HALLOWEEN- BEHIND THE SCENES

     John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN is one of my all-time favorite films- it's not even a movie to me, since I first saw it way back when, it's always been presented to me as myth, legend, if you guys know what I mean. A tale to be passed down, told to huddled children to frighten them to death if you will. Very much like FRIDAY THE 13TH was, while we're yapping about it. It was always hard for me to imagine a man directing actors playing residents of Haddonfield, IL being stalked by a creepy killer, and it's even more surreal today seeing all these amazing behind-the-scenes pics you have before you, thanks to that nifty ole' internetz. I don't know about you kids but I've never seen 90% of these photos before and it's rocking my face off.

Whatever Happened to the Strodes?

     So while watching HALLOWEEN 2 recently on blu-ray ('tis the season...), something struck me as rather odd that I'd never thought of before.  When Laurie is taken to Haddonfield Memorial, she is asked about her parents by Mrs. Elrod. It's mentioned that her parents were at the same party as Dr. Mixter, but we never hear about them again. I find this all rather strange.

     Surely one would think that even after leaving a party, they would hear the news about the horrific attacks by Michael Myers- Haddonfield is a small town so you would think they would know their daughter is hospitalized after being attacked by a knife-wielding madman. Right?

BLACK SHEEP STANDOFF- HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH VS. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING

     There are certain horror films that resonate with audiences, causing them to want more of the story and characters which leads to a long-running series of films that inevitably become a franchise- THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, JAWS, ALIEN, HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and so on. And there's always a black sheep of the franchise, that one film that everybody generally hates and is usually blamed for ruining said franchise. HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH and FRIDAY THE 13Th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING are two perfect examples of this and are generally brought up when it comes to "bad" films in a franchise- although they are usually lumped in together as if they're both equally bad.  And this is simply not true.

       I've said it before and I'll say it yet again- I grew up watching HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN 2 and I found Michael Myers to be very frightening in both films. I thought the original and the 1981 sequel made a great horror story and brought a truly iconic and frightening new movie monster to haunt our nightmares. And I was immensely ready to follow the whole Carpenter/Hill/Wallace crazy train of a brand new film to be released each October with an all new story and characters to form some sort of annual anthology like The Twilight Zone or Tales From the Darkside, but on the big screen. Which meant no more Michael Myers, as he died at the end of the sequel and was John Carpenter's wish that he never returned. No more Jamie Lee or Donald Pleasance. And you know what? I was totally fine with all this. Usher in HALLOWEEN 3, which we all know was universally hated because it didn't have Michael Myers in it. No. Audiences just wanted more Michael killing people.

     Which brings us to FRIDAY THE 13TH. The first four films featuring Jason Voorhees are prime examples of the 1980's slasher and honestly are the strongest slasher series of all time, if you ask me. I personally hated every HALLOWEEN movie after part 3, as they never even came close to capturing the mystery and terror of Michael in the first two films. Yet the first four FRIDAY films are solid entries and brought something new to the table each time. However, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING brought nothing new to the table as it was just a tired retread of the first four, whereas the third HALLOWEEN film is far superior in writing, acting, directing, editing, and camera work. There was obviously loads of talent that went into the making of HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH, it's just audiences weren't ready to embrace the dark undertones as it was ahead of its time. It's now a bona fide cult classic that generally gets tons of praise on its actors, the director, and cinematographer. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING had zero talent involved, and it's painfully obvious while watching. All the magic of the first four is nowhere to be seen in the fifth installment. It's crass and cheap and looks it- yet watching HALLOWEEN 3 today on blu-ray you're astounded at how well the film holds up. Now I'm not saying HALLOWEEN 3 is a masterpiece, as the film certainly has its own faults. What I am saying though is that a group of very talented people went out on a creative limb in a boldly original and downright ballsy move to make HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH. Had they resurrected Jason with the sixth installment (which is far superior), instead of the awful Part 5, well now that would be a different story entirely. There was simply no valid reason for making part 5- audiences assumed the last film was truly the final chapter and that was that. Besides, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET had exploded, so once again there was really no point in bringing Jason back. It was an anemic sequel that injected nothing new into the mythology of Camp Crystal Lake, and looked like it was made for about $100. I'm not shy about my disdain for A NEW BEGINNING, so there's that. Besides HALLOWEEN 3 has a much cooler movie poster and soundtrack. I'm just saying.

Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers

      After the failure of the much-hated yet very underrated HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH, the powers-that-be knew (or thought they did) that they must bring back Michael to satisfy the hordes of blood-thirsty movie-goers in the late 80's. Which really doesn't make sense, as by then the slasher genre was pretty much dead anyway. APRIL FOOL'S DAY, from 1986, was a clever tongue-in-cheek satire of those hoary slashers of the early 80's, seeming to already know the genre was on its way out. And, by the mid-to-late 80's, the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and HELLRAISER films had ushered in a new dimension of supernatural terror. Jason Voorhees was having a hard enough time keeping up with the changes in horror, so why they felt compelled to resurrect Michael Myers is honestly beyond me.

     Now it was the 10th anniversary of the original so I'll give them that.... but still.  Nothing against Michael Myers- he's my favorite slasher. I can't praise the first two HALLOWEEN films enough. But I truly feel the story had been played out by this point. I've said many times before and I'm saying it again- I feel they should have still forged ahead with the whole HALLOWEEN anthology films after killing off Michael in Part 2, which was the original plan in the first place. Those two films alone would have been a great contribution to the classic slasher genre. But oh no. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a good horror icon being milked to death until it reaches a point of utter absurdity- it's happened to Dracula, Frankenstein, and countless others. And it happened to Michael Myers when some noodle-head decided it would be cool to bring him back to life.This is when the HALLOWEEN films jumped the shark, in my opinion. Not the third one. This one. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS starts off promising- the opening credits are quite effective. So good, in fact, that nothing else in the entire film lives up to those first few minutes. A wonderfully sinister atmosphere is established with the credits and the score that really captures the spirit of the season, but don't get your hopes up, kids. All hopes are shattered once the story begins. And it goes a little something like this.

       Michael Myers has been in a coma for the past ten years since terrorizing Haddonfield and Laurie Strode. Myers is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to good ole' Smiths Grove. Our favorite final girl, Laurie Strode, is what the fuck are you telling me here dead- YES, DEAD!?!.... but her daughter, Jamie Lloyd (played by Danielle Harris), is alive and well and living in Haddonfield. Jamie was adopted by the Carruthers family, and is plagued by nightmares of Michael (?). I don't know either. Suddenly Michael awakens in the ambulance after hearing one of the orderlies talking about his niece, escapes, and immediately sets his sights on little Jamie. Being Halloween night, little Jamie goes out trick-r-treating, unaware that she's now the target of her uncle's rage. Frazzled Dr. Loomis is still around preachin' the gospel, and rushes to Haddonfield once again, foaming at the mouth. The chase is on to protect little Jamie. There are several things I found horribly wrong with all this.

     First off- why in the world would you kill off Laurie Strode? Unforgivable. Blah. Second- Danielle Harris. I'm sure she's a lovely lady and actress, and this is nothing personal against her earlier, but her character really grated on my nerves. I tried to accept it all, and just couldn't. It was difficult for me to accept this shrieking little girl as Jamie Lee's replacement. Third- the mask is just not the same. Like, at all. It just looks too silly to me to take seriously. This is not the terrifying Michael Myers of my youth who haunted my dreams. He's just not scary this go 'round. Michael has no neck in this installment, and seems to be sporting some Joan Crawford-worthy shoulder pads here. The finished effect is just goofy looking, sorry not sorry. Fourth- the characters are not one bit likable. At all. I was furious a mere 30 minutes into this movie, and wanted them all dead immediately.

     And what is up with the current residents of Haddonfield?  You would think after the events of the first two films, that it wouldn't take an act of Congress to get them the least bit concerned about the return of the masked killer. It seems to take practically the entire movie to convince them they are in any sort of danger. Snore. Fifth- does nobody remember the ending of HALLOWEEN 2?  Laurie shot out Michael's eyes, right before Dr. Loomis blows the hospital up, remember? I suppose I should find some solace in the fact that the awesome Donald Pleasance returned for this dreck, but I couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed for him the entire time.

     Now I'm completely in the minority here, and perfectly willing to accept that.I used to think I was the only one who loved HALLOWEEN 3, but the film is a bona fide cult classic today. I still find the third film to have far more creativity and actual intelligence involved- whereas this one is just re-hashing somebody else's original ideas to capitalize on the 10th anniversary of the first film. HALLOWEEN fans vehemently love and defend this sequel- and that's fine.  But it's just not HALLOWEEN to me. The absence of John Carpenter, Debra Hill, and Jamie Lee Curtis is glaringly obvious, and probably is a large part of my dislike for this movie. And this is just NOT Michael Myers either- it's somebody pretending to be him, and badly at that. He is about as scary as Richard Simmons, honestly.  And what's up with the hair on this mask?  In some scenes he resembles a manic Neil Diamond.

     If it were me, I would have celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the original HALLOWEEN simply by re-releasing the first two films in theaters to show audiences what started the slasher craze in the first place. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS just does not bring anything new to the table.  It's not a terrible film.  It's not a glaring disappointment.  It's greatest crime is that it's boring.  Slashers were pretty much dead by 1988, and by that time of the decade, most were pale imitations of HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH anyway.  So.... I don't really see the point of this. Oh well. If you have never experienced a HALLOWEEN film or the terror of Michael Myers, I suggest picking up the first two sequels and leaving it at that. The intentions of this film were good, but the finished product just doesn't do Carpenter or Curtis justice. Maybe it was just a product of its time. Maybe I was somewhat jaded as a wee junior in high school.  Maybe it was Maybelline. Or maybe it should have never been made at all. Because all it really accomplished was opening the door for even more mindless and ridiculous sequels. I don't hate this film. But I don't understand the love for it either. I'll give it one more try, and maybe I can find something in there I missed.

P.S.- the original movie poster is pretty awesome, I will give it that!

 

More Halloween-themed movies, please!

     I  re-watched the 2007 horror comedy anthology "Trick 'r Treat" recently.  I remember thinking that even though the movie wasn't the greatest, I enjoyed the film and respected that it was paying such obvious homage to Halloween night.  I love it when a film, especially a horror film, explores the time period of October 31st.  John Carpenter did it exquisitely with "Halloween".  It perfectly evoked the magic and mystery of that special night of the year. (I still lament the decision of the powers-that-be behind the "Halloween" franchise to bring back Michael Myers in the fourth sequel, instead of following the original idea of a yearly anthology of Halloween-related stories.  Why somebody doesn't jump on this is beyond me.  The possibilities here would be endless..).  And although pretty uneven in its storytelling, "Trick 'r Treat" offers up some spectacular Halloween atmosphere and imagery.  Which makes me long for more horror films taking place on or around Halloween.  It just adds that extra-special touch, doesn't it?

     There is just something about October that lends itself so well to horror.  Maybe it's just a huge part of me that refuses to let go completely of my childhood.  All the monsters of my youth ran rampant throughout the month of October- Dracula, Frankenstein, Michael Myers and Jason. I grew up in an exact copy of Haddonfield- I related to every minute of John Carpenter's "Halloween" (well, except the sex scene- I was only ten!)  October to me meant pumpkins and black cats, witches and ghosts, overcast days and falling leaves.  It meant listening over and over to Disney's "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House" and watching every late-night horror flick I could find.  Halloween was the most magical time of the year to me, and it signified the beginning of the holidays.  I love, love, love Halloween even more now as an adult, I think.  As a matter of a fact I'll be finishing my Halloween decorations today at the house.  So on that note, I'm going to finish decorating.  I'll leave you with some of that rad Disney record.  It's the perfect day for it.
   

Audience Reaction To "Halloween" (1978)

     This is like the coolest thing ever. This is horror history right here.  It's an actual audio recording of an audience watching and reacting to the very first "Halloween" in a Hollywood theater.  I find this stuff utterly fascinating, and would love to find more footage like this- audio or video.  So rad.

SCARY SOUNDS- Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch

   
     Once again, John Carpenter teamed up with Alan Howarth and created yet another awesome and eerie score for the vastly underrated "Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch".  It irritates the hell out of me that so many can't seem to let themselves enjoy all "Halloween 3" has to offer, and the same certainly goes for the score.  It's a perfect example of 80s-synth horror and how it could be so effective when done right.  Once again, like the previous two, there is no symphonic score whatsoever.  It's a great piece, and probably besides the first two, definitely one of the most interesting of the "Halloween" scores.  Regardless of how you feel about the film, the score evokes a great October/Halloween mood.  This is a damn good soundtrack to a very underrated movie.  Check it out.  It's well worth a purchase.

SCARY SOUNDS- Halloween 2

     "Halloween 2" is one of my all-time favorite, yet underrated slashers- and I find the score just as underrated as the film itself.  Of course everybody is familiar with John Carpenter's infamous "Halloween" score.  This time around, for "Halloween 2", Carpenter and Alan Howarth truly created, in my opinion, the most original and moody score of all the "Halloween" films.  I'm not saying it's better or worse than the original score- I'm saying that it's different and unique and rewarding in its own right.  I honestly find Carpenter's 1978 score to be slightly repetitive- it kind of just re-cycles the same pieces of music over and over again.  It's a classic score- don't get me wrong here.  But "Halloween 2" offers up much more original pieces of music, and as far as atmosphere goes, I find the second score offering much more.  Abandoning the piano here for much more heavy synth and gothic organ, it's a bit off-putting at first, but I promise you- in the dark, "Halloween 2" comes across as much more polished and darker than the previous score.

     Obviously, Carpenter and friends had more money this time around, and it shows.  They didn't try to change the "Halloween" theme- no real modifications were made to the iconic theme here.  It's all just played in different synthesizer tones, and the use of the organ here works great in creating a wonderfuly dark sense of doom and dread.  And just about every piece of music used in the film shows up on the soundtrack, which is kind of rare for film scores.  I find "Halloween 2" to be a superb horror score- it truly creates a strong and chilling atmosphere.  I honestly find this to be the best interpretation of Carpenter's "Halloween" theme, and the score is a must for any serious fan of horror scores.  It's wonderfully spooky and rich, and sounds superb, especially loud.  You cannot go wrong with this soundtrack- I promise you, play this on Halloween night, and people will love it.  I constantly get asked what cd I'm playing, and people are always surprised when I tell them it's "Halloween 2".  Even if you don't even like the "Halloween" films, you cannot go wrong with this cd! Yes, I love it that much!  I do recommend the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Halloween 2"- packed full of shocks and scares!  Here are just some of the chilling selections from "Halloween 2", which just might be the best horror score of all time...  Turn out the lights and enjoy!

The Many Faces of Michael Myers

     Maybe it's me, but I just don't find Michael Myers in any of the latter HALLOWEEN sequels to be frightening, and it's definitely the mask that ruins it all. Why? Because they obviously don't use the same one, kittens.Does nobody else notice this? It was the mask that made the original so creepy in the first place. Just finding some cheap, white mask that somewhat resembles the original just doesn't cut it for me. I don't care what anybody says- it's just not the same.  The original, Shatner mask is so much more frightening.  So I've rounded up shots from each HALLOWEEN film to compare. What do you think?


     The mask that launched a million nightmares... John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN. Simple. Iconic, Terrifying.
                   

 Michael still looked like Michael in HALLOWEEN 2, and was still pretty damn scary.  

                                               
     Okay, in HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, this is where they lost me. What is this? This looks like a $5 knockoff you get at Wal-Mart. And it kinda resembles the lead singer from Sugar Ray. No.
         

     So I really hate this next one.  It looks like Tim Allen for crying out loud.  And HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS is just a terrible movie period.

Okay, in HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, it's closer to the original Shatner mask, but still not quite right.  But even if they had used the original mask, this movie would still suck donkey balls.

Again, close to the original, but not quite...HALLOWEEN: H20...

HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION... lol enough said...

           I'm not even commenting on these...  Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN.
                 

Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2.

So there you have it.  I can honestly only take the first two seriously. After that, the films are far too corny to take seriously, and the mask only makes them all the more humorous. Just me though.  

SCARY SOUNDS- John Carpenter's Halloween

      Once again, the magic of October is upon us.  Yes kids, it's that time of year again.  The days of falling leaves and cool breezes.  Pumpkins on front porches and black cats lurking.  There's a faintly damp smell in the air, as the shadows grow long and days grow short.  Halloween.  The most awesome and magical holiday of the year- at least to me.  Of course I love Christmas, but Halloween is just the coolest of them all.  It was practically mythical in my eyes already as a small child, so by the time I first saw John Carpenter's "Halloween", it sealed the deal completely.  The two are so intertwined now that it's impossible to mention the month of October and not think of Laurie Strode screaming and Michael Myers stalking.

     Of course we're all familiar with the iconic score for John Carpenter's classic "Halloween".  It's one of the most instantly recognizable pieces of film music ever, and has firmly embedded itself in pop culture until the end of time.  The "Halloween" soundtrack is a must have for any serious fan of horror or film in general, for that matter, and is a perfect example of the power of music.  So lock your doors, bolt your windows, and turn out the lights... here are some chilling selections from John Carpenter's immortal and classic score for his immortal and classic slasher, "Halloween".

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

"The Night No One Comes Home!"

     Yes I know- it's the most hated of the franchise. Virtually everybody in the world it seems to absolutely detest HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH.  But in all honesty, that's hard for me to swallow.  I'm used to being in the minority anyway when it comes to the things I truly dig, so here goes. I actually find the third installment much more entertaining and creative than the rest of the franchise. Yes, I said it. It's true. And I'm not ashamed to admit this either...

     This was a terrible flop when released,  as audiences in 1982 simply wanted gore and more gore, and they wanted Michael Myers providing it. HALLOWEEN 3 came hot off the heels of the sequel, which grossed $25.5 million in 1981.  Movie-goers didn't quite feel the same way about the third, and I just can't understand why.  I honestly believe that if the movie was never released as a HALLOWEEN film at all, it would have an entirely different reputation. The only reason people hate this movie so much is the absence of Michael Myers and Jamie Lee Curtis. If it had simply been titled SEASON OF THE WITCH, with no reference to the HALLOWEEN films at all, I think the film's reputation would have been far greater today.

     Because in all honesty, it's actually quite good. I'm being totally serious here. This movie is nowhere as "bad" as it's supposed to be, and there's lots to love here.People just can't seem to grasp the concept that Carpenter and crew figured that Michael Myers was actually dead at the end of HALLOWEEN 2,and that they never intended to be an anthology of films featuring him anyway, so why bring him back?

     Instead, they thought that a whole slew of spooky stories about October 31st would be a much more creative and energetic series. The original idea was to do a Twilight Zone-like series of movies, all having something to do with the actual date of October 31st, but not the storyline of the original. No Haddonfield. No Laurie Strode. No Dr. Loomis. No Michael Myers. Just a bunch of creepy stories centering around Halloween and all its rich atmosphere. So after the success of HALLOWEEN 2,  the powers that be figured audiences would be ready for this new direction in the series. Which... they weren't. Slashers were white hot at the time- fantasy/horror hadn't become popular yet.  Audiences still wanted a masked killer with a knife offing horny teens, and I think this film was a bit too intelligent and ahead of its time.

      I still firmly believe that the original concept would have been a much more rewarding and creative series of movies. I mean, think about this for a minute. Imagine the possibilities of say, ten different films, all taking place on or around October 31st, but all different, original storylines... Are you seeing what I'm getting at here?  Imagine the possibilities!

      SEASON OF THE WITCH is actually much better written, has much better cinematography, direction and acting, and is honestly just put together better overall than all of those later HALLOWEEN films combined.  It's actually a dark and strange little horror movie, the kind of story you might find in an old issue of "Tales From the Crypt" or a hoary old episode of that late-night staple, "Tales From the Darkside". It offers a taste of what the series could and should have been, instead of the disappointing and annoying HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS...  This movie offers an amazing sense of dread and fear- great atmosphere.  Superb October atmosphere, to be exact.

     The film is based on an idea that there is a evil plot by a mask company who with the aid of witchcraft,  intend to kill the children of America on Halloween night through a series of masks- witch, skull, and jack-o-lantern. Sounds silly, right?  Sure. It is silly. But HALLOWEEN 3 really is just like a good episode of the old "Tales From the Darkside" that I used to watch late at night.  I mean, you get Tom Atkins,  first and foremost, which I'll take in any movie. It's Tom Atkins!  Plus you get a great and eerie electronic score (brilliantly synthesized and moody!), creepy Stepford-like men in suits, an INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS-type conspiracy, witchcraft, tons of bugs and snakes, and some clever homages to the original HALLOWEEN and other classic horror films. Oh and that damn Silver Shamrock jingle that will not leave your head once you've heard it.  I find myself endlessly fascinated and mystified by SEASON OF THE WITCH, because it's just so different and daring. And dark. This really is a twisted and diabolical little movie.  It's just frustrating because so many people have such a closed mind when it comes to this movie.

     Now as far as actually being as 'scary' as the original?  No, it's not. But it is a quietly disturbing little horror movie that actually does have a lot to offer, if only given the chance. People complain about how formulaic and un-creative Hollywood can be, yet when they actually do try something creative, they're crucified for it.  Let's face it- the latter HALLOWEEN movies are just nowhere near the level of the first two films in the series.  They are mindless sequels only made to satisfy the masses and to top the latest FRIDAY THE 13TH and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET installment. And it shows. Get some half-assed Michael Myers killing teenagers.  That's basically about it.  If you ask me, those movies have tarnished the good name of the series, not the third installment.  At least this movie had some creative thought behind it, even though it didn't turn out as good as it could have been.  Not a perfect movie by any means, but it's still far better than most make it out to be. I actually find this to be a very cool movie, and there's a reason why it's always shown on television around Halloween.  I love it!  The original, the sequel, and this one make the perfect October trilogy.  Skip the rest.  Trust me.