Since he was first introduced in 1978, Michael Myers has been an iconic figure in horror. Over the years since then he has taken many “shapes” and forms pun intended. In this article we will be going over how different directors interpreted the character within the remakes simply titled “Halloween” this excludes sequels so we will only be talking about “Halloween” from 1978, 2007, and 2018. So, without further ado let’s give in to one of horror’s most iconic characters’ evolution over the years.
Halloween (1978)
Let’s start at the beginning. In 1978 John Carpenter released his masterpiece simply titled “Halloween”. The film has defined the genre of horror and arguably created the slasher sub genre. It stars one of the greatest to ever do it, Jamie Lee Curtis, as the protagonist and one of the most memorable final girls of all time. However as great as her performance is, that is not who is the focus of this article, the character in focus is the one and only Michael Myers.
Played by Nick Castle, this original version of “the shape” is menacing, eerie, and straight up bone chilling. In this film we don’t get too much insight into why Michael is the evil that he is which in my opinion provides the perfect sense of mystery for the character. Carpenter wanted to leave Myers’ reasons for why he kills up to you. My interpretation of Carpenter’s vision is that Michael was just a normal kid, that on one Halloween night, was possessed by pure evil. He does not kill for revenge. He does not kill for pleasure. He kills simply because he has the animalistic unrelenting instinct to, which is why this version of the character is so iconic and so terrifying. We fear what we cannot understand and this Michael Myers kills to kill which doesn’t make any sense, and that is exactly why it is such a horrifying character.
This movie is one of the best horror movies period. While the remakes may split the room on whether you love or hate them, nothing can hold a candle to this incredible horror masterpiece.
Halloween (2007)
Now let’s take that classic film and give it to none other than music legend Rob Zombie and let him put his spin on it. Zombie takes pretty much the same story from the original and gives it his own 2000s “hell billy” spin on it. The biggest difference that this film has to the original is the story surrounding Michael Myers. Zombie dedicates a large part of the movie to giving you back story on the Myers character as a child. Unlike the original where we only have the first 10 minutes set when Michael was a child, in this it is nearly 30 minutes until we see the shape in all its glory. This is a bold choice that differs a lot from Carpenter’s original character. As previously stated, in Carpenter’s Halloween, Michael’s reason for killing is left up to interpretation. In Zombie’s we see Michael in a dysfunctional and abusive household which leads us to believe that the abuse was the reason he started killing. In fact, it also changes Michael’s first kill as well. In this film Michael’s first victim is a bully from school which provides basis to the point that Michael Myers is fueled by emotion and anger. This is further backed up to when he kills his abusive stepfather which gives more reason to believe that he has a personal motivation to kill. It is not until he murders a nurse at the sanitarium that we get the emotionless killing machine that was introduced to us in the first one.
Another change Zombie makes to the character is the appearance. This Michael Meyers is quite literally a monster in size. He is played by Tyler Mane who stands at a terrifying 6 ‘8’’ 300lbs which gives Michael a much more menacing and straight up monster-esq feel. Whereas the original played by Nick Castle was creepy, this version is intimidating. He also is not wearing the famous mask that we all know until later in the film. We see him in his homemade masks which I do enjoy the look of, it reminds me a lot of Mick Thomson from Slipknot which I feel is very fitting for the time period this was made as well
While this movie is very polarizing to many, it must be recognized that Zombie did venture to tamper with a legendary character, the question is do you think that is to a fault or do you think it provides more emotional depth needed for such a quintessential figure in the horror genre.
Halloween (2018)
While Rob Zombie’s version is a retelling of a classic story, this movie is a direct sequel to the original 1978 film. Directed by David Gordon Green this film takes place 30 years from the original events of the first film and ignores all the other Halloween film sequels entirely. Jamie Lee reprises her role as Laurie Strode as a crazy paranoid “grandmother” (every time any character says “grandmother” I want to scream”) and just like everything else she is in, she is great. The other leads are not nearly as captivating as the original, except Julian he is amazing, but luckily the film is focused more on Michael then them.
Michael Myers is also reprised by the original actor Nick Castle, but he is playing a much different Michael. This time Michael is straight up supernatural, he is an unstoppable killing machine that is quite literally invincible. His kills are brutal and is really everything you want from the Myers character. This film focuses on the brutality of the kills while the original left most of its horror up to the imagination, this one shows you exactly what is happening.
This most recent entry could be better; however, it could definitely be a whole lot worse. Overall, Green does a good job at continuing the story and giving a nice twenty first century spin on a horror classic.
Whether you like the remakes or are an original purist, it cannot be denied that Michael Myers is one of the most legendary and timeless faces in horror no matter what the decade.
Leave a Comment