Day 6: Halloween Film Series
The Halloween film franchise, is a famous one. It all started in 1978 and 40 years later in 2018, the latest film came out and we still loved it. I did anyway. Now, 1978 was almost ten years before I was born, so I didn't see it at the cinema, I actually have never seen any of them at the cinema. My introduction to the franchise was at a sleepover with my two best friends. We actually watched one of the sequels, I have since seen the original, the sequel Halloween: Resurrection and the 2018 film but that's it so far ( I do have the second film, Halloween 2, lined up for Halloween this year). I'm not 100% sure which the first one I watched was, but I think it was Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later. I don't remember any of what happened, I may have fallen asleep but I later watched Halloween :Resurrection with the same friends at another sleepover. Now it may be that the amount of slasher and Halloween films I have watched have blurred the lines a little and I have watched Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later but can't recall it. Maybe I'll watch it and a few minutes in be saying "Oh yes I remember now!" Or it may be that I've got my wires completely crossed and I've never actually seen it, just heard about it. however, I digress
The Halloween films chronicle one of the greatest love stories of all time. Michael Myers saw this girl walking down the street singing a very innocent love song, nothing sexual or dirty, just a sweet song. He became fixated on this girl who was so different from his sister and fell in love. A sick, twisted, dark, crazy, scary, dangerously obsessive love, but love nonetheless. He spent forty years coming after her and she knew that one day he would come back for her.
Michael Myers is arguably one of the scariest villains from the horror genre. His mask is human-like (it's actually a William Shatner mask) but blank and expressionless which makes his appearance unnerving. He is silent, not a villain who roars or explains his motives to anyone. Also creeps up on people, you don't hear him. He also moves very slowly and deliberately, lulling people into a false sense of security, thinking they can outrun him. His murders are very violent but they're indiscriminate; he kills whomever he needs to, even if his need, to us, doesn't make sense. To compare to other franchises, Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street) kills for revenge, Jason's Mother/Jason (Friday the 13th), also are driven by vengeance, Ghost Face (Scream) the killer is always a different person but they tend to all want some kind of recognition and/or vengeance, Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) kills out of self-defence and fear, being controlled by other family members. Michael Myer's motives are never completely clear. While the film hints that Michael has a mental illness, we are never explicitly told exactly why he kills. I have heard an explanation is put forward in the sixth film but it sounds a bit ridiculous to me. He is in many ways a mysterious killer, why does he kill? Where did he get that mask? How is he apparently indestructible? Our fear of the unknown definitely helps this film.
Something that often happens with film franchises, is that the sequels start to get silly. Franchises can go on for too long and sometimes the writers seem to be clutching at straws to come up with a storyline. Now, I have only seen 3 or 4 films from his franchise and there are 11 so far, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends more are scheduled for release in 2021 and 2022 respectively. So I can't really comment on how good the sequels are. As I have said, I can't really remember Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later but I really enjoyed both Halloween: Resurrection and Halloween (2018). I know that a lot of people completely disregard Halloween III Season of the witch as it doesn't really follow the storyline and that some people dislike Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers but, as I haven't seen them myself, I can't really comment.
All the Halloween films, while not timeless, are still enjoyable. A perfect film fest for the Halloween season and Halloween night. Maybe once I watch Halloween II I'll have some comments to make on it, but for now let me say, sweet dreams.
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