The Movies That Made Us, season 3 premiere recap: Halloween

John Carpenter’s Halloween technically is not bloodless, but Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us is correct in suggesting it’s not a gory horror film. It’s also true that, although relatively inexperienced, Carpenter co-wrote, directed, and composed music for Halloween, making it an impressive effort.

Halloween starts as a simple story of a boy (Will Sandin) who murders his sister, Judith Myers (Sandy Johnson). This culminates in a protracted showdown between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence), and the adult Michael “The Shape/The Boogeyman” Myers (Nick Castle/Tony Moran).

At the time of Halloween‘s creation, producer Irwin Yablans tells The Movies That Made Us that the movie business was considered to be dying out. However, movie lovers were still clamoring for more, including John Carpenter and editor Tommy Wallace, who grew up together.

The aforementioned Nick Castle was also a movie lover, attending USC film school. Prior to Halloween, Carpenter had some slight success with a sci-fi comedy called Dark Star, a space epic parody that had a meager $60,000 budget and a cheesy beach ball monster.

The Movies That Made Us:  Carpenter’s early career and “Halloween” as a concept

Carpenter’s 1976 film Assault on Precinct 13 was also moderately successful, and it was also his first project with frequent collaborator, producer Debra Hill. Assault on Precinct 13 was a success in England.

Interestingly, Carpenter actually named Halloween‘s kill after Michael Myers, an English producer who entered Assault into various film festivals. Eventually, producer Irwin Yablans thought about making a horror movie about babysitters on the Halloween holiday, with the original working title being “The Babysitter Murders.”

Irwin also wanted it to capture the spirit of old radio horror shows like Inner Sanctum and Lights Out. A core point of agreement was that Halloween would de-emphasize blood and gore and have a “theater of the mind” feel.

Moustapha Akkad joined to help finance the movie for $300,000, which was a low budget but something John Carpenter’s can-do spirit could work with. They knew enough about the business to seek some star power to boost the film’s saleability, so both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were separately asked to star as Dr. Samuel Loomis.

Donald Pleasence agreed, partly because his daughter was a fan of Carpenter’s music in Assault on Precinct 13. Interestingly, even though Jamie Lee Curtis was herself not a major star, casting her was certainly made easier as her parents were Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

The look and style of Halloween

Often in a movie, chemistry can be created if the actors know each other, which was the case with P.J. Soles and Nancy Kyes. At the same time, creative chemistry is necessary in order to make a film innovative.

Carpenter and his team worked together with innovations such as Panaglide, giving Halloween more of a seamless, cutting-edge look and feel. Regarding character design, editor Tommy Lee Wallace was chiefly in charge of mask detail, choosing the altered Captain Kirk of Star Trek mask for Michael Myers, as everyone agreed it was the creepiest looking option.

The Movies That Made Us also examines a few creative touches that even some fans might have missed. (For example, Michael Myers has a wrench in his hand to smash the passenger side window on Dr. Loomis’ car, which is something a person could perhaps go years without noticing.)

The series also delves into production problems, including that Halloween struggled against a pumpkin shortage. It’s also noted that Wallace actually plays “The Shape” in at least one scene.

We also learn more about the ins and outs of the opening scene, which is seemingly one long shot from the killer’s perspective (which became a standard horror trope but was relatively unique at the time).

“Halloween” as a Halloween tradition

Halloween did not invent the slasher genre, but it definitely helped popularize it. The Movies That Made Us reminds us how this film made us want to delve deeper into the horror genre.

Halloween itself largely succeeded through word of mouth among moviegoers, and the so-called “Halloween house” is now a landmark. Interestingly, The Movies That Made Us seems to miss an opportunity to mention that, in fact, that house is only a few blocks away from 1428 Elm, the Nightmare on Elm Street house.

Based on that alone, it’s a bit odd that Freddy and Mr. Myers never fought. Oh well!

What are your thoughts on Halloween and The Movies That Made Us? Let us know in the comments!