What Enthralls Us About The Original Michael Myers And ‘Halloween’
Since 1978, there have been 10 Halloween follow-up movies. Whether sequels or copycats, they have all tried to capture the same iconic status as the original, yet fall short every time. Karim Noorani looks at the 2018 version to see how it compares
The original Halloween is one of the most successful independent movies ever made. Shot with a measly budget of $325,000, almost one-fortieth of the 1973 Exorcist budget, the film went on to gross $70 million globally. It was the franchise’s highest-earning film for almost 30 years, and still enjoys the highest return on investment of the series due to its small budget.
Beyond just the numbers, the movie’s cinematography and realism were revolutionary. Before Halloween, horror movies, for the most part, were inert and lacked connectivity with the audience. In the early 20th century, cinema horror consisted exclusively of deformed fiends trotting around castles — think Frankenstein and Nosferatu. The middle of the century brought some classics like Texas Chainsaw and The Exorcist, yet the horror genre always felt like an alternate reality. Castles and dungeons did not exist in real life, and audiences were unlikely to stumble upon an ancient spirit or a chainsaw-wielding murderer’s house. The camera angles were also static close-ups, forcing audiences to focus on single elements at a time.
When Halloween was released, it fundamentally changed the way horror movies were made.
The opening sequence of the 1978 Halloween foreshadowed the complete jolt of the horror industry. It is shot through the eyes of a six-year old Michael Myers stalking his own house. The camera moves with Myers as he grabs a knife from the kitchen, climbs up the stairs, and unflinchingly murders his sister.
Like most of the movie, the uncut opening scene is an intensely engaging experience. The audience anxiously awaits the dreadful stabbing for over three minutes, all while the iconic Halloween music blares in the background. This is the pantheon of suspenseful and engaging filmmaking.
The newfangled cinematography was not the only element that made the original Halloween so captivating. The way in which it manipulated the zeitgeist of its time is also part of why the film has held such a lasting effect on audiences.
The original Halloween targets people at their most vulnerable. Myers intrudes suburban communities and individual houses. He stalks teenage girls and school-age children. In an aura of mischief, Myers even gaslights certain characters like Laurie Strode. The camera angles really invoke this cat-and-mouse game. The far-away shots engage the audience in spotting Myers creeping into the background.
If a house door is unwarily left ajar or window left open, Myers will get inside, and, in the vast arena of a house, he could be lurking around any corner. The notions of privacy and safety being invaded inside their own home frightened audiences. Young women quit their babysitting jobs, and some parents forbade their children from watching the film. Yet the audience’s identification with Michael Myers is what inspired the franchise’s long-standing fandom.
From the opening scene of the original Halloween, Director John Carpenter wants the audience inside Myers’ shoes. When he grabs a knife or stalks Laurie Strode, we — the audience — are with him. We see as he sees and, in some cases, breathe as he breathes. The personalization of Myers may seem like a controversial and sadistic concept, yet Carpenter describes it as a different element of horror. “It’s one of the two scary stories we can tell. One is the evil is inside or the evil is outside,” Carpenter said on The Ringer’s Halloween Unmasked Episode 6.
In 1978, the identification with horror movie villains was a novel concept, one that has led to Myers’ cult-like following. Fans organize conventions, dress up like him every Halloween, and even send teeth to previous actors all in an ode to their beloved villain. If nothing else, Carpenter’s bogeyman continued icon living up until the release of the new film.
Myers’ return in the new 2018 film canvasses all of the same iconic filmmaking, imagery, and zeitgeist commentary, yet proves none of the franchise’s retakes can capture the unsettling nature of the original.
The emphasis of the new Halloween is to rectify the insensitive tropes of the original according to modern-day standards. Women are not simply the home-dwelling prey in the remake. They can and do strike back. Michael Myers is not simply a violent sociopath; the film acknowledges he, a perpetrator, and Laurie Strode, a previous victim, must both experience psychological trauma. Sexuality in the film is not confined to horny or binary stereotypes, as often is the criticism with the horror genre. And even Myers’ eventual martyrs have character development in order to make death more meaningful in the film. The new Halloween attempts a pioneering message to the horror industry captured through a throwback to the original movie’s cinematography.
Halloween (2018) puts its own take on the iconic scenes and filmmaking of the 1978 version. Laurie Strode in the original film peered outside her classroom window to spot Michael Myers staring dead at her. The new film recreates the scene, with Strode staring at a distance and her granddaughter Allyson inside the classroom. Similarly, the new film utilizes shallow-focused camera angles, which captures large but blurry portions of the background so the audience can be engaged in looking for vague outlines of Myers. Even the lighting before a particular kill flickers on and off, paying tribute to the original Laurie Strode closet scene. There are many Easter egg elements littered across the film that should bring a grin to the face of any hardcore Halloween fan.
One of the most iconic and influential movie franchises is back, yet it is a little different. The directors believe the audience would appreciate a more light-hearted, though-provoking tone rather than another failed attempt to capture the original Halloween’s aura.
Therefore, the franchise might have just now — 40 years later — realized the obvious. There may never be another horror film that deeply frightens and unsettles its audience quite like the original Halloween.
Karim Noorani has the courage to go where no other UNPLUGG’D staff writer had gone — to the movies, during one weekend, to watch both Halloween films. You can read more of his work here.
