Halloween is an American slashermedia franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as novels, comic books, a video game and other merchandise. The films primarily focus on Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Throughout the series various protagonists try to stop Myers including, most notably Laurie Strode (primarily portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis) and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis (primarily portrayed by Donald Pleasence). The original Halloween, released in 1978, was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill—the film's director and producer respectively. The film, itself inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas, is known to have inspired a long line of slasher films.
The franchise is notable for its multiple timelines, continuities, remakes and reboots, which can make it confusing for new viewers. Forbes' Scott Mendelson called it the "Choose Your Own Adventure" of horror movie franchises.[3] The films collectively grossed over $884 million at the box office worldwide.[4] The film series is ranked first at the United States box office—in adjusted 2018 dollars—when compared to other American horror film franchises. The original film received critical acclaim, while the 2018 film received mostly positive reviews. The other films have received either mixed or negative reviews from critics.[5] A television series is in development.
An infographic illustrating the continuity between the Halloween films
Described by Scott Mendelson of Forbes as the "Choose Your Own Adventure" of horror movie franchises, the franchise is notable for its multiple timelines, continuities, remakes and reboots, which can make it confusing for new viewers, often leading to articles explaining the previous films before each new release.[3][6][7]
The original Halloween (1978), co-written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill and directed by Carpenter, tells the story of Michael Myers as he stalks and kills teenage babysitters on Halloween night. The film begins with six-year-old Michael (Will Sandin) killing his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) on Halloween night 1963 in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He is subsequently hospitalized at Warren County's Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael (Nick Castle) escapes from Smith's Grove and returns to his hometown while being pursued by his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Michael stalks high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends as they babysit. Murdering Laurie's friends, Michael finally attacks Laurie herself, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Loomis to save her. Loomis shoots Michael off a balcony, but when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he has vanished.[8]
Halloween II (1981) picks up where the events of Halloween left off. Michael (Dick Warlock) follows Laurie to the local hospital, killing everyone who comes between them. The story reveals that Laurie is actually Michael's sister: she was given up for adoption as an infant. After Michael chases Laurie throughout the hospital, he corners Loomis and Laurie in an operating room, where Loomis causes an explosion as Laurie escapes. Michael, engulfed in flames, stumbles out of the room before finally falling dead.[9]
Halloween III: Season of the Witch was an attempt to redirect the Halloween franchise into an anthology series; Season of the Witch does not follow the continuity of the previous two entries, presenting them as fictional movies within its narrative. This installment follows the story of Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) as he tries to solve the mysterious murder of a patient in his hospital. Joined by the patient's daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), he travels to the small town of Santa Mira, California. The pair discover that Silver Shamrock Novelties, a company run by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), is attempting to use the mystic powers of the Stonehenge rocks to resurrect the ancient witchcraft of the Celtic festival, Samhain. Cochran is using his Silver Shamrock Halloween masks to achieve his goal, which will kill all the children wearing his masks as they watch a special Silver Shamrock commercial airing Halloween night. After destroying Cochran and his henchmen, Challis desperately tries to convince the television station managers not to air the commercial. The film ends with Challis screaming for a final station to stop the commercial.[10]
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, as the title suggests, features the return of Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) to the film series, and creating a different continuity called the “Thorn Timeline”. This film reveals that Michael has been in a comatose state for ten years since the explosion in Halloween II. While being transferred back to Smith's Grove, Michael awakens upon hearing that Laurie Strode died in a car accident and leaving behind a daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). Michael escapes and makes his way to Haddonfield in search of his niece, while Dr. Loomis pursues him once again. Eventually, the police track Michael down and shoot him several times before he falls down a mine shaft.[11]
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers picks up directly where the previous film ends and has Michael (Don Shanks) surviving the gunshots and the fall down the mine; he stumbles upon a hermit who bandages him up. One year later, and showing signs of a psychic connection to Jamie, Michael tracks her to a local child mental health clinic. Using Jamie as bait, Loomis manages to capture Michael. The film ends with Michael being taken into police custody, only to be broken out of jail by a mysterious stranger, all dressed in black (whose black boots were shown throughout the entire film).[12]
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers picks up the story six years after the events of Halloween 5. The mysterious stranger who broke Michael out of jail also kidnapped Jamie Lloyd (J. C. Brandy). Jamie, having been held captive by the man in black, gives birth to a baby boy with whom she escapes, while Michael (George P. Wilbur) pursues them. Michael kills Jamie and continues searching for her baby; the infant is found and brought to safety by Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), the young boy who was babysat by Laurie Strode in the first film. It is revealed that Michael is driven by the Curse of Thorn, which forces a person to kill their entire family in order to save all of civilization. The mysterious stranger is revealed to be Dr. Loomis's colleague, Dr. Terrence Wynn (Mitchell Ryan), who is part of a cult who protect the chosen individual so that they may complete their task. With the help of Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan), Laurie's adoptive cousin, Tommy keeps the infant from Michael, who slaughters Wynn and his followers. Michael is finally subdued by Tommy, who injects him with large quantities of tranquilizers inside the Smith's Grove Sanitarium before escaping.[13]
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later opens twenty years after the events of the first two films, ignoring the other sequels, and establishes that Michael Myers (Chris Durand) has been missing since the explosion in 1978, creating another new continuity. Laurie Strode (Curtis) has faked her own death so that she could go into hiding from her brother. Now working as the headmistress of a private school under the name Keri Tate, Laurie continues to live in fear of Michael's return. Her son John (Josh Hartnett) attends the same school. Laurie's fear become reality when Michael shows up at the school and begins killing John's friends. Laurie manages to get John and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) to safety, but decides to face Michael. After a back and forth fight, Laurie decapitates Michael with a fire axe.[14]
Halloween: Resurrection picks up three years after H20 and reveals that Michael escaped after swapping clothes with a paramedic, crushing the man's larynx so that he could not talk, and that was whom Laurie killed. Laurie is committed to a mental institution, where Michael (Brad Loree) shows up. He kills Laurie and travels back to his family home in Haddonfield but finds a group of college students filming an Internet reality show. Michael murders the cast and crew until he is electrocuted by the only surviving student, Sara Moyer (Bianca Kajlich), and the show's creator Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes). Michael's body and the bodies of his victims are then taken to the morgue. As the medical examiner begins to inspect Michael's body, he suddenly awakens.[15]
Halloween (2007), a remake of the original film, focuses on the events that led Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) to kill his family. It also identifies Laurie as Michael's sister early on. On Halloween, Michael murders a school bully, his older sister Judith and her boyfriend, and his mother's abusive boyfriend. Committed to Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Michael closes himself off from everyone and stops speaking. Michael's mother Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie) commits suicide out of guilt. Fifteen years later, Michael (Tyler Mane) escapes and heads to Haddonfield to find his sister, with his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) in pursuit. Michael finds his sister living with the Strode family and going by the name Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton). After killing nearly all of her friends and family, Michael then kidnaps Laurie and attempts to explain to her that he is her brother through the use of a picture he has kept of himself and her as an infant. Unable to understand, Laurie fights back and eventually uses Loomis's gun to shoot Michael in the head. Laurie screams in horror as the credits roll.[16]
Halloween II (2009), a sequel to the remake, picks up right where the previous film leaves off before jumping ahead one year. Here, Michael is presumed dead but resurfaces after a vision of his deceased mother informs him that he must track Laurie down so that they can "come home" together. In the film, Michael and Laurie have a mental link, with the two sharing visions of their mother. It is also revealed that Laurie's original name is Angel Myers. During the film's climax, Laurie kills Michael by stabbing him repeatedly in the chest and face with his own knife. The final scene suggests that she has taken on her brother's psychosis as she dons his mask and is committed to an asylum, hallucinating her mother walking with a white horse. In the Director's Cut, Michael and Laurie are both gunned down by the police.[17]
Halloween (2018) is a direct sequel to the original film, ignoring the sibling relationship and other continuities established in previous installments. In this “Universal/Blumhouse” timeline, Michael (James Jude Courtney) was arrested in 1978 and has spent forty years back in Smith's Grove Sanitarium. During a prison transfer on the night before Halloween, Michael is able to escape the bus after it crashes and returns to Haddonfield for another rampage. After Michael kills his deranged psychologist, who had taken him to Laurie's home, he engages in a showdown with Laurie, her daughter Karen, and her granddaughter Allyson. The trio ultimately trap him in her house, which they set ablaze.[18][19][20]
Halloween Kills (2021) takes place immediately after its predecessor, with firefighters arriving at the blazing building, unwittingly freeing Michael to continue his killing spree. Laurie is taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Karen stays behind with Laurie while Allyson joins a mob who hunts down Michael. Michael slaughters the entire mob except for Allyson. The film ends with Michael stabbing Karen to death.[21]
Halloween Ends (2022) picks up four years after Kills and sees Laurie reeling from the events of Michael's rampage by moving into a new home with Allyson and writing a memoir. The film focuses on Corey Cunningham, an ex-babysitter who has been scarred by accidentally killing the boy he was watching and rendering him a social reject. Laurie protects Corey from a group of bullies and introduces him to Allyson, and they immediately develop feelings for each other. Corey encounters a now-weakened Michael in the sewers, ending with the two locking eyes and Michael letting him go. This sends Corey on a murdering spree, with Laurie tracking him and trying to convince Allyson to end their relationship. On Halloween, after making plans to skip town with Allyson, Corey steals Michael's mask in a brawl and goes on a mission to murder everyone that disrespected him. After a fight, Allyson abandons Laurie in a fit of rage, and Corey sneaks into their home with the intent of killing Laurie. She defends herself by shooting him, but Corey stabs himself in the neck to frame Laurie for his death. Michael returns for his mask, kills Corey by snapping his neck, and fights Laurie in a final confrontation in the kitchen. Allyson returns to assist her grandmother, and Laurie gets the upper hand before cutting Michael's throat and slicing his wrist, and he finally dies from extreme blood loss. The townspeople come together to throw Michael's corpse into an industrial shredder, ending his reign of terror for good.[22]
Development
After viewing John Carpenter's film Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) at the MilanFilm Festival, independent film producerIrwin Yablans and financierMoustapha Akkad sought out Carpenter to direct for them a film about a psychotic killer stalking babysitters.[23] Carpenter and Debra Hill began drafting a story. There is an urban myth that the film at one point was supposed to be called The Babysitter Murders but Yablans has since debunked this stating that it was always intended to be called (and take place on) Halloween.[24]
Moustapha Akkad fronted the $300,000 for the film's budget,[23] even though he was worried about the tight schedule, low budget, and Carpenter's limited experience as a filmmaker. He finally decided to finance the film after Carpenter relayed the entire film to Akkad, "in a suspenseful way, almost frame for frame", and opted not to take any fees for directing the film.[25] The low budget forced wardrobe and props to be crafted from items on hand or that could be purchased inexpensively, this included the trademark mask worn by Michael Myers throughout the film. Production designer, art director, location scout and co-editor Tommy Lee Wallace created Michael's mask from a William Shatner Halloween mask, purchased for $1.98.[23] The limited budget also dictated the filming location and time schedule. Halloween was filmed in 21 days in the spring of 1978 primarily in South Pasadena, California. An abandoned house owned by a church stood in as the Myers house. Two homes on Orange Grove Avenue in Hollywood were used for the film's climax.[26]
We investigated a number of 3-D processes ... but they were far too expensive for this particular project. Also, most of the projects we do involve a lot of night shooting– evil lurks at night. It's hard to do that in 3-D.
— Debra Hill (writer/producer) on putting Halloween into 3-D.[27]
Following the success of Halloween, Yablans and Akkad began working on Halloween II. There was initial discussion about filming Halloween II in 3-D, but the idea never came to fruition. After Halloween II was released, Carpenter and Hill were approached about creating a third Halloween film, but they were reluctant to pledge commitment. The pair agreed to participate in the new project only if it was not a direct sequel to Halloween II, which meant no Michael Myers.[28] Most of the filming for Halloween III: Season of the Witch took place on location in the small coastal town of Loleta in Humboldt County, California. Familiar Foods, a milk bottling plant in Loleta, served as the Silver Shamrock Novelties factory, but all special effects involving fire, smoke, and explosions were filmed at Post Studios.[29]
After Halloween III was released, Michael Myers was brought back with 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, where he has stayed for the remainder of the series. Four more sequels would follow, between 1989 and 2002, before the series would take a break for five years. On June 4, 2006, Dimension Films announced that Rob Zombie, director of House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, would be creating the next Halloween film. Bob Weinstein approached Rob Zombie about making the film, and Zombie, who was a fan of the original Halloween and friend of John Carpenter, jumped at the chance to make a Halloween film for Dimension Films.[30] Before Dimension went public with the news, Zombie felt obligated to inform John Carpenter, out of respect, of the plans to remake his film.[31] Carpenter's request was for Zombie to "make it his own [film]".[32] Zombie's film would combine the elements of prequel and remake with the original concept, with considerable original content in the new film.[33] Zombie also wanted to reinvent the character, as he felt Michael, along with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Pinhead, had become too familiar to audiences, and as a result, less scary.[34] Zombie delved deeper into Michael Myers's mythology. Michael's mask was even given its own story to provide an explanation as to why he wears it, instead of having the character simply steal a random mask from a hardware store, as in the original film.[35] Zombie wanted to bring Michael closer to what a psychopath really is, and wanted the mask to be a way for Michael to hide.[31]
In 2008, a sequel to the 2007 remake was announced, with French filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo in negotiations to direct.[36] Instead, Zombie was resigned to write and direct the sequel, with the film taking place directly after the end of his remake.[37] In an interview, Zombie expressed how the exhaustion of creating the first Halloween made him not want to come back for a sequel, but after a year of cooling down he was more open to the idea. The writer/director explains that with the sequel, he was no longer bound by a sense of needing to retain any "John Carpenter-ness", as he could now do "whatever [he] wants to do".[38] Instead of focusing on Michael, Zombie chose to look more at the psychological consequences on Laurie after the events of the remake. As Zombie explains, after Michael murdered her friends and family, Laurie became a "wreck", who continually sinks lower as the film moves forward.[39] Rob Zombie declined to return to film the second sequel to the 2007 remake.[40] The second sequel, Halloween 3D, was cancelled in 2012.[41][42]
A new effort to make a Halloween film, Halloween Returns, was attempted in 2015, unrelated to the Rob Zombie films.[43][44] This ultimately failed, and was cancelled when Dimension Films lost the filming rights to Halloween.[45][42] On May 23, 2016, it was reported that Miramax and Blumhouse Productions were developing a new film, which they would co-finance. On February 9, 2017, John Carpenter announced that a new Halloween film was going to be written by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride and will be directed by Green.[46] The film will be a direct sequel to the original Halloween, and will ignore all of the previous sequels.[47][48][49]Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed that she would reprise her role as Laurie Strode, and Judy Greer entered negotiations to play Laurie's daughter Karen Strode.[50] Andi Matichak signed on to play Karen Strode's daughter and Laurie's granddaughter.[51] The film was distributed by Universal Pictures, their first involvement in the franchise since distributing 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch. John Carpenter returned to score the film, saying, "I'll be consulting with the director to see what he feels. I could create a new score, we could update the old score and amplify it, or we could combine those two things. I'll have to see the movie to see what it requires."[52] Nick Castle reprised his role as Michael Myers.[53] Filming began on January 13, 2018,[54] concluding on February 19, 2018.[55][56] The film was released on October 19, 2018.
In June 2019, two sequels were announced to the 2018 film, with Green returning to write the script and direct and Curtis, Greer, and Matichak reprising their roles.[57] The titles and release dates of two sequels were announced as Halloween Kills, set to be released on October 16, 2020, and Halloween Ends, set to be released on October 15, 2021. Teems was confirmed as a co-writer for Halloween Kills, while Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier were announced to co-write Halloween Ends.[1] However, due to the concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, both films were delayed, with Halloween Kills released on October 15, 2021, and Halloween Ends released on October 14, 2022.[2]
John Carpenter composed the music to the first three films. For Halloween, Carpenter chose to use a pianomelody played in a 5/4 timerhythm instead of a symphonic soundtrack. Critic James Berardinelli calls the score "relatively simple and unsophisticated", but admits that "Halloween's music is one of its strongest assets."[58] Carpenter stated in an interview, "I can play just about any keyboard, but I can't read or write a note."[25] In the end credits, Carpenter bills himself as the "Bowling Green Orchestra" for performing the film's score, but he did receive assistance from composer Dan Wyman, a music professor at San Jose State University.[23][59]
The score for Halloween II is a variation of John Carpenter's compositions from the first film, particularly the main theme's familiar piano melody played. The score was performed on a synthesizer organ rather than the piano used for Halloween.[60] One reviewer for the BBC described the revised score as having "a more Gothic feel". The reviewer asserted that it "doesn't sound quite as good as the original piece", but "it still remains a classic piece of music".[61]
Music remained an important element in establishing the atmosphere of Halloween III. Just as in Halloween and Halloween II, there was no symphonic score.[62] Much of the music was composed to solicit "false startles" from the audience.[63] The soundtrack was composed by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, who had also worked on the score for Halloween II. The score of Halloween III differed greatly from the familiar main theme of the original and its first sequel. Carpenter replaced the familiar piano melody with a slower, electronic theme played on a synthesizer with beeping tonalities.[64] Howarth explains how he and Carpenter composed the music for the third film:
The music style of John Carpenter and myself has further evolved in this film soundtrack by working exclusively with synthesizers to produce our music. This has led to a certain procedural routine. The film is first transferred to a time coded video tape and synchronized to a 24 track master audio recorder; then while watching the film we compose the music to these visual images. The entire process goes quite rapidly and has 'instant gratification', allowing us to evaluate the score in synch to the picture. This is quite an invaluable asset.[65]
Following Carpenter's departure from the series, Howarth would stay on board as the sole composer for the next two sequels, and also acted as the lead composer on Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, with Paul Rabjohns providing additional music when the initial edit of the film was substantially re-filmed.[66] While Halloween H20 credits John Ottman as its sole composer, in reality most of the soundtrack was provided by Scream composer Marco Beltrami, using a mixture of music from that film and a few original cues written by Beltrami, after the producers disliked Ottman's score.[67]Danny Lux provided the soundtrack for Halloween: Resurrection,[68] while Tyler Bates composed the soundtracks for both the 2007 Halloween reboot and its 2009 sequel.[69]
Documentary
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror is a DVD released on July 25, 2006, featuring a documentary on the Halloween films, narrated by P. J. Soles and featuring interviews from many of the cast members as well as filmmakers of the Halloween films and a lot of footage from the series as well. It has panel discussions with members from the casts and crews of most of the Halloween films, plus other celebrities and filmmakers such as Rob Zombie and Clive Barker as well as film critics. All of the panel discussions took place at a 25th anniversary convention in Pasadena, California (one of the filming locations of the original Halloween) in October 2003. It also has extended versions of interviews featured in the documentary and much more. In 2010, The Biography Channel produced a television special titled Halloween: The Inside Story, which premiered on October 28, 2010.[70]
Future
Halloween Ends was meant to conclude the new timeline set forward by the 2018 film, but Jason Blum expressed interest in making further films in October 2021: "I would love to extend it. If Malek [Akkad] would like us, I'd love to extend it, but we're very busy making sure the third movie is spectacular because that's our immediate job and if it goes beyond that, I'd be thrilled. But there are currently no plans for us to be involved after this third movie."[71] John Carpenter explained that possible future installments were dependent on the commercial success of Halloween Ends, although he acknowledged that Green was adamant in Halloween Ends being their story's ending.[72]
In an interview with The New York Times, Jamie Lee Curtis commented that the four films, commencing with the 1978 Halloween and concluding with Halloween Ends, were self-contained, although there was still the possibility of a new narrative being adapted into future films.[73] Green stated that he was confident on parting with Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode with the film, though he acknowledged the possibility of eventually some filmmakers creating a "new Laurie" with some plot twist to continue the franchise's mythology.[74] Curtis had previously confirmed in an essay for People that Halloween Ends marked her last appearance in the franchise;[75] Jude Courtney likewise affirmed to Screen Rant that, alongside Curtis, he feels "done" with the franchise due to both his age and career trajectory, having felt Halloween and Halloween Kills as playoffs and Halloween Ends as a Super Bowl win so he decided to retire as the character triumphantly.[76]
Jason Blum later stated that, while it would not necessarily be the final film in the franchise, it will be the last Halloween film under Blumhouse Productions, with the intellectual property rights reverting to producer Malek Akkad following the release of Halloween Ends.[77] By October 2023, Miramax had beat out Blumhouse and A24 in acquiring the Halloween television rights, with the intention to develop a Halloween television series.[78]
In March 2024, Marc Helwig revealed that the series would serve as a creative reset completely and spinning out of the original film, as opposed to continuing the storyline from the most recent films.[79]
The Halloween series, when compared to the other top-grossing American horror series—A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, Friday the 13th, Saw, Scream, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—and adjusting for 2023 inflation is the highest-grossing horror series in the United States at approximately $1.09 billion.[80][81] Next in line is Friday the 13th at $908.4 million,[82] followed by the Nightmare on Elm Street series with $793.5 million.[83] The Scream film series is in fourth place with $779.5 million,[84] followed by the Saw series with $688.3 million,[85]The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with $459.7 million,[86] and the Child's Play film series rounding out the list with $305.2 million.[87]
When the original Halloween was released in 1978, a novelization of the film followed just a year later. Written by Curtis Richards, the book follows the events of the film, but expands on the festival of Samhain and Michael's time at Smith's Grove Sanitarium.[131] In 2024, Printed in Blood published a new edition of the novelization featuring more than 100 illustrations by artist Orlando Arocena.[132]
Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and Halloween 4 each received novelizations as well. Jack Martin would write Halloween II, which was released alongside its film counterpart. Martin included an additional victim of Michael's in this novel.[133]Jack Martin also wrote Halloween III: Season of the Witch.[134]Halloween IV, released in October 1988 and written by Nicholas Grabowsky, also followed the events of the film in which it was adapted from.[135] A novelization of the 2018 film by John Passarella was released on October 23, 2018.[136]
Over a four-month period, Berkley Books published three young adult novels written by Kelly O'Rourke. The novels are original stories created by O'Rourke, with no direct continuity with the films.[137] The first, released on October 1, 1997, titled The Scream Factory, follows a group of friends who set up a haunted house attraction in the basement of Haddonfield City Hall, only to be stalked and killed by Michael Myers while they are there.[138]The Old Myers Place is the second novel, released on December 1, 1997, and focuses on Mary White, who moves into the Myers house with her family. Michael returns home and begins stalking and attacking Mary and her friends.[139] O'Rourke's final novel, The Mad House, was released on February 1, 1998. The Mad House features a young girl, Christine Ray, who joins a documentary film crew that travels to haunted locations, and they are headed to Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where they are confronted by Michael.[140]
Comic books
The first Halloween comic was published by Brian Pulido's Chaos! Comics. Simply titled Halloween, it was intended to be a one-issue special, but eventually two sequels spawned: Halloween II: The Blackest Eyes and Halloween III: The Devil's Eyes. All of the stories were written by Phil Nutman, with Daniel Farrands—writer for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers—assisting on the first issue, and David Brewer and Justiniano worked on the illustrations. Tommy Doyle is the main protagonist in each of the issues, focusing on his attempts to kill Michael Myers. The first issue includes back story on Michael's childhood, while the third picks up after the events of the film Halloween H20.[141] These comics were based on Daniel Farrand's concept for Halloween: Resurrection. He had been approached by the producers to pitch a follow-up to Halloween H20. His idea was to have Tommy Doyle incarcerated at Smith's Grove for Michael Myers' crimes, only to escape and reunite with Lindsay Wallace. Together, they study the journals of Dr. Loomis and find out more about Michael's childhood. The movie would have explored Michael's time at Smith's Grove and his relationship with Dr. Loomis, before returning to Tommy and Lindsay, who are attacked by the adult Michael Myers. Upon defeating him and removing his mask, they discover Laurie Strode, who has taken over her brother's mantle. Farrand's logic was that, since Jamie Lee Curtis was contracted to cameo in Halloween: Resurrection, they should make that cameo as significant and surprising as possible. Although the studio did not follow up on his pitch, Farrands was able to tell his story in comic book form.[142]
One Good Scare written by Stefan Hutchinson, and illustrated by Peter Fielding, was released in 2003. The main character in this comic is Lindsey Wallace, the young girl who first saw Michael Myers alongside Tommy Doyle in the original 1978 film. Hutchinson wanted to bring the character back to his roots, and away from the "lumbering Jason-clone" the film sequels had made him.[143]One Good Scare came about because Hutchinson wanted to produce a comic book to celebrate the series' twenty-fifth anniversary, to be sold as a collectible at a Halloween convention in South Pasadena. Due to the positive reception to One Good Scare, Hutchinson hoped to use the comic as a "demo" for getting a distribution deal, but was unable to do so, due to rights issues.[144]
While waiting to acquire the rights to publish more Halloween comics, Stefan Hutchinson worked on the documentary Halloween: 25 Years of Terror with Malek Akkad. Together, they developed ideas for possible Halloween stories that would be "connected into a larger tale, so the idea was that it would use the serial aspect of comic books to create different storylines than would be possible in the films."[144] On July 25, 2006, as an insert inside the DVD release of Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, Hutchinson released Halloween: Autopsis. Written by Hutchinson, and artwork by Marcus Smith and Nick Dismas, the story is about a photographer assigned to take pictures of Michael Myers. As the photographer, Carter, follows Dr. Loomis he begins to take on Loomis's obsession himself, until finally meeting Michael Myers in person, which results in his death.[145]
A lot of readers found in the comic books what they had been missing from the films in the later sequels. Our books are very faithful to the source material, and by that we mean the original film itself. In our stories, Michael Myers is very much again "The Shape" — the undefined bogeyman of 1978, rather than the family killer of the 80s and 90s.
— Stefan Hutchinson on the fan support of his Halloween comic book series.[144]
Rob Zombie's reboot of the film series ensured that any Halloween comics would not be contradicted by upcoming films, allowing Hutchinson creative freedom. Malek Akkad was approached by Devil's Due Publishing with the possibility of producing a line of Halloween comics, and he and Hutchinson worked to make them a reality. Hutchinson was convinced by the strong support of One Good Scare that the comic books would have an audience.[144] In 2008, Stefan Hutchinson released the first issue of his new comic book, Halloween: Nightdance. This is a four-issue miniseries, and it does not contain any characters—other than Michael—from the films.[146] The four issues are titled, "A Shape in the Void", "The Silent Clown", "A Rainbow in One Color", and "When the Stars Came Crashing Down".[147] The first issue, "A Shape in the Void", takes place on October 31, 2000, so that it falls between Halloween H20 and Halloween: Resurrection. Issue one follows Michael as he stalks Lisa, an eighteen-year-old girl with insecurities and "a chronic fear of darkness".[146] Hutchinson explains that Nightdance was an attempt to escape the dense continuity of the film series and recreate the tone of the 1978 film. Michael becomes inexplicably fixated on Lisa, just as he did with Laurie in the original Halloween, before the sequels established that a sibling bond was actually his motivation for stalking her.[148] The aim was to once again establish Michael Myers as a "credible and dangerous force".[144]
August 2008 saw the release of Devil's Due's Halloween: 30 Years of Terror to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Halloween. This comic book one-shot is a collection of short stories inspired by John Carpenter's original. "Trick or Treat" features the MacKenzies, unseen characters from the first film who Tommy and Lindsey run to for help. "P.O.V." shows a murder from the point of view of both Michael and his victim, "Visiting Hours" sees Laurie Strode reflecting on how her life could have been had her brother never found her in 1978, while "Tommy and the Boogeyman" reveals that Tommy Doyle grew up to write comic books featuring Michael Myers. In the final story, "Repetition Compulsion", Dr. Loomis tries to predict where Michael will strike next on Halloween 1989. Writer Hutchinson explains that H30 came about because, unlike previous decades, there was no Halloween film coming out in 2008 to acknowledge the occasion.[149][150]
Devil's Due released the three-issue miniseries Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode in late 2008. Written by Hutchinson with artwork from Jeff Zornow, the story bridges the gap between Halloween II and Halloween H20 by focusing on Laurie Strode in the aftermath of the 1978 murders. Hutchinson explains that Laurie is "trying to get better and trying to repair, but where do you even start after going through such horror? How do you even try to resume normality when you don't know what that is anymore?" Although Michael appears in the series, it is not clear whether he is real or if the traumatised Laurie is seeing things. Hutchinson is not a fan of the revelation that Laurie and Michael are siblings and took steps to address that problem in the story. He wanted to avoid the "bloodline plot of the middle sequels", which he felt demystified the character of the Shape, and approach the story so that "it becomes almost incidental that she's his sister". Hutchinson believed that Laurie Strode's evolution into Keri Tate was fertile ground for a storyline; he says, "it's not the faking of the death that's interesting at all, but it's the fall that leads to that happening. The faked death is just simple mechanics and can be covered in a sentence, but the state of mind and events leading to that are full of rich character and dramatic potential."[151]
Online stories
All of Stefan Hutchinson's Halloween comic books take place in the Halloween H20 timeline, which retconned Halloween 4–6 from continuity. Hutchinson comments that, while the retcon was unpopular with "a lot of fans" for ignoring previous movies, he preferred the "simplicity of this storyline, over the needlessly convoluted mythology that the last three films had created". However, he admits that one of the downsides of the H20 timeline is that fans do not know exactly what happened to Dr. Sam Loomis after Halloween II. To remedy this, Hutchinson pitched Halloween: Sam as a way of paying tribute to the character.[144] Written by Hutchinson and featuring illustrations from Autopsis' Marcus Smith, Sam is a prose short story available exclusively for download at the website HalloweenComics.com. It explores the life of Dr. Loomis, including his backstory and relationship with Elizabeth Worthington, a journalist he met during World War II. In 1995, Michael Myers visits the ailing Dr. Loomis in a hospital and murders Elizabeth in front of him. Loomis attempts to stop him, but dies of a coronary failure.[152]
In 1983, Wizard Video, who had also released a video game version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, released a Halloween game for the Atari 2600. In the game, the player is a babysitter who has to protect her children from Michael Myers, who has managed to get inside the house. Although the game is called Halloween, and features the film's theatrical poster as its cover art as well as the movie's main music theme, the game itself never refers to any characters, including the killer, by their names in the film.[153]
Halloween has also seen profitability through various merchandise like toys, dolls, statues, model kits, bobbleheads, snow globes, movie posters, masks, T-shirts, hats, and more. Michael Myers has made appearances in the form of dolls and toys from McFarlane Toys, Mezco Toyz, Sideshow Collectibles and NECA.[158] Even Dr. Loomis has been immortalized in plastic alongside Michael Myers in a two-figure set produced by NECA.[159]
The Michael Myers mask has been reproduced over the years by Don Post, the mask company responsible for the creation of the masks from several of the Halloween films (the Silver Shamrock novelty factory seen in Halloween III was actually shot on location in one of Don Post's factories).[160] While Don Post reproductions of the Michael Myers mask are still commonly found in costume stores every Halloween, the license to produce Michael Myers masks has since been given to Cinema Secrets, the company commissioned with the creation of the Michael Myers mask for Halloween: Resurrection.[161]As of 2012[update], Universal Pictures has granted license to Trick or Treat Studios to produce two versions of the Michael Myers mask from Halloween II, one "clean" version and one with the famous "blood tears".[162]
Many versions of the original Halloween as well as several of its sequels have been released on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Dimension Films. In December 2007, there were reports that the Producer's Cut of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers might get a DVD release in the future.[163][164]
Following the first Blu-ray release of the original Halloween, all other films in the series were subsequently released to Blu-ray, as well.[165] Home video distributors Anchor Bay Entertainment and Scream Factory released Halloween: The Complete Collection to Blu-ray on September 23, 2014. This box set brings together all ten Halloween films released to date.[166] Two versions of The Complete Collection were released: a standard 10-disc set featuring the first eight original films of the series and Rob Zombie's 2007 and 2009 remakes,[167] and a "Limited Edition" 15-disc set, containing the ten films on ten discs, and five extra discs featuring the television versions of Halloween and Halloween II, the never-before released Halloween 6: The Producer's Cut, a bonus disc to Rob Zombie's Halloween, and a bonus disc containing all-new special features from all ten films.[168] The box set won the 2015 Saturn Award for Best DVD/BD Collection Release.[169]
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the first film to be written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace. John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the creators of Halloween and Halloween II, return as producers. The film stars Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. Halloween III is the only entry in the series that does not feature the series antagonist, Michael Myers. After the film's disappointing reception and box office performance, Michael Myers was brought back six years later in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later is a 1998 American slasher film directed by Steve Miner, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, LL Cool J, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Janet Leigh, and Josh Hartnett, in his film debut. It is the seventh installment in the Halloween franchise. H20 is a direct sequel to Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), ignoring the Jamie Lloyd story arc of the previous three installments. It follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode, who has faked her death in order to go into hiding from her murderous brother, Michael Myers, who finds her working at a private boarding school in California.
Michael Myers is a character from the slasher film series Halloween. He first appears in 1978 in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his elder sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he returns home to Haddonfield, Illinois, to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film and substituted by Tony Moran in the final scene where Michael's face is revealed. The character was created by John Carpenter and has been featured in twelve films, as well as novels, video games, and comic books.
Halloween: Resurrection is a 2002 American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, who had also directed Halloween II (1981), was written by Larry Brand and Sean Hood, and is a direct sequel to Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later and the eighth installment of the Halloween franchise. It stars Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Ryan Merriman, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks, and Jamie Lee Curtis, with Brad Loree as Michael Myers. This was the final installment of the H20 timeline of the Halloween franchise, which had just been rebooted with the previous film in 1998, before it was rebooted again in 2007 with a remake and again in 2018. The film follows Myers continuing his murderous rampage in his hometown of Haddonfield when his childhood house is used for a live internet horror show.
Halloween II is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, in his directorial debut, written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis. It is the second installment in the Halloween film series and serves as a direct sequel to Halloween (1978). The story picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of the first film, with Michael Myers following survivor Laurie Strode to the local hospital, while his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis continues his pursuit of him.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 American slasher film directed by Dwight H. Little, written by Alan B. McElroy, and starring Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris in her film debut, and Michael Pataki. It is the fourth entry in the Halloween franchise and a direct sequel to Halloween II (1981), and marks the return of Michael Myers as the primary antagonist, ignoring the events of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982).
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is a 1995 American slasher film directed by Joe Chappelle, written by Daniel Farrands, and starring Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan, and Mitch Ryan. The sixth installment in the Halloween film series, the plot depicts Michael Myers hunting down the infant son of his niece, Jamie Lloyd. It expands significantly upon the supernatural horror elements that were sparsely introduced in the previous film, mainly the subplot of a cult that controls Myers and drives him to murder his bloodline using the ancient rune of Thorn. It marks the final appearance of Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis before his death, as well as the feature film debut of Rudd, who portrays an adult Tommy Doyle from the original Halloween (1978). This also marks the last major role of George P. Wilbur before his death in 2023.
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the Halloween franchise. Introduced in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie Strode, the character also appears in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Jamie was created by Alan B. McElroy and portrayed by child actress Danielle Harris in the fourth and fifth films of the series, and J.C. Brandy in the sixth film of the series. Originally, the character was named Brittany "Britti" Lloyd, before her name was changed to Jamie, in an homage to Jamie Lee Curtis.
Laurie Strode is a character from the Halloween series. She first appeared in Halloween (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Laurie appeared in nine of thirteen films in the series. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books.
Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. It is a remake of John Carpenter's 1978 horror film of the same name and the ninth installment in the Halloween franchise. The film stars Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, and William Forsythe. The "reimagining" follows Michael Myers who murdered his family as a child and becomes institutionalized at an asylum, before breaking out and stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night.
Dr. Samuel J. Loomis is a fictional character in the Halloween franchise. A main protagonist of the overall series, Loomis appears on-screen in eight of the thirteen Halloween films, first appearing in John Carpenter's original 1978 film. Donald Pleasence portrayed the character in five films, with Malcolm McDowell taking on the role in the 2007 reimagining and its sequel. In both portrayals, Loomis is introduced as the psychiatrist of series antagonist Michael Myers, driven to pursue and restrain his murderous former patient. He also appears in a flashback in Halloween Kills.
Annie Brackett is a fictional character in the Halloween franchise. The character was created by screenwriters John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Annie first appears in Halloween (1978) as a high school student babysitting Lindsey Wallace who unwittingly encounters an escaped mental patient—Michael Myers. In this film, she is portrayed by Nancy Kyes, who briefly reprises the role in the sequel Halloween II (1981). Kyes's image is used to reference the character throughout the franchise except for in the remake (2007) and its sequel (2009), in which she is portrayed by Danielle Harris. Harris had previously appeared in Halloween 4 (1988) and 5 (1989) as Laurie's daughter, Jamie Lloyd.
Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with its producer Debra Hill. It stars Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. Set mostly in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield, the film follows mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister one Halloween night during his childhood; he escapes 15 years later and returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him.
Halloween II is a 2009 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is the sequel to Zombie's 2007 remake of 1978's Halloween and the tenth installment in the Halloween franchise. The story follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the aftermath of the events of the previous film, Dr. Loomis trying to capitalize on those events with a new book, and Michael Myers as he seeks to reunite with his sister. The film sees the return of lead cast members from the 2007 film; Tyler Mane as Michael Myers, Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode, and Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis, respectively. Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Douriff, and Danielle Harris also return from the 2007 film.
Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride. It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series and a sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, while disregarding all previous sequels. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis who reprises her role as Laurie Strode. James Jude Courtney portrays Michael Myers, with Nick Castle returning to the role for a cameo. Halloween also stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer, and Virginia Gardner. Its plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face an escaped Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she survived his killing spree.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 film in the Halloween franchise.
Halloween Kills is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to Halloween (2018) and the twelfth installment in the Halloween franchise. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, and Anthony Michael Hall. The film begins on the same night where the previous film ended with James Jude Courtney reprising his role as Michael Myers whose presence has become apparent to the residents of Haddonfield.
Halloween Ends is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to Halloween Kills (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, and the final film in the trilogy of sequels that started with the 2018 film, which directly follows the 1978 film. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, and James Jude Courtney. The plot follows the outcast Corey Cunningham who falls in love with Laurie Strode's granddaughter while a series of events, including crossing paths with Michael Myers, drives him to become a serial killer.
↑ Othenin-Girard, Dominique (Director), Michael Jacobs, Dominique Othenin-Girard, and Shem Bitterman (Writers) (1989). Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (DVD). United States: Galaxy International Releasing.
↑ Carlomagno, Ellen (October 1982). "Halloween III: Season of the Witch: An On-The-Set Report On The Ambitious Sequel to Carpenter's Classic!". Fangoria (22): 8.
↑ Bierly, Mandi (November 13, 2017). "Danny McBride on 'Halloween': 'I just hope that we don't f*** it up and piss people off'". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017. McBride is keeping mum on plot details, however, other than to confirm what's already out there. "We're kind of ignoring all the films past the first one," he says. "It picks up after the first one, but it's sort of an alternate reality. It's as if the first Halloween ended in a slightly different way."
↑ Baird, Robert (Spring 2000). "The Startle Effect: Implications for Spectator Cognition and Media Theory". Film Quarterly. 53 (3): 12–24. doi:10.1525/fq.2000.53.3.04a00030.
↑ Stephen Hutchinson(w),Daniel Zezelj, Jim Daly, Brett Weldele, Jeffrey Zornow, Lee Ferguson, Tim Seeley(p),Nick Bell, Rob Buffalo, Jeffrey Zornow, Elizabeth John(i). Halloween: 30 Years of Terror(August, 2007).Devil's Due Publishing.
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