This is the slasher franchise that made me a fan of horror movies, despite several of the flawed (some are outright awful) productions that came as a result. I’ll briefly go over the plot of the movies and their highlights. There are spoilers aplenty here, so be warned.
Halloween (1978): Made in Pasadena, CA on a budget of $300,000, this indie flick filmed by John Carpenter became one of the highest grossing horror films of all time. We are introduced to Michael Myers, a silent psychopath who stabbed his sister to death on Halloween when he was only 6 years old. The story takes place 15 years later when he breaks out of the sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois where he stalks a group of babysitters, including Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Carpenter used several clever camera techniques, being partly influenced by German Impressionism. One of the techniques he employed with a long continual shot at the very beginning that follows young Michael from outside, then entering his house, finding the kitchen knife, then goes upstairs, kills his sister, then goes back outside, something considered impossible by standards of the day, but accomplished by some recent developments in filmmaking tech. Carpenter conveyed moments of subtle unease with a simple unsettling score of music that became an iconic melody. Most of the movie includes Myers keeping tabs on his upcoming victims. There are moments of unbearable suspense. For a first-time viewer, you really do wonder when he will make his attack and how. The film’s suspense is ramped up when we find out Laurie is unable to kill him either with a large darning needing to his neck or a knife wound in his chest. Even as we conclude with the fanatical, yet earnest Dr. Loomis firing six slugs into his body, Myers still escapes. Carpenter wanted to convey that evil never dies. This is why Myers is referred to as “The Shape” in the credits because he is evil personified in the shape of a man. His identity as Michael Myers is incidental.
Halloween 2 (1981): Story wise, this one takes place right where the first left off. Michael Myers is still on the loose and Laurie Strode, exhausted and wounded from her confrontation, is taken to the hospital. Even for a small-town hospital, there is a stunning lack of activity there. Michael tracks her down and she struggles to escape. Dr Loomis saves the day by creating an explosion that he and Michael are caught up in. This is as ominous as the first, if not even more. Carpenter got it right with the musical score, which arguably may be the franchise’s greatest asset. With a nearly empty hospital, the music, and limited lighting, this movie was more eerie to me than the first. Although not directed by Carpenter, Rick Rosenthal adhered to some of Carpenter’s techniques, although the violence in this one is considerably more graphic. There is one scene in particular that I thought was effective when Michael fades in behind a victim. Carpenter wrote the screenplay, though, and said he was drunk when he created the twist that Laurie is Michael’s long-lost sister, thereby creating a motive for him singling her out.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982): the original idea behind the Halloween franchise was that it would be an anthology series in which each movie has something take place on Halloween and didn’t originally intend for Michael Myers to steal the show, although by this time, he certainly did. This movie involves a plot in which a toy magnate develops Halloween masks that kill their wearers. This is an effort to sacrifice children to Samhain, Celtic lord of the dead. Although this was a misfire for its time, it’s not a bad film. Some nicely weird 80s fare with horror vet Tom Atkins as the leading man and was co-written by horror teleplay scribe Nigel Kneale.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): Since Part 3’s failure threw a monkey wrench into any future plans. Halloween didn’t see another film release for six years. Thankfully, this one captured a sinister atmosphere that was sustained throughout the first two. Filmed in Utah, it gave a more convincing appearance of a Midwestern autumn than the first two. The story takes place ten years after Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield. Laurie Strode died in car accident and her daughter Jamie (played by Danielle Harris) is fostered by the Carruthers family with Rachel (Ellie Cornell) as her foster sister. Michael is comatose from the explosion but awakens and discovers he’s an uncle, so he breaks out to go on a rampage. Dr. Loomis, although scarred from the explosion and more frail, also returns more dedicated than ever to stop Myers. This one has one of the highest body counts in the series and was considerably more violent than even part 2. We are led to believe that Michael is gunned down at the end of the movie and his body fell into a sinkhole. The film ends on a disquieting note when Jamie stabs her foster mother with a pair of scissors, her clown costume mirroring the one Michael wore as a six-year-old. This one is a personal favorite of mine and gave high hopes to the franchise for netting a good box office gross.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989): considering the effort put into Part 4, this one was a rush job to capitalize on its success. Continuing one year later, Jamie is in a children’s psychiatric hospital. Her contact with Myers in the previous film created a psychic link, which is why she stabbed her foster mom. Under a set of coincidences, Michael ends in the care of a hermit and he’s comatose for a full year. It would be easy to discount these convenient moments where Michael is treated like an on and off switch, but if you apply the evil never dies theme, you could say his body was dormant until it was ready to strike again. This film misfires by prematurely killing off Rachel and having her exuberant but obnoxious friend Tina (Wendy Kaplan) take her place. In the end, Michael is stopped and arrested. Throughout this movie, there is an unknown figure stalking the characters in this film. We never meet this figure or see its face, but the figure’s motives become clearer when an explosion and massacre at the police station results in Michael Myers being broken out of jail.
The story of the Halloween franchise is long one, so I’ll get back to it in another installment soon. Stay tuned for more.
Written by Nick Montelongo
Halloween (1978): Made in Pasadena, CA on a budget of $300,000, this indie flick filmed by John Carpenter became one of the highest grossing horror films of all time. We are introduced to Michael Myers, a silent psychopath who stabbed his sister to death on Halloween when he was only 6 years old. The story takes place 15 years later when he breaks out of the sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois where he stalks a group of babysitters, including Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Carpenter used several clever camera techniques, being partly influenced by German Impressionism. One of the techniques he employed with a long continual shot at the very beginning that follows young Michael from outside, then entering his house, finding the kitchen knife, then goes upstairs, kills his sister, then goes back outside, something considered impossible by standards of the day, but accomplished by some recent developments in filmmaking tech. Carpenter conveyed moments of subtle unease with a simple unsettling score of music that became an iconic melody. Most of the movie includes Myers keeping tabs on his upcoming victims. There are moments of unbearable suspense. For a first-time viewer, you really do wonder when he will make his attack and how. The film’s suspense is ramped up when we find out Laurie is unable to kill him either with a large darning needing to his neck or a knife wound in his chest. Even as we conclude with the fanatical, yet earnest Dr. Loomis firing six slugs into his body, Myers still escapes. Carpenter wanted to convey that evil never dies. This is why Myers is referred to as “The Shape” in the credits because he is evil personified in the shape of a man. His identity as Michael Myers is incidental.
Halloween 2 (1981): Story wise, this one takes place right where the first left off. Michael Myers is still on the loose and Laurie Strode, exhausted and wounded from her confrontation, is taken to the hospital. Even for a small-town hospital, there is a stunning lack of activity there. Michael tracks her down and she struggles to escape. Dr Loomis saves the day by creating an explosion that he and Michael are caught up in. This is as ominous as the first, if not even more. Carpenter got it right with the musical score, which arguably may be the franchise’s greatest asset. With a nearly empty hospital, the music, and limited lighting, this movie was more eerie to me than the first. Although not directed by Carpenter, Rick Rosenthal adhered to some of Carpenter’s techniques, although the violence in this one is considerably more graphic. There is one scene in particular that I thought was effective when Michael fades in behind a victim. Carpenter wrote the screenplay, though, and said he was drunk when he created the twist that Laurie is Michael’s long-lost sister, thereby creating a motive for him singling her out.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982): the original idea behind the Halloween franchise was that it would be an anthology series in which each movie has something take place on Halloween and didn’t originally intend for Michael Myers to steal the show, although by this time, he certainly did. This movie involves a plot in which a toy magnate develops Halloween masks that kill their wearers. This is an effort to sacrifice children to Samhain, Celtic lord of the dead. Although this was a misfire for its time, it’s not a bad film. Some nicely weird 80s fare with horror vet Tom Atkins as the leading man and was co-written by horror teleplay scribe Nigel Kneale.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): Since Part 3’s failure threw a monkey wrench into any future plans. Halloween didn’t see another film release for six years. Thankfully, this one captured a sinister atmosphere that was sustained throughout the first two. Filmed in Utah, it gave a more convincing appearance of a Midwestern autumn than the first two. The story takes place ten years after Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield. Laurie Strode died in car accident and her daughter Jamie (played by Danielle Harris) is fostered by the Carruthers family with Rachel (Ellie Cornell) as her foster sister. Michael is comatose from the explosion but awakens and discovers he’s an uncle, so he breaks out to go on a rampage. Dr. Loomis, although scarred from the explosion and more frail, also returns more dedicated than ever to stop Myers. This one has one of the highest body counts in the series and was considerably more violent than even part 2. We are led to believe that Michael is gunned down at the end of the movie and his body fell into a sinkhole. The film ends on a disquieting note when Jamie stabs her foster mother with a pair of scissors, her clown costume mirroring the one Michael wore as a six-year-old. This one is a personal favorite of mine and gave high hopes to the franchise for netting a good box office gross.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989): considering the effort put into Part 4, this one was a rush job to capitalize on its success. Continuing one year later, Jamie is in a children’s psychiatric hospital. Her contact with Myers in the previous film created a psychic link, which is why she stabbed her foster mom. Under a set of coincidences, Michael ends in the care of a hermit and he’s comatose for a full year. It would be easy to discount these convenient moments where Michael is treated like an on and off switch, but if you apply the evil never dies theme, you could say his body was dormant until it was ready to strike again. This film misfires by prematurely killing off Rachel and having her exuberant but obnoxious friend Tina (Wendy Kaplan) take her place. In the end, Michael is stopped and arrested. Throughout this movie, there is an unknown figure stalking the characters in this film. We never meet this figure or see its face, but the figure’s motives become clearer when an explosion and massacre at the police station results in Michael Myers being broken out of jail.
The story of the Halloween franchise is long one, so I’ll get back to it in another installment soon. Stay tuned for more.
Written by Nick Montelongo
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