the rumors that have been making the rounds and see what we can come up with.

Among the many rumors floating around is weather Michael Myers should return for a ‘Halloween 9‘ or if he should be reborn in a ‘Halloween‘ remake. Now, before you purists start screaming blasphemy, let’s get all the facts together and really analyze what it is we, as fans, want from the future of the Halloween franchise.

Why remake “a classic”? Why bother retelling a story that’s already been told? The biggest factor from a fan’s point of view would be that there’s no more story left to tell. The Halloween sequels have since worn out every possible direction. And without the Loomis character played by Donald Pleasence or the Laurie Stode character; killed off in the last sequel, what situation could Michael Myers possibly be put in next?

The rumor from one source is that in Halloween 9, a group of teens break into the now abandoned Smiths Groove Sanitarium on Halloween night and disturb a certain white-masked maniac, who’s been hiding out in the building since his house burned to the ground during the climactic final scene of the last Halloween film. The only saving grace to this rehashed storyline is that Michael would have to square off against a returning character, former Sheriff Brackett – with Charles Cyphers reprising the role. (and who surprisingly now resembles Donald Pleasence!) This could work considering the sequels have been missing out on the “Loomis” character since Donald’s death in 1995, and it’s highly unlikely that Paul Rudd would ever return to the series as fan favorite Tommy Doyle. There’s less chance of Josh Hartnett reprising his role as John Tate from Halloween H20. But when you seriously stop to think about it, is the above scenario really the Halloween film we want to see with our beloved horror icon Michael Myers?

Which brings us to the question of remakes. The studios take on remakes? Remakes in this day and age are big business. Both Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror proved that. And some of John Carpenter’s classic films are already being remade. (Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog). Mind you, those of you who hate the idea of remakes forget that there have been some really great remakes, now considered classics. After all, John Carpenter’s The Thing was a remake. So, was David Cronenberg’s The Fly. So, why not do a remake of one of the most successful independent films of all time? Halloween. One of the interesting possibilities to remaking Halloween would be wiping the slate clean on both sloppy sequel continuity and character motivation.

We’ve been told through-out the sequels that Michael’s sole motivation is to kill his sister. And now with Laurie Strode out of the picture, does he really have a valid motivation that’s driving the rage within him? Well, what if we go back and look at the first movie and completely remove the sister element to really examine Michael for what he truly is. Dan Farrands, writer of Halloween 6 broke it down for us in his recent Icons Of Fright interview. “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. But the basic simplicity of that character makes it so much more frightening.”

The potential for future Halloween films spawned from a remake are limitless, and might be just what the character would need to be fresh, contemporary and once again remind movie-goers who the reigning king of slasher films is!

Filmmaker Adam Barnick added, “We knew very little in the original Halloween about Michael Myers other than what we saw, and the frightening notion that his own analyst saw things in him that scarred him for life and knew he had to contain Michael forever, since he couldn’t be stopped. As a culture, audiences projected their own fears onto Michael and that featureless mask. We simply didn’t know what he, or it, was thinking, only that it could come and find us anywhere and kill us. It was a pure and unimaginable evil somehow poured into a boy. Donald Pleasence and the writing sold us on the threat, along with Carpenter’s skill and his army of craftsmen. There’s a depth and intelligence in the writing in the first Halloween along with the impeccable cinematography and original suspense. The thing that really drove part one was the fact that Michael was simply – the Boogeyman. An element. Fear and murder on two legs.”

But what if the producers moved forward from Halloween: Resurrection and continued the franchise with Halloween 9. We asked Dan Farrands how he would approach a sequel if he ever got the chance to write another Michael Myers story. “What I would do? Well, my first answer is I would just stop! (laughs) Call it a day. And let Michael go to the old people’s home for retired slashers! But if they really wanted to make one and do it right, the only story left to tell, in my opinion, is the prequel story and intersperse that with a modern story.”

Well, that could work. But you’d need a filmmaker with a fresh vision to make it plausible. Why not bring in some new blood and get their thoughts on what could work in a Halloween sequel. We talked to two up and coming New York filmmakers whom we’d personally like to see tackle a Halloween movie. Stevan Mena and Dante Tomaselli.

Stevan Mena already proved he could handle the classic feel and suspense of an old-school horror movie with his impressive debut Malevolence, which is essence is an homage to the original Halloween. We asked Stevan if he’d be up to the challenge and what he’d do. “Yes, but I would like to continue the story in the ONLY logical place, which is to re-imagine the ending of Halloween 2, and continue from there. And I do have an idea for that.”

And how about Dante’s thoughts on another Halloween sequel? “I’m not against another Halloween. My favorites were the first two, especially the first. But you know, Satan’s Playground was influenced by Halloween, The Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Mood? Atmosphere? Old school? I think I’m your guy for that. I’d really like to work within the suspense “slasher” format at some point. And a Halloween sequel would be a perfect vehicle… After The Ocean is out of my system, of course.”

Adam Barnick agrees with us on bringing in new blood. “I’m not against more Halloweens. I’m against DUMB Halloweens. I don’t think the reason people groan when a new Halloween film comes out is because we’re up to parts 7, 8, 9 etc. If they were all as well-constructed and deep as part one, who would mind? If they could craft a remake that got back into the psychological complexity of Michael, along with the mythology of evil embodied in him, they might do an OK job. If it happened, it needs to be done like the original – Independently. Let one of our modern up and comers like Stevan or Dante at it, or the High Tension guys, with 2 million or less, no huge names, and no rap stars. Down and dirty with a real premise. Then it’ll be worth it.”

We weighed in with a few more people on their thoughts as to a Halloween remake or sequel. Lance Warlock knows a bit about the Halloween franchise. His father played Michael Myers in Halloween 2, and he appeared in the film as the infamous boom box boy. “I think a remake could be OK. But I feel it’s hard to jump on that bandwagon. The original is a very well done film. Why remake it? Just to make a profit? There is probably some hot director out there that could really have a blast with doing this project. But I again think, Why? Continuing the story into a ninth sequel I’m also not sure about either. Is there a story line that could be interesting enough for today’s audience? Michael is a very cool character that should live on, but I’m not sure about living on in another Halloween film. Either way, the fans will keep him living!”

We also spoke to huge horror buff and the writer / director of the upcoming film 2001 Maniacs Tim Sullivan and here’s his thoughts. “There is no doubt in my mind that the original Halloween is one of the top ten horror films of all time. It is a classic of mood and atmosphere, and there was nothing like discovering Michael Myers for the first time. Another sequel? No, thank you. Remake? No way. But then I said that about Texas Chainsaw, and I was proven wrong. Perhaps the best thing to do with Michael Myers is have him meet up with Freddy and Jason on Elm Street.”

There were rumors at one point that Michael Myers would meet up and battle Hellraiser’s iconic Pinhead. And despite what people were saying, both Clive Barker and John Carpenter were very into the idea of writing and directing it; respectively. But it seems that the general public consensus is that Michael Myers belongs in his own universe and his own film, rather then battling another popular cult icon of fright.

The future of Michael Myers and the Halloween franchise is still as of this article, up in the air. But like every other fan out there, we’ll be waiting for the latest news on the next film with baited breath. And with the hope that there is still potential to make a fantastic and worthy Halloween film. Let’s just hope Busta Rhymes doesn’t return!!!

Either way, you can always go to your DVD or video shelf and put on the original John Carpenter classic!