In the last Booze Talkin’, we discussed just how important the new HALLOWEEN film will be for the franchise – you can check that out here. Since then, we’ve had an awesome new variation of the iconic John Carpenter theme courtesy of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, as well as the casting of Judy Greer as Laurie Strode’s daughter. However, the most intriguing thing of all is Carpenter’s statement that this would be a direct sequel to the original film. We all were aware that most of the previous installments would be ignored, but what about HALLOWEEN 2? This brings a ton of questions as to whether or not this new timeline will take a completely different course. And frankly, I’m pretty much okay with this.
Let’s talk about why HALLOWEEN was so terrifying. Aside from a great director and a fantastic cast, they also had a truly scary villain. The original Michael Myers felt like a real life horror that could easily happen in the safety of suburbia. A masked man who lurks in the shadows and waits for just the right moment to attack is absolutely horrific. What freaked this viewer out was watching him just outside the patio door, or waiting all too patiently from a window. And aside from the fact that we saw him kill his sister when he was only a boy, it made his actions all the more creepy. What is his motive? And how the hell can he be so inhumanely patient.
And then came HALLOWEEN 2. For the record, I love everything about the 1981 sequel. However, it doesn’t come close to the sublime perfection of Carpenter’s classic. Of course one thing that part 2 brought was the fact that Strode was also Michael’s sister, and apparently he has a real issue with having a sister. So this entire trip to Haddonfield was all because he had yet another sibling that he had to take care of. Now, I have nothing but love for this flick, but that fear of some stranger coming into your house, on Halloween, while you were alone with your babysitter was kind of gone. After all, I’m not related to Myers so I guess as long as I stay out of Haddonfield on Halloween, I’ll be safe.
After HALLOWEEN 2 made the sister angle a thing, and HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH took the franchise in yet another direction, the series had to go deeper into Myers’ mythology. Much has been discussed in this age of giving villains – and pretty much everything else – origin stories. Why is Michael Myers the way he is? What is the real story behind Jason Voorhees? And what was life like with Norman Bates before he met Marion Crane? Sometimes the explanations work and enrich the show, but this isn’t always the case. As much as I love a lot of the HALLOWEEN franchise, I miss the days when he was more of a mystery.
Since Danny McBride and David Gordon Green are returning to the original film for inspiration, what will change? Is Laurie Strode still related to the masked madman? And will all that crazy druid stuff show up? Perhaps it’s just me, but the idea of making Myers a mystery again would be brilliant – if not a near impossible task. The less we knew about him, the more frightening he was. And while I did appreciate some of what Rob Zombie offered, I will always prefer keeping Myers in the shadows. After all, some nightmares are far more effective when you don’t quite realize what their meaning is. Have we come too far, seen too many sequels, for McBride and Green to truly pull this reimagining off? Frankly, I believe it can be done.
Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but it may be a good thing for Halloween to pick up after the original. Like many of you, I am a huge fan of HALLOWEEN 2, but it did start to make the series a little too complicated with its subplots about the Myers family – and further down the sequel rabbit hole, the strange cult Michael is tangled up with. Perhaps going back to what made the first film so compelling is the right idea. I love that Jamie Lee Curtis is returning, and I'm really thrilled to see Judy Greer in the mix. So maybe, just maybe, to truly make HALLOWEEN scary again we have to just start from exactly where Carpenter officially left off.