Do you think the anthology approach would have worked better on Halloween II rather than on Halloween III? Seems like Halloween II kind of cemented what the series was about.
Yes, that’s good thinking. I would agree with that. Had Halloween II actually been Season of the Witch, it might’ve worked. It would still have needed a proper ad campaign, though. That’s a franchise that could still be going on today. It could have been even bigger than the Halloween sequel juggernaut we have now. We could’ve explained to everyone that Jamie Lee and the Shape would be back, but that we would also be doing new stories each year. And those may well have spawned sequels in their own right. That’s just such a great idea that I’m astonished that no one has picked up on it and ran with it.
Would you have ever considered doing a sequel to Season of the Witch?
Someone sent me a script of their own sequel to Halloween III maybe ten or fifteen years ago. I was pretty turned off by what they sent me. I sat with it a little while and tried to imagine what the story would be if I did it and I just couldn’t come up with anything worth doing. So no, I don’t think I would’ve gone for a sequel to Halloween III. It’s not as if I’m above such an endeavor. My career is riddled with sequels and prequels and remakes of one kind or another. I’m just turned off by the idea of continuing this particular story.
FILM: HALLOWEEN 4
Panned by critics and rejected by audiences, Halloween III was a stinging disappointment upon release in 1982. Though it did gross a healthy $14 million against a $2.5 million budget, this was notably less than Halloween II’s $25.5 million one year prior. While not exactly a bomb, these numbers put the series on a clear downward trend. Consider that Paramount’s Friday the 13th Part III had grossed more than twice what Halloween III had that same year. The takeaway was clear – audiences wanted slashers in their horror movies. Consequently, a slasher-less Halloween franchise was not going to be sustainable on such diminishing returns. It’s also worth noting that when Universal Pictures signed on for Halloweens II and III, they did so assuming they were buying into a slasher series. With Halloween III, that was no longer the case. Heading out of 1982, the franchise’s future was most uncertain.
In retrospect, it might appear that John Carpenter and Debra Hill jumped ship after Halloween III, but this is untrue. In the years that followed, both Carpenter and Hill were pressed for another sequel by their fellow rights holders, rejecting each offer as it came. In fact, just two months after Halloween III’s release, Hill told The Baltimore Sun, “I don’t want to make another horror picture for a long time. There’s always going to be an audience for horror, but it’s become so commercialized. People are making blood and guts movies and calling them horror.”
The slasher sub-genre would flourish throughout the 1980s with franchises like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street releasing sequels year after year. Looking to capitalize on the slasher craze, Cannon Film Group offered Carpenter a multi-picture deal in 1986 under the expectation that he would deliver a new Halloween sequel. Having grown frustrated with the studio system after a string of flops, Carpenter began seriously considering Halloween 4.
“We spent four or five years haggling. John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Irwin Yablans, and myself couldn’t agree on what to do [with Halloween 4]. On top of that, they had all gone on to other successes, making things that much more complicated.” - Moustapha Akkad, HorrorFan Magazine
THE ETCHISON DRAFT
Agreeing to develop a sequel alongside Cannon Films, both Carpenter and Hill wholly acknowledged the third film’s underperformance, which had effectively doomed their plans to turn Halloween into an anthology franchise. The pair were also in agreement that a return to Haddonfield was necessary if the series were going to continue. To this end, they hired novelist Dennis Etchison in late 1986. While an accomplished author in his own right, Etchison had caught Carpenter’s attention with his novelizations of Halloween II, Halloween III, and The Fog. Halloween 4 was to have marked his first feature-length screenplay.
Etchison’s Halloween 4 was anything but your typical slasher movie. He eschewed the rules of the first two films to tell a psychological ghost story involving the Shape. This new tale followed Lindsay Wallace and Tommy Doyle, the two children in Laurie Strode’s care that fateful night back in 1978. Carpenter very much liked this unusual approach and consulted extensively across three separate drafts. In the end, he would give the Etchison script his full endorsement to become the next chapter of the Halloween saga. The screenwriter even met with Joe Dante as a frontrunner to helm the sequel, though he never officially signed on to direct. Unfortunately, Carpenter and Hill’s backing was not enough to convince Moustapha Akkad that this was the right direction for the franchise. He strongly disliked the Etchison script and used his leverage to block it from moving forward. Akkad suggested they instead commission a script that more closely resembled the original Halloween. A frustrated Carpenter lamented that he was once again being asked to produce the same film over and over.
“This is the nature of business in America,” Carpenter told Fangoria. “The partners threatened me by saying, ‘If you don’t do something with this property, we’re going to sue you for preventing us from using an asset.’ I had been claiming for years that I wouldn’t have anything more to do with the Halloween films. But I would always get suckered in at the last minute. The partners would say, ‘Your name will be on it. Everybody will associate it with you. Don’t you want it to be good?’ It was like a curse.”
Carpenter would escape his Halloween curse in 1987 by selling his stake in the franchise along with Debra Hill. Production and distribution rights to Halloween 4 soon went on the auction block. That no major studio even made an offer for the series – not even Universal Pictures – was a testament to how badly Halloween III had damaged the brand. Carpenter and Hill’s stake ultimately went to Akkad, who far outbid other offers including one by Irwin Yablans, whom he also bought out. For the first time in series history, Akkad now exerted total creative control over new installments. The producer sought to correct what he viewed as the mistakes of previous sequels by returning to the style of the original. Part of this meant taking a hardline stance against the gore that was on full display in Halloweens II and III.
“It was bad judgement on our part,” Akkad told the Los Angeles Times in February 1988. “What made the original Halloween so successful was the suspense, not the gore and not the monsters with ten eyes and five legs.”
THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS
Seeking a fresh direction, Akkad’s Trancas International put out an open call for story pitches on Halloween 4 in the fall of 1987. This opportunity was open to both guild and non-guild screenwriters. Hundreds of hopeful scribes answered back. Akkad eventually settled on a treatment written by friends Dhani Lipsius, Larry Rattner, and Benjamin Ruffner. He worked closely with the trio to develop their plot into a full screenplay, which was completed shortly after Thanksgiving. Akkad officially announced the production in late 1987 with a full-page trade advertisement depicting a hand-scrawled note from the Shape himself, which read: “I’m sorry I can’t come to your Halloween party. I’m still being kept in the hospital. I’ll be sure to see you next year, - Michael Meyers.” You’ll have to decide for yourself which is stranger, that Michael is RSVP’ing to a Halloween party or that he misspelled his own last name, a goof that would happen more than once on Halloween 4’s marketing.
In January 1988, Akkad hired filmmaker Dwight Little to helm the production based on the strength of his recently completed adventure-comedy Bloodstone. The director immediately took issue with the Lipsius/Rattner/Ruffner script and requested he be allowed to bring on writing partner Alan B. McElroy to re-work it. Akkad permitted this, though there was a looming threat to the project in that a Writer’s Guild strike was set to begin in less than two weeks. This would prevent union writers from working on any production anywhere. McElroy wrote at a breakneck pace to complete his re-write in time, cons
ulting with Little along the way. Impressively, he was able to finish a second draft by March 7, the official start of the WGA strike. How much of Halloween 4’s shooting script belongs to which writer is a matter of contention depending on who you talk to. The Writer’s Guild eventually held an arbitration on the issue and, after reviewing all official drafts, decreed that McElroy should receive sole screenwriting credit while splitting story credit with Lipsius, Rattner, and Ruffner.
Although it was long understood that Jamie Lee Curtis would not be reprising her role as Laurie Strode, the possibility of Donald Pleasence returning remained on the table. While being pitched Halloween 4, Pleasence was reportedly told that Carpenter had glowingly endorsed the new direction, a claim the filmmaker vehemently denied in interviews. The actor wouldn’t officially sign onto the project until he had been given an opportunity to read the script. Of his return to Halloween, he told Fangoria, “I was asked, I was free, the money was good, and it would be kind of hard to do this movie without me. [...] The story of Michael and Loomis continues to be a very good one. The series could have easily turned into a pointless exercise in moneymaking and greed, but the script is very good and care has been taken with the development of the characters. If the story were to remain this good, I could see myself playing Loomis in another one.”
For the screenwriters, the first narrative task at hand was to devise a way to bring back Dr. Loomis and Michael Myers, both of whom were presumed dead following Halloween II’s explosive ending. As it turned out, the best way to resurrect these characters was to operate as though they never died in the first place.
Halloween 4 opens with the revelation that Michael Myers has been in a coma ever since the explosive ending of Halloween II. On October 30, 1988, he is set to be transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium back to Smith’s Grove. He awakens en route and attacks the medic team after hearing them mention Laurie Strode’s untimely death and the young daughter she left behind. Dr. Loomis, who also survived Halloween II, investigates the crash scene the and insists his patient is headed for Haddonfield. Loomis sets off after him, but stops at a remote gas station to find the entire staff murdered. He soon comes face to face with his patient and fires off several shots, though they miss. The Shape escapes in a stolen tow truck.
In Haddonfield, Laurie’s orphaned daughter – Jamie Lloyd – is now living with the Carruthers family. Jamie confides to her older foster sister, Rachel, that she has been experiencing nightmares of her slasher uncle. Rachel promises to take Jamie out trick-or-treating that evening to cheer her up. Her costume choice, a clown, is eerily similar to that of her uncle’s on the night of his first murder so many years ago. As night falls, the Shape manages to blow out an electrical substation, which results in a citywide blackout. He then singlehandedly slaughters the majority of Haddonfield’s police force. Loomis teams with a new lawman, Sheriff Meeker, in an effort to find Jamie before Michael does. They find her and take refuge at the Meeker household along with a deputy, the sheriff’s daughter, Rachel, and her womanizing boyfriend. Elsewhere, a group of drunken rednecks form a vigilante mob who go in search of Michael.
The Shape infiltrates Meeker’s home and kills the deputy, the sheriff’s daughter, and Rachel’s boyfriend. Jamie escapes onto the street and encounters Dr. Loomis. Together they hide in a nearby elementary school, though they’re soon found and attacked. Jamie flees the school with Rachel’s help, leaving behind a badly wounded Loomis. The girls join the vigilante mob and head out of town, unaware that Michael has hitched a ride with them. Climbing into the truck bed, he slashes through the rednecks. Taking the wheel, Rachel manages to throw Michael from the vehicle, which sends him into a ditch. Jamie approaches her seemingly unconscious uncle and touches his hand. With this, he rises to attack, but is fired upon by Meeker and a team of state troopers. The bullet-ridden Shape falls backwards into a mineshaft.
Back at the Carruthers, Jamie and Rachel are reunited with their parents. It’s here that evil takes hold of the little girl. Donning her clown mask, Jamie brutally attacks her foster mother with a pair of scissors. Loomis is horrified at this macabre déjà vu.
With young Jamie Lloyd, the writers put forth what may be the most tragic character in the entire series. It’s clear from the start that Jamie isn’t like other kids her age, carefree and innocent. She is well aware of her bloody ancestry and suffers nightmares of her murderous uncle. Jamie also struggles with grief and anxiety, no doubt still mourning the loss of her parents. At school, bullies cruelly mock her for being an orphan. Jamie is a little girl desperate to feel a sense of belonging, wishing so badly to be accepted by her foster family. (“Do you love me, Rachel? Like a sister? Like a real sister?”) Watching her grapple with these issues and yet still try to function as a normal child is both wrenching and endearing. Jamie is a very easy character to root for. As a side note, she originally named ‘Britti’ in early script drafts. This was later changed to Jamie in tribute to Jamie Lee Curtis.
Another huge credit to Halloween 4’s story involves the character of Rachel Carruthers. As this film’s final girl, she evokes the fighting spirit of Laurie Strode. McElroy connects the two characters with a line revealing that Laurie actually babysat Rachel in years past. Like Jamie, Rachel is an incredibly easy character to root for, especially as she navigates a love triangle involving her asshole boyfriend and the sheriff’s daughter. This sub-plot could’ve easily descended into teen melodrama but is instead organically developed throughout the film. As Jamie’s foster sister, Rachel’s function is that of guardian protector. She proves worthy of that challenge by becoming a fierce adversary for the Shape, constantly thwarting his attacks even when the men who try to protect her cannot. Yet she almost didn’t survive the story as first written. One early version of the twist ending saw Jamie killing Rachel instead of her foster mother. Still, it’s possible Rachel might have been given a reprieve in Halloween 5 just as Darlene Carruthers received.
Halloween 4 establishes that Sheriff Brackett retired in 1981 to St. Petersburg, Florida. Loomis soon meets his straight-laced successor – Sheriff Ben Meeker. Despite being a new character, Meeker has more to do in Halloween 4 than Brackett did in either of the first two films. He possesses a thorough understanding of what happened in 1978 and, as such, takes the threat of Michael’s return quite seriously. With most of his police force eventually massacred, Meeker is forced to closely align himself with Loomis in order to survive the night. The situation grows even more dire as drunken redneck vigilantes begin to patrol the streets, accidentally killing a man they mistake for the Shape. In the end, it’s Meeker – not Loomis – who arrives to save the day just as the Shape rises up to attack an unsuspecting Jamie. In a genre full of inept law enforcement, Meeker emerges as a hero.
Screenwriter Alan B. McElroy has long claimed to be a genuine fan of the original Halloween, which rings true throughout his script. While Halloween 4 charts new ground with its young leads, it’s a familiar story for Michael and Loomis. As in the original, Michael escapes custody and heads to Haddonfield with his doom-prophesizing doctor in tow. Both films have the Shape steal a tow truck to aid in his journey home. Michael then stalks his targets, steals a mask, and kills a dog. Meanwhile, Loomis teams with the local sheriff, who doubts his claims. Said sheriff plays along anyway and ultimately survives. His promiscuous teenage daughter, however, does not. One of the more obvious nods to Halloween involves Jamie wearing the same clown outfit that young Michael wore in 1963. This further punctuates the film’s shocking ending – Jamie killing her foster mother eerily mirrors Michael killing his sister.
Whether these many callbacks enhance the sequel or hold it back will depend largely upon the mileage you derive from such nostalgia. You could easily argue that Halloween 4 is to Halloween what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars. Of all the filmmakers that claim to be making a return to the original’s values - an assertion that is sometimes laughably untrue - Halloween 4 nails it most of all. While that may frustrate viewe
rs looking for something new, it proved a winning approach in 1988 after the Myers-less Halloween III. If this entry’s script is overly derivative, that fact is well-hidden by solid direction and strong performances.
Tonally, Halloween 4 operates far more like a suspense thriller grounded in reality than your typical slasher flick. While not entirely realistic, it does sidestep many of the usual genre tropes. The Shape does not magically teleport across town nor does he sustain any wounds that should otherwise kill him - aside from the ending. This was due to Dwight Little’s desire to approach the character methodically as an escaped serial killer rather than as a supernatural boogeyman as the next two sequels would.
Little explained his film’s narrative logic to Starburst Magazine: “The reason he got out of the ambulance is because we needed to get him free. The reason he goes to the diner and kills the mechanic is so he can get his outfit, his coveralls. The reason he blows up the gas station is so that we can take down the telephone lines. The reason he goes to the drugstore is so that he can get his mask. The reason he throws Bucky into the powerlines is so that we can knock the power down in the town. We wanted to make everything about his slow approach to Haddonfield. We wanted everything to be believable. We didn’t want it to be tongue-in-cheek.”
Regarding Halloween 4’s shocking ending, Little has gone on record to share his view that the Shape was truly dead at his story’s conclusion. As for Jamie, the director opines on the film’s commentary that she isn’t necessarily evil due to her bloodline. Then why did she brutally attack her foster mother? Little attributes that uncharacteristic turn to the moment when Jamie touches her dying uncle’s hand. That connection caused a sort-of electric transfer of energy, an imprinting of Michael’s rage upon her. The director was initially concerned that showing this touch might telegraph the ending too far in advance, but this proved a non-issue. Audiences were genuinely shocked that Halloween 4’s innocent heroine could do something so evil. And with this, the franchise begins its odd flirtation with the supernatural, which would evolve across the next two sequels.
Taking Shape Page 10
