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Halloween (franchise)

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File:HalloweenTitle.jpg
The title card seen in the original Halloween film.

Halloween is a horror film saga created by John Carpenter in 1978, with the financially successful independent horror film Halloween (originally titled The Babysitter Murders), released on October 25, 1978 — became one of the most profitable independent films ever made and considered an icon and pop culture phenomenon in the horror genre, and spawned a long line of slasher films, well into the 1980s and 1990s. It spawned seven more feature films, including a remake in 2007, and an extensive collection of comics, books, video games and other merchandise. It has become one of the horror genre’s most successful entries. [citation needed]

All films, with the exception of Halloween III, feature Michael Myers as the villain. Myers has become one of the most iconic horror film villains, and is known for his silent gestures, slow-pace movement, motionless mask and the large kitchen knife he usually uses as his weapon of choice.

The series

Film Original U.S. Release Date
Halloween October 25, 1978
Halloween II October 30, 1981
Halloween III: Season of the Witch October 22, 1982
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers October 21, 1988
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers October 13, 1989
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers September 29, 1995
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later August 5, 1998
Halloween: Resurrection July 12, 2002
Halloween (2007) August 31, 2007

Halloween

Main article: Halloween (1978 film)

First released in 1978, was produced on a budget of only $325,000 and grossed $56 million at the box office in the United States, becoming one of the most profitable independent films ever made. [1] Many critics credit this film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). The movie originated many of the clichés seen in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s, although first-time viewers of Halloween may be surprised by the fact that the film contains little actual graphic violence or gore.[2][3]

Critics have suggested that Halloween and its slasher film successors may encourage sadism and misogyny. Others have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of young people in 1970s America, pointing out that many of Myers' victims are sexually promiscuous and substance abusers, while the lone heroine is depicted as chaste and innocent. While Carpenter dismisses these analyses, the perceived parallel between the characters' moral strengths and their likelihood of surviving to the film's conclusion has nevertheless become a standard slasher movie trope.

An odd side note on the mask worn by the character of Michael Myer's is that it was cast from the likeness of the renown Canadian actor William Shatner. According to the Internet Movie Database "Due to its shoestring budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in the costume store: a Captain Kirk (William Shatner) mask. They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes."

Halloween II

Main article: Halloween II

Halloween's major success led to a sequel. In 1981, Moustapha Akkad, executive producer of the original film, sold the film rights to maverick producer Dino De Laurentiis, though Akkad was still actively involved in production of any films that used those rights. Later that year, De Laurentiis released Halloween II in partnership with Universal Pictures. The film was written by John Carpenter, but this time directed by Rick Rosenthal. It was designed to pick up precisely where the 1978 original left off, in fact taking place on the same night the original movie ended. At the time, this sequel was intended to be the final chapter of the series.

Critics generally agreed it was not of the same caliber as its predecessor. Carpenter himself was extremely displeased with the end result, describing it as "about as scary as an episode of Quincy." Carpenter confirmed that he reshot many of the scenes, but refused on-screen credit as co-director because of his disappointment with the finished product. Many of the original films' fans are disenchanted by the seemingly endless spate of further sequels featuring Michael Myers, which are perceived as cynically-motivated moneymakers, rather than quality horror films made by dedicated filmmakers with a love for the originals and a genuine artistic vision.

The film's score was a variation of John Carpenter compositions from Halloween, particularly the main theme's familiar piano melody played in a 5/4 time rhythm. The score was performed on a synthesizer organ rather than a piano. One reviewer for the BBC described the revised score as having "a more gothic feel." The reviewer asserts that it "doesn’t sound quite as good as the original piece," but "it still remains a classic piece of music." Carpenter performed the score with the assistance of Alan Howarth, who had previously been involved in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and would continue to work with Carpenter on projects such as Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982) and Christine (1983).

The film featured the song "Mr. Sandman" performed by The Chordettes. Reviewers commented on the decision to include this song in the film, calling the selection "interesting" and "not a song you would associate with a film like this." The song worked well to "mimic Laurie’s situation (sleeping a lot), [making] the once innocent sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror film." Nonetheless, another critic saw the inclusion of the song as "inappropriate" and asked, "What was that about?"

The film, however, departs significantly from the original by incorporating more graphic violence and gore, making it imitate more closely other films in the emerging splatter film sub-genre. Still, Halloween II was not as successful as the original, grossing only $25.5 million at the box office in the United States despite its $2.5 million budget.[1]

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Main article: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

The third film in the series, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, was released in 1982, also by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, with John Carpenter only acting as producer. While the first sequel was a direct continuation to the original story, Halloween III is an entirely unrelated film, with the characters in the film watching Carpenter's Halloween on television. The plot focuses on an investigation by Challis and Grimbridge into the activities of Cochran, the mysterious owner of the Silver Shamrock Novelties company, in the week approaching Halloween night.

Besides wholly abandoning the Michael Myers plotline, Halloween III departs from the slasher film genre which the original Halloween spawned in 1978. The focus on a psychotic killer is replaced by a "mad scientist and witchcraft" theme. Moreover, the frequency of graphic violence and gore is less than that of Halloween II (1981), although scenes that depict the deaths of characters remain intense.

Produced on a budget of $2.5 million, Halloween III grossed $14.4 million at the box office in the United States,[1] making it the poorest performing film in the Halloween series at the time.[4] In addition to weak box office returns, most critics gave the film negative reviews. Where Halloween had broken new ground and was imitated by many genre films following in its wake, this third installment seemed hackneyed to many: one critic suggests that if Halloween III was not part of the Halloween series, then it would simply be "a fairly nondescript eighties horror flick, no worse and no better than many others."[5] Cultural and film historians, on the other hand, have read significance into the film's plot, linking it to critiques of large corporations and American consumerism.

Post-Carpenter sequels

Main articles: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

John Carpenter was not involved in the making of these films. In 1988, the tenth anniversary of the release of the original movie, Moustapha Akkad bought back the rights to the series from Dino De Laurentiis, and produced Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

The film, which was released independently, brought both murderer Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis back from their graves. The success of this sequel inspired a follow-up the next year, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, also released independently. Michael's target in both films is his niece, Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris).

Dimension Films sequels

Main articles: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection

In 1995, the sequel rights were sold again to Dimension Films, which was a Miramax subsidiary at the time. Miramax/Dimension then released Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, which partially told the story of Michael Myers' origins. Joe Chappelle directed, but studio interference caused re-editing of the film and the re-shooting of certain scenes, leaving the door open for another sequel. The film made $15.1 million domestically.

Donald Pleasance, who had appeared in every entry of the series to date (with the exception of the unrelated Halloween III) died before Halloween H20: 20 Years Later could begin production in 1998, the 20th anniversary of the first film. Both Halloween H20 and Halloween: Resurrection were produced in the same style as Dimension's previous 1990s horror films, such as Scream (1996). Halloween H20 was a hit, raking in over $55 million domestically and earning over $70 million worldwide with a budget of $17 million. Halloween: Resurrection earned $30 million domestically, and only $7 million internationally. Its production/marketing budget combined was estimated to be $33 million.

On June 5, 2006, after several days of speculation, it was announced that Dimension Films had hired Rob Zombie to write, produce, and direct a new version of the original film, for release on August 31, 2007. According to Zombie, the movie will not be a straight remake of the 1978 original, but rather a "reimagining" [6]. On August 27, 2007, four days before its theatrical release, a DVD quality workprint of the movie was leaked online. This was a rare example of a movie being leaking via the Internet before it opened at the North American box office.

Dimension, which currently holds sequel rights, was spun off from Miramax/Disney by the producing Weinstein brothers in late 2005, and is now part of the Weinstein Company.

Characters in the Halloween saga

  • Michael Myers — The principal antagonist of the series. He appears in each film except the unrelated third installment.
  • Dr. Samuel J. Loomis played by Donald Pleasance — Michael's psychiatrist. He is the only person to know what his patient truly is. His main goal in the saga is either Michael's capture or execution. The character was thought to be killed off at the ending of H6 to reconnect with the actor's death, but is mentioned in H20 to have died at a nursing home. Although he does not appear as a character in Halloween H20, a voice recording of his famous, "evil" speech is played during the introduction credits. (Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween 4:The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers, Halloween: The Curse OF Michael Myers)
  • Laurie Strode played by Jamie Lee Curtis — The younger sister of Michael Myers and secondary protagonist of the saga. Survived Michael's first two attempts, only to be haunted by it for 20 years. Is the mother of Jamie Lloyd and John Tate. Fell off an asylum roof to her death in H8. (H1, H2, H7 & H8)
  • Annie Brackett played by Nancy Loomis - The friend of Laurie Strode and daughter of towns sheriff. She died on Halloween 1978 on Michael's frst attempt to kill his sister Laurie. She had a brief appreance in Halloween 2 as a corpse. (H1 & H2)
  • Lynda Van Der Klok played by P.J. Soles - Also best friends of Laurie & Annie. She was killed by Michael as he strangled her with a phone cord. (H1)
  • Jamie Lloyd played by Danielle Harris — The daughter and first child of Laurie Strode. The niece of Michael Myers. She is also the older sister of John Tate. Gave birth to Stephen Lloyd in H6. Also died in H6. (H4, H5 & H6)
  • Rachel Carruthers played by Ellie Cornell — The foster sister / surrogate sibling to Jamie Lloyd in 1988 and 1989. Carruthers was killed by Myers in H5. (H4 & H5)
  • Dr. Terence Wynn — The administrator of Smith's Grove - Warren County Sanitarium, the leader of the cult of Thorn, and the mysterious Man in Black. (H1, H5, & H6)

Minor characters

  • Tina Williams — Good friend of Rachel Carruthers and Jaime. Was stabbed by Michael in H5
  • Sheriff Leigh Brackett — The former sheriff of Haddonfield, Illinois. (H1 & H2)
  • Sheriff Benjamin "Ben" Meeker — He succeeded as Haddonfield Sheriff when Brackett retired in 1981 to move to Saint Petersburg, Florida. Supposedly killed in the shootout at the end of H5. (H4 & H5)
  • Lindsey Wallace — A survivor along with Thomas Doyle on the night of October 31, 1978. Lindsey also appears in Halloween 4, as Rachel Carruthers friend that gives her a ride to the costume store.(H1, H2 & H4)
  • Thomas "Tommy" Doyle — A survivor along with classmate Lindsey Wallace on Halloween 1978. Became obsessed with tracking down Myers for the next seventeen years. He befriended Kara and Danny Strode. He is responsible for saving Jamie Lloyd's newborn son Stephen. (H1, H2, H4 & H6)
  • Kara Strode' — Laurie Strode's adoptive-paternal cousin. (H6)
  • Daniel "Danny" Strode — Kara's son, shows slight signs of Michael's lunacy. (H6)
  • Stephen Lloyd — son of Jamie Lloyd, born on the night of October 30, 1995. (H6)
  • James "Jimmy" Lloyd — Haddonfield college student and an orderly for Haddonfield Memorial Hospital in 1978. Laurie's first husband and the biological father of Jamie Lloyd. (H2)
  • Jonathan "John" Tate — son and second child of Laurie Strode. (H7)
  • Molly Cartwright — John Tate's girlfriend and fellow Hillcrest Academy High School classmate in 1998. (H7)
  • Sara Moyer — Psychology student at Haddonfield University and reluctant Dangertainment contestant. Very laid back but ultimately very brave. She is the principal character [besides Laurie and Michael] and survivor in Halloween: Resurrection (H8).
  • Freddie Harris — Dangertainment owner and entrepreneur. Wants to make money and he sees the Myers house as the perfect way of earning it and to kick off his career. He is the other survivor alongside Sara in Halloween: Resurrection (H8)
  • Judith Myers — The eldest sister to now-serial killer Michael Myers and heroine Laurie Strode. Her brutal death is the commencement for the entire series. She appears only in the first installment. She was killed on the night of Thursday October 31, 1963.

Halloween III characters

  • Dr. Daniel "Dan" Challis —Is a middle aged doctor, taking care of Ellie Grimbridge, who is searching for the man who may have killed her father. Challis has recently separated from his wife (played by Nancy Kyes, who played Laurie Strode's best friend in Halloween, 1978).
  • Ellie Grimbridge — Is a young woman, searching for the man who may have killed her father with Dr. Challis in a Californian, Irish-anscestery town.
  • Conal Cochran — The main villain of Halloween III. He is responsible for the death of thousands of children every Halloween around America, and possibly internationally too, as his famous "Shamrock" masks kill everyone that wears them. The focus on a psychotic killer is replaced by a "mad scientist and witchcraft" theme.

People who have played Michael Myers

The film rights

  • Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch
    • Main rights: Universal Pictures
    • Home video rights: Universal Pictures
    • Television rights: Universal Pictures
  • Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
    • Main rights: Trancas International Films
    • Home video rights: Anchor Bay Entertainment
    • Television rights: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Dimension Films also currently owns rights to any further films in the Halloween film franchise.

Box Office

Halloween (1978) Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis Total Money Made: $55,000,000

Halloween 2 (1981) Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis Total Money Made: $25,533,818

Halloween 3 (1982) Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin Total Money Made: $14,400,000

Halloween 4 (1988) Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $17,768,757

Halloween 5 (1989) Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $12,000,000

Halloween 6 (1995) Donald Pleasence, Marianne Hagan Total Money Made: $15,116,634

Halloween: H20 (1998) Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett Total Money Made: $55,041,738

Halloween: Resurrection (2002) Jamie Lee Curtis, Bianca Kajlich Total Money Made: $30,354,442

Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) Malcom McDowell, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $58,059,980

Total Money Made from Entire Series: $283,275,369

This is the Order Starting with the Most Succesful in the Series:

1. Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) Malcom McDowell, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $58,059,980

2. Halloween: H20 (1998) Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett Total Money Made: $55,041,738

3. Halloween (1978) Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis Total Money Made: $55,000,000

4. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) Jamie Lee Curtis, Bianca Kajlich Total Money Made: $30,354,442

5. Halloween 2 (1981) Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis Total Money Made: $25,533,818

6. Halloween 4 (1988) Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $17,768,757

7. Halloween 6 (1995) Donald Pleasence, Marianne Hagan Total Money Made: $15,116,634

8. Halloween 3 (1982) Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin Total Money Made: $14,400,000

9. Halloween 5 (1989) Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris Total Money Made: $12,000,000

Comic books

Between November 2000 and November 2001, Chaos Comics produced three one-shot Halloween comic series, using characters from the film franchise. The three comic books were written by Phil Nutman and were named Halloween, Halloween II: The Blackest Eyes and Halloween III: The Devil's Eyes. The comic books even attempted to bridge continuity between Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later but in doing so made the plot of Halloween: Resurrection (unreleased at the time) impossible.

Merchandise

The Halloween franchise 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, Sideshow Collectibles, and NECA. Even Dr. Loomis has been immortalized in plastic alongside Michael Myers in a two-figure set produced by NECA.

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). 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.

The Halloween series also lives on in DVD form. Many versions of the original Halloween (often including special extras like free merchandise or additional footage missing from previous DVD releases of the film) as well as several of its sequels have been published by Anchor Bay Entertainment, Universal Studios, and Dimension Films. On October 2 2007, the original Halloween was sold on Blu-Ray for the first time by Anchor Bay Home Entertainment.


Alternate Cuts

Main articles: Halloween II: The Producer's Cut, Halloween 6: The Producer's Cut

Each of the films in the Halloween series has one or more alternate cuts for either artistic or censorship-related changes.

  • Halloween has a television cut, which added more scenes because NBC claimed the original was too short. They also cut the scene where the actress portraying Nancy Loomis' butt is stuck in the air after being locked in the laundry room and trying to escape through the window. This scene was deleted because NBC thought it was pornographic. The extra scenes were filmed at the time Halloween II was being filmed.
  • Halloween II has a television cut, which was the original "Rick Rosenthal Cut" of the film before John Carpenter re-edited parts of it.
  • Halloween III: Season of the Witch has an uncut version, which adds about a minute of gore and a few additional minutes of characterization to the film. There are different edits, some of which have just the gore (UK re-release), others have just the characterization (Asian), and one has both (German).
  • Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers currently has the most edits with five (producer's cut, rough cut, director's cut, television cut, theatrical cut).
  • Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later has a workprint which features an alternate opening, an alternate score, and new scenes.
  • Halloween: Resurrection has a workprint and an earlier rough cut. The workprint is the same as the theatrical release with alternate music choices and a different opening and title. The rough cut follows the original script more closely and eliminates many scenes containing the character "Freddie."
  • Rob Zombie's Halloween has a workprint that contains many different scenes, an alternate ending, and small lines that were edited out of the finished product.

See also

Halloween — the holiday the movie is named after, and around which the events of the films take place.

Sources

http://www.davisdvd.com/news/blu-ray.html

References

  1. ^ a b c Halloween at Box Office Mojo; last accessed April 19 2006. Cite error: The named reference "boxofficemojo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ James Berardinelli, review of Halloween, at ReelViews.com; last accessed April 19 2006.
  3. ^ Adam Rockoff, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986 (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2002), chap. 3, ISBN 0-7864-1227-5.
  4. ^ Halloween Franchise Box Office Records atBoxOfficeMojo.com; last accessed April 27, 2006.
  5. ^ Jim Harper, Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (Manchester, Eng.: Critical Vision, 2004), p. 103, ISBN 1-900486-39-3.
  6. ^ Halloween remake news at [1]; last acccessed May 8, 2007.
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