Director David Gordon Green and Producer Jason Blum discuss the reason why Michael Myers is so timeless and how the sequel is all about dealing with the trauma from the original 1978 film in Halloween Kills.
Michael Myers is back terrorizing the town of Haddonfield after being left for dead in 2018’s Halloween. But this time around, the town is taking the fight to Michael in Halloween Kills. Director David Gordon Green and Blumhouse Producer Jason Blum recently spoke to us about Michael Myers’s longevity in pop culture and why it was important to pick up the story about the other characters that were affected by the events that happened in the original film. Green also explains why this might be the most brutal version of Michael Myers audiences has ever seen and some of his favorite and creative kills in Halloween Kills.
Halloween Kills Is The Most Brutal Version Of Michael Myers
Amazing job on this film. This is the Michael Myers that I absolutely wanted to see. David, what makes Michael, in this film, scarier than any other in the franchise?
David Gordon Green: Well, I think I put that on you. I think he has this expressionless, emotionless face that I think we project what we want on him. I mean, he’s a little off because they left him to burn in the basement, but he’s out. And then now we get to experience all hell breaking loose through his point of view.
We have seen Michael Myers slash his way around Haddonfield had felt for years, but something was different about this version. Can you tell me why this Michael Myers was much more violent than he was in other movies? He was really more aggressive in this movie. The kills were like off the chain. Why did you decide to go that route?
David Gordon Green: I was watching it a few nights ago and I was thinking it’s like, yes, he got struck by lightning and supercharged or something, but part of it was wanting to up the ante for the audience and see Michael and all of his, you wouldn’t call it rage because he doesn’t really express rage, he doesn’t. He has been trapped and burnt alive in a basement. There’s got to be something internally that needs to be released. I think that’s kind of how he sees his own sword-wheeling brand of justice.
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Jason, I want to ask you, what is it that has made Michael Myers so timeless over 40 years now?
Jason Blum: You know, it’s funny. I have a real belief that if you belabor a creative decision, it often gets worse. Michael Myers has created the first movie John Carpenter made was made for $14. They went down to the drug store to get that mask. It’s a famous story. And he shot the movie like we shoot Blumhouse movies.
It was for a real low budget and a schedule. I think David will agree. He may have a different take on this, but I think when you have to kind of move, sometimes that makes for amazing creative decisions. I think for whatever reason the stars align, John Carpenter’s a genius.
Michael Myers just checked every single box of what makes a character evil. I think that it’s resonated for 40 years. It’s the James Bond of horror franchises, Halloween, because I think very specifically of the character of Michael Myers and of what John Carpenter did in the first movie. John got everything right and invented a character that people cannot get enough of.
Haddonfield Takes The Fight To Michael Myers In Halloween Kills
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David, what inspired the idea of sort of expanding the trauma of the first film to the entire town and then creating that sort of theme of the mob mentality that can turn any group of people into almost monsters themselves?
David Gordon Green: There were a lot of characters from the original 1978 film that I was curious about. And as we were exploring what ideas we could do to reboot the franchise, we started talking about what’s Bracket doing now what’s Nurse Mary, and what Tommy and Lindsay were obviously going to be traumatized from their horrific encounter with the boogeyman protected by their babysitter.
How do they respond to that night, that evening’s catastrophe decades ago? That was a fun thing to be able to explore when we wanted to take, depart a little bit from just the intimacy of the Michael vs. Laurie, good versus evil connection, we decided to explore the blurry line where it’s not so cut and dry of who’s good and who’s bad. And what happens when the best of intentions within that mob mentality starts to excite each other. It became its own type of horror story is, who is this the real monster?
David Gordon Green On His Favorite Kill In Halloween Kills
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I also was curious what your favorite kill sequence was to film.
David Gordon Green: Well, I’ve always dreamed of a good armpit kill. And so I’d say that’s the one that. There’s a lot of logistics that go into a lot of these kills and so it’s almost like the technicalities of them that can become overwhelming and distracting, but once the sensitivity of your armpit is exposed, then it’s actually not that challenging, but every time I watch it, I jump out of my seat.
I wanted to ask you a little bit about maybe creating the stunts in the film and what that experience was like of really maybe making them more elaborate than the previous film and that experience working with the kids and that aspect of the film.
David Gordon Green: Yeah, I’ll add to that. It was certainly a more aggressive, physical endeavor than the previous chapter. Our stunt coordinator, Aaron Armstrong, coincidentally plays the shape in our flashback sequences, but he choreographed some great sequences that show the aggression of the community of Haddonfield as it comes unraveled due to the terror that Michael’s bringing the community.
Halloween Kills opens Friday, October 15th in theaters nationwide and will be available to stream on Peacock. Are you excited about Halloween Kills? Have you checked out Halloween Kills? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter!
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