John Carpenter hit the nail on the proverbial head in 1978 with his fantastic film, Halloween. Now, without getting into every detail that makes this film and subsequent franchise stand out amongst the genre all of these years later, I am instead going to be taking a different approach with the series. Halloween, widely considered to be the absolute best that the horror genre has to offer, has a history of greatness that transcends horror fans. Yet is also has a very different legacy; a legacy of thoroughly pissing off its rabid fan base. From the atrocious ways that it treated its most beloved characters to the (god help us) Busta Rhymes starring finale, the criticisms of Halloween are ripe for the picking. Keep in mind, there are tons of great things to say about the series as well, but for now I would like to finally pick that bone I have had with the series all of these years (and hope I don’t ostracize myself from the horror community in the process!)
1978 introduced us to the ultimate horror villain, Michael Myers. After killing his older sister Judith, he is sentenced to an insane asylum. Escaping years later, he returns to Haddonfield to reunite with his family and finish the job he started, killing everybody who gets in his way. My main problem with this movie is simple and is based on an interview with John Carpenter that I read years ago in which he stated that Halloween was never intended to have a sequel. This fact is all well and good, but it forces the diehard horror fan to re-watch the original as a standalone film with this in mind. Upon doing so (many times) I call BULLSHIT! Halloween is the ultimate definition of a character build up film. The fact of the matter is that this movie is very long, and until the last 20 minutes or so, nothing happens. This reinforces the fact that the original movie was meant to be built upon. We don’t even find out that Laurie is Michael’s sister until the second film, and this fact is what drives the Myers character to kill in the original. This is not to say that John Carpenter didn’t set the bar for the genre with the film, on the contrary. The panoramic camera angles and beautiful fall suburban streets contrasted by the masked killer stalking babysitter was absolutely exquisite, yet the story itself leaves so much to be desired. Which brings me to one of my major gripes with the series, the heroine herself, Laurie Strode.
Laurie was a fantastic character. She was strong and believable, innocent yet mature. The entire story of Halloween rests on the shoulders of Laurie Strode and how she deals with the impending events that she seems to always find herself in. Halloween 2 picks up right where the first one left off, and in this film we see Laurie in the hospital and facing her most terrifying tribulations yet. But honestly, I have no quarrels with the second movie. It is my personal favorite of the series, and watching the growth and maturity of Strode from the first to second film is the fuel that feeds the sequel fire. Yet this is exactly what is wrong with Halloween! The fatal flaw, the nail in the coffin, the major plot hole in the series that has kept me angry for years!
After the third film (don’t get me started…) we learn that Laurie had a daughter, Jamie, and subsequently died in a tragic automobile accident with her Husband. Jamie goes on to be the main antagonist in the fourth and fifth films, even to the point where she is telekinetically linked to her killer uncle (the ending of the fourth film shows Jamie in the same clown outfit that young Michael wore in the opening of the first film, putting even greater emphasis on the importance of the character). Yet Jamie was killed, effortlessly, in the first hour of the sixth movie (reminding me of the end of Night of the Living Dead). This fact still blows my mind. It is a complete disservice to Jamie and her legacy in the Halloween franchise. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time, the series would take a massive shit on what the fans treasured most about the films.
After the third film (don’t get me started…) we learn that Laurie had a daughter, Jamie, and subsequently died in a tragic automobile accident with her Husband. Jamie goes on to be the main antagonist in the fourth and fifth films, even to the point where she is telekinetically linked to her killer uncle (the ending of the fourth film shows Jamie in the same clown outfit that young Michael wore in the opening of the first film, putting even greater emphasis on the importance of the character). Yet Jamie was killed, effortlessly, in the first hour of the sixth movie (reminding me of the end of Night of the Living Dead). This fact still blows my mind. It is a complete disservice to Jamie and her legacy in the Halloween franchise. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time, the series would take a massive shit on what the fans treasured most about the films.
Halloween: H2O. The triumphant return of Laurie Strode. We find out she has changed her name and moved to California, had a son, and---wait, what? Didn’t Laurie die in a car accident, leaving her daughter behind? Okay, no big deal. The producers never expected to get Jamie Lee Curtis back, so a simple rewrite of the history of the character was well worth it in their eyes. Again, this is fine, except one MASSIVE detail was severely overlooked. Laurie’s character is defined by the love she has for her son. I CALL BULLSHIT! If this woman is so attached to her kid, why does the audience never hear her utter the name “Jamie”, the daughter she left behind knowing full well that her brother gets off by killing family members? One might could make the argument that the overprotection of her son we see in this film stems from the guilt of the daughter she left behind, but in my opinion that would be putting a lot of credit and creativity where it probably isn’t due. Odds are, it was overlooked. These flaws aside, it is the next film in the franchise that takes it even farther, and in my eyes, truly shows the fans how little the producers care about the legacy of the films and how much they care about their bottom line.
Halloween Resurrection opens with Laurie in a mental institution, and sure enough, Michael has found her. You must keep in mind that this final showdown of Laurie vs. Michael is what fans have been waiting for for thirty years. What do we get? Ten minutes of chasing, a scene where Michael finally kills her, and slow motion of her falling off of the roof. The next hour and twenty minutes we are given Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks. Now, I am not even going to focus on what a shit-stain the rest of the movie was. So let’s instead zoom in on the less-than-epic conclusion of the saga of Strode and Myers. Is this what we deserved? Is this finale truly the best conclusion those writers and producers could have come up with for the fans that have waited thirty years just to see what was going to transpire between these two characters? I strongly feel that the legacy of Laurie Strode deserved more than what we were given in Halloween Resurrection. Now, I am not naive. I know that it is called the movie business for a reason, and I’m sure one of Jamie Lee Curtis’ conditions for doing the film was the death of her character thus ending her obligation to the franchise. I get that, yet I still feel as a fan that we could have been shown some damn respect for handing over thousands of our hard earned dollars just to see the films. As far as the diehard fans are concerned, this ending was a slap in the face and proved yet again what the motivating factor behind producing the Halloween franchise was: money. Don’t get me wrong, I know that that is what drives most sequels (especially in the horror world), yet Halloween might have been the most obvious and blatant about it.
Halloween Resurrection opens with Laurie in a mental institution, and sure enough, Michael has found her. You must keep in mind that this final showdown of Laurie vs. Michael is what fans have been waiting for for thirty years. What do we get? Ten minutes of chasing, a scene where Michael finally kills her, and slow motion of her falling off of the roof. The next hour and twenty minutes we are given Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks. Now, I am not even going to focus on what a shit-stain the rest of the movie was. So let’s instead zoom in on the less-than-epic conclusion of the saga of Strode and Myers. Is this what we deserved? Is this finale truly the best conclusion those writers and producers could have come up with for the fans that have waited thirty years just to see what was going to transpire between these two characters? I strongly feel that the legacy of Laurie Strode deserved more than what we were given in Halloween Resurrection. Now, I am not naive. I know that it is called the movie business for a reason, and I’m sure one of Jamie Lee Curtis’ conditions for doing the film was the death of her character thus ending her obligation to the franchise. I get that, yet I still feel as a fan that we could have been shown some damn respect for handing over thousands of our hard earned dollars just to see the films. As far as the diehard fans are concerned, this ending was a slap in the face and proved yet again what the motivating factor behind producing the Halloween franchise was: money. Don’t get me wrong, I know that that is what drives most sequels (especially in the horror world), yet Halloween might have been the most obvious and blatant about it.
As the main series wrapped up, it became apparent that no direct sequel would follow the original Halloween story line. Instead, a remake was announced, and directing this opus-to-be was Rob Zombie, a director who had already garnered a massive following with House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects. Now, I am a horror writer. One of the main appeals of my job is that I have access to the fans feedback and their opinions of these films. The last thing I intend to do is to “bite the hand that feeds” me, so I will keep my opinion of the Rob Zombie Halloween films to myself. However I will say this: The character of Laurie and the ending to his series was a much more fitting testament to the legacy of the Halloween series. At least with him we got to see proper character development, believable interactions between people, and the logical turn of events that would have befallen Jamie Lee Curtis’ portrayal of Laurie.
In conclusion, Halloween has left two legacies on the history of film. One of them, a beautifully executed, albeit far from perfect, staple and innovator of the horror genre. The other, a habit of pissing off its true fan base and turning on the very people who came to see the film. There are many great things to say about Halloween. But the sad truth of the matter is that the creativity and believability of the characters was sacrificed by the motivating bottom line. The way the Halloween franchise was treated should be the example of how not to treat the genre-let alone the fans that pay the keep it alive.
In conclusion, Halloween has left two legacies on the history of film. One of them, a beautifully executed, albeit far from perfect, staple and innovator of the horror genre. The other, a habit of pissing off its true fan base and turning on the very people who came to see the film. There are many great things to say about Halloween. But the sad truth of the matter is that the creativity and believability of the characters was sacrificed by the motivating bottom line. The way the Halloween franchise was treated should be the example of how not to treat the genre-let alone the fans that pay the keep it alive.
L.A. Gore has been writing professionally for many years, with his articles appearing in numerous publications including Bibliotheca Alexandria, Waters of Life, Pangaia, Witches and Pagans, Playgrounds and The Circle. He has spent most of his life studying ancient and modern religion, and most of his work thus far represents his findings. He is a self-proclaimed horror movie fanatic, with over four hundred in his personal collection. A few of his personal favorites are Hellraiser, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Phantasm, Suspiria, Return of the Living Dead and Dead Alive. |