Halloween
With Rob Zombie’s remake in theaters this weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore why Michael Myers (or “The Shape”) worked so well in John Carpenter’s 1978 movie Halloween.
In this commentary track, part of Culture Snob’s Five Minutes series, I use the movie’s ending to discuss the transformation of Michael Myers from troubled child into bogeyman – from human to supernatural. (You can listen with the player above, or you can download the track.)
I haven’t seen Zombie’s movie, but I’m guessing that he misses what makes Michael – and Halloween – special in its genre. A big part of why The Shape works is that he has a blankness that makes him ripe for projection – he’s malleable as a source of fear. So adding a big back-story section seems like the wrong strategy to me.
The monster unmasked:
Acting hurt:
