I am a horror movie fan and have been for years. I always look forward to the next installment of a series and always hope they have given the killer a decent 'story line' to follow. The Halloween series, save Halloween III, is probably one of my favorites and one I binge watch every year.
For anyone who doesn't know the story. On Halloween 1963 Michael Myers brutally stabs to death with a butchers knife his teenage (probably 17 year old) sister Judith. He was only six at the time and was sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium for treatment. Dr. Sam Loomis was assigned to the case and tried to reach the presumably catatonic Michael for 15 years with no luck.
Dr. Loomis was able to glean enough from the time spent with Michael to know that he would kill again if released. His goal became a permanent containment of his patient. 15 years into his hospitalization, Michael was able to escape the sanitarium and steal a car.
At the age of 21 Michael headed back to Haddonfield, IL with the intention of killing his younger sister who was now 17 years old. He likely killed a garage mechanic along the way and stole his coveralls, then stole some items from the drugstore; including his iconic William Shatner mask.
His sister, Cynthia Myers had been adopted by the Strode family and her name changed to Laurie. He went to his former home and saw her leaving the keys under the mat for a prospective buyer as her adoptive father was the realtor selling the home.
Laurie Strode had no memory at that time of her biological family and was a normal teenager preparing to babysit on Halloween night. Michael killed quite a few people in an attempt to kill Laurie, including her circle of friends.
Dr. Loomis was able to prevent Michael from killing her but after being shot several times, Michael escaped capture. A nurse from the sanitarium has been sent to collect Dr. Loomis and bring him back to the sanitarium. She told him that Laurie was Michael's sister and the Dr realized why Michael had gone to Haddonfield. To kill his sister.
Again, Michael had been stalking Laurie at the hospital she was taken to and had killed several people in his search for her. Dr. Loomis arrived in time to save her. At this point, Laurie, Dr. Loomis and Michael were in a room at the hospital with tanks of oxygen. Laurie shot MIchael in the eyes, they turned on different tanks to draw him to the sound and she escaped. Dr. Loomis blew the room up to kill Michael and sacrifice himself to stop the killing.
You would think that would work and that would be the end of the story but then it wouldn't be the franchise it is today. Above is a rough description of the first two Halloween movies and the vision of the creators. At the end of the second movie, Laurie is taken away in an ambulance. Michael and Dr. Loomis presumed dead.
Halloween III, while a decent story on it's own, has no place in the franchise.
Halloween 4 and 5 focus on Jamie Lloyd living in foster care after the death of her parents in a car crash. Michael who was held in a high security hospital is being transported to another location when the EMT's are discussing the little girl who is her uncle's guardian.
This arouses Michael again from a catatonic state. He kills all in the ambulance and escapes again. Dr. Loomis has recovered from his injuries and has returned to Smith's Grove. After learning of Michael's escape, he goes immediately to Haddonfield. He knows of Jamie LLoyd and plans to protect her and kill Michael.
Both movies follow the same formula as the first two. Michael kills anyone who gets in his way and is finally captured. Someone uses an explosion to break Michael out of jail and kidnaps Jamie. They are both presumed dead.
Halloween 6 is one of the more interesting installments of the series for me. The little boy that Laurie was babysitting in the original Halloween is back as an odd young man. Assuming some PTSD, he is obsessed with Michael and finding the reason behind the events that haunt him.
Jamie Lloyd is alive but not quite well as she has given birth to a baby boy who was likely fathered by Michael. Eww but yeah. Dr. Wynn puts the Mark of Thorn on the baby. A nurse helps Jamie escape with the baby, she is killed and Michael is again giving chase. Due to the storm, when Jamie arrives at the bus station, she can't call 911 for help but she can call a radio talk show. Tommy, Dr. Loomis and Dr. Wynn (who is visiting Dr. Loomis) hear her. Jamie hides the baby at the bus station where she leaves him and leads Michael away.
In the meantime, Laurie Strode's adoptive uncle and his family have moved into the Myer's house and Michael considers them family. Kara, Laurie's cousin, has a son named Danny who hears the voice telling him to 'kill for him' and has even drawn the Mark of Thorn on the back of a disturbing drawing he did.
Michael catches and kills Jamie but doesn't find the baby. Tommy hears the bus announcements in the recording and finds the baby, takes him home and names him Steven. The Mark of Thorn is still on the baby and I want to explain that at this point.
According to the movie (depending on the cut you see) The Mark of Thorn is placed on one member of a family and the rest of the bloodline is sacrificed by that family member to protect the rest of the community. Michael has that mark and it's really the source of his strength to survive all the physical punishment his body has taken in the previous movies. Personally I find this an excellent explanation that gives the franchise a new direction to take. There are two versions of the movie, one harder to find. In part, the death of Donald Pleasence changed how the ending was handled. One version, Wynn is able to pass the protection of Michael to him and in the other, Dr. Loomis is finally killed by Michael.
The way the movie ended we can presume that Kara and Tommy are together somewhere raising Danny and Steven. The only other living member of the family is Laurie Strode who faked her death and was in hiding.
Laurie returns in H2O and it's been 20 years since her brother tried to kill her, and she is living under the name Keri Tate with her son John who just turned 17 at Hillcrest Academy. It's never, to my knowledge, been explained what the age of 17 means to Michael. Michael comes to kill John, Keri and a few others. When Michael is loaded into the ambulance, Laurie steals it and drives off to kill him once and for all. She succeeds in beheading him but Michael has put the mask on the EMT and crushed his windpipe so he is unable to speak.
We next see Laurie at the beginning of Resurrection. She is in a mental hospital, assuming court order and mental breakdown, for killing an innocent man. She knows Michael is coming for her and hides her medication to stay alert. She nearly kills him but he stabs her and drops her from the roof. Her parting words 'I'll see you in hell'.
While I liked Resurrection, the rest of the story is not integral to Michael's story or the Halloween franchise. Resurrection was released in 2002 and Michael has been missing since.
Based on the other movies, I see real potential for a new Halloween franchise movie. There are story lines to be had. Michael still has relatives to kill and who's to say Laurie Strode didn't survive that fall. Granted the time lines are a bit screwy but it's possible to continue.
Steven is likely Michael's son and was superficially given the Mark of Thorn. He has real potential to become a serial killer.
Danny pulled a knife on his grandfather in 6 and was hearing a voice telling him to kill.
John survived H2O and would be a potential victim in another movie.
The rumors surrounding Halloween 2018 are disturbing.
- Michael and Laurie may not be related
- Throwing out Halloween II, 4, 5, 6, H2O and Resurrection
- Michael can be killed
What makes this part of the Halloween franchise then? Laurie Strode returns to Haddonfield. That's something people have been waiting for since she was carted away in the ambulance at the end of Halloween II. Oh wait... in this version... there is no Halloween II.
I guess part of my problem with this new version is that they discount all of the time and work that were put into the others to tell this horror story over the years. There are fandom pages, among others, for all of the movies and all of the characters. Fans have theories on what happened to characters who survived. The Halloween franchise has a huge and loyal fan base.
Don't get my wrong, I'm not a total purest. i really like Rob Zombie's version with Michael a bit older and displaying the classic serial killer signs before he killed family. Rob Zombie's Michael was in fact able to be killed and I feel he completed his story at the end of his Halloween II.
I'm curious about Halloween 2018 but skeptical that they can make the jump from 1978 to 2018. At the end of the original Halloween Michael had escaped with multiple gunshot wounds and Laurie was not badly injured. So 40 years later, Michael who has been dormant? living as a stockbroker? suddenly decides to go back and try to kill some random woman who he tried to kill when she was 17?
I don't pretend to know their plan and some of the details being leaked might just be ideas they are considering. I hope they do the right thing for the fans of Halloween.
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