Steve Barton

Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton Takes a Look at the Past and Future of Halloween

For genre fans, the name Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton has become synonymous with modern horror journalism. From his humble beginnings working with The Horror Channel in the early 2000s and his co-creation of the revered Dread Central in 2006 (where he served as Editor-in-Chief for well over a decade) to his recent establishment of the popular Brainwaves Horror and Paranormal podcast in 2016, Barton’s erudite knowledge and unflinching editorial candor have made him a highly respected luminary within the horror sphere.

With that, I’m thrilled to welcome Barton to HalloweenMovies.com as a guest writer, as here he takes an engaging look back at the iconic Halloween franchise, from its genre-defining beginnings to what lays ahead for those unfortunate residents of Haddonfield.

Sean Decker, Editor-in-Chief, HalloweenMovies.com

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Halloween: The Shape of Change

By Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton

For forty years the Halloween franchise has been scaring the hell out of audiences around the globe. Now a familiar chill is back in the air. Leaves are being blown softly down our streets… the scent of pumpkin spice is tickling our senses; decorations are being hung, both ghastly and cute; and the world is prepping for yet another night of tricks, treats, and thankfully… unstoppable… “evil.”

Back in 1978 Dr. Samuel Loomis warned us about a six-year-old child with a blank, pale, emotionless face and… the blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes. This October death is once again ready to come home in the fashion of Blumhouse’s Halloween; and as we all steady ourselves for what’s to come, the fanbase has begun swirling with anticipation and questions. This new iteration of Michael Myers isn’t very new at all. In fact, he’s the same one who gave us nightmares back in ’78 as he pursued Laurie Strode through her Haddonfield neighborhood, and that’s where our story begins. Everything from 1981’s Halloween II to Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009) has been entered into the history books, which is where all of those events will continue to thrive and haunt for years to come.

This latest Halloween instead picks up the plotline from John Carpenter’s original conclusion. No longer is Laurie Michael’s sister apparently. Jamie Lloyd was never born. This Shape was never led by an infamous man in black. He’s retained his head and has never haunted the halls of his home while a film crew scrambled to cash in on the horrors of days gone by. Conal Cochran, however, may still have unleashed a living hell on earth thanks to some intricate Halloween masks filled with all manner of ghastly flesh-hungry creatures, thereby making Season of the Witch a truer continuation of events than it has ever been before. I mean, surely something happened during the decades between Michael’s escape and eventual reincarceration.

Change has always been a big part of the Halloween franchise as it’s the only horror yarn that spins constantly in different directions, fostering a host of blood-soaked threads that we as fans have been following for decades. In anticipation of the new installment, let’s untangle said routes and see where each film lies within the franchise.

Halloween (1978) connects directly to Halloween (2018).

Forty years have passed since Michael Myers stalked Laurie Strode that fateful night in Haddonfield. Both Strode and Myers have been lying in wait for each other, and their final showdown will surely be epic to say the least. Who knows where the franchise will go from here, but one thing’s for sure… we will all be watching, even if some of you will be looking through your fingers.

Halloween (1978) also connects to Halloween II (1981).

At the end of John Carpenter’s original classic, we see that Michael’s psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, has bested The Shape. You see, Loomis shot him six times. Once in the heart. But it turns out that didn’t stop Michael. Nothing can. As the events continue, Strode, who is identified as Michael’s sister, is transported to the local hospital; and Myers is hot on her tail. Strode escapes again, but it appears as if Loomis and Myers have met their end together. Myers is shot in both eyes and is then burned (what we thought to be) to death in an explosion.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) connects to no other films in the franchise.

With Michael Myers either dead or incarcerated (choose your own adventure), Halloween takes on a disturbing new vision with warlocks plotting the mass killing of children via Silver Shamrock Halloween masks. It should be noted that the 1978 film can be seen playing on television during Halloween III as a nod to what came before this. The reasoning behind Season of the Witch was that a new Halloween-themed tale would be spun each year. With no Myers to be found, the fans balked for decades. Now, however, the film has become much loved and stands as a testament to 80’s horror at its finest.

Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) connect directly to 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

The audience was heard loud and clear… we wanted our boogeyman back, and Halloween 4 does a fine job of bringing back the principals for another round of mayhem in Haddonfield. It’s ten years after the night of the massacre that left several teenagers dead, and we find out that both Loomis and Myers survived the inferno at Haddonfield Hospital. It’s revealed that Laurie Strode has passed on, but her seven-year-old daughter, Jamie, is alive and well and has been adopted by the Carruthers family. Upon learning of the existence of his niece during a transfer between the Richmond Mental Institute to Smith’s Grove, Myers rises from his coma to take care of family business. Thankfully for the Carruthers family, Loomis, the ever-vigilant Ahab of this twist on Moby Dick, is not far behind. Upon the film’s conclusion Myers is shot an innumerable amount of times, blasting him backward down a well. Both Jamie and her stepsister, Rachel, have survived the night, but not without incident. Jamie – in a mental break – takes up Michael’s mantle, proving that there’s just something in the blood.

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers connect directly to Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

After the events of the previous year, Jamie finds herself, much like her uncle, locked up in a hospital surrounded by other troubled children. After falling into the well, which was dynamited to seal it shut, Myers is revealed to have been washed ashore in a bunker of sorts, where he was cared for by a vagrant and his pet parrot, Snookie. Once the calendar strikes Halloween, he’s up and at ‘em, once again on the hunt for his niece, after dispatching Rachel of course because Myers is nothing if not thorough. After some truly bloody events, Jamie makes her escape and Michael is jailed… but only temporarily. He’s soon busted out by a mysterious Man in Black who shares the same Thorn tattoo as Myers does. Could there be some other connection between the two? Of course there is!

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers connect directly to Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers and Halloween 6: The Producer’s Cut.

Change has never been more prevalent within the franchise than it is with Halloween 6. Famously, there are indeed two versions of the sixth installment, and both bring the Jamie Lloyd (played here by J.C. Brandy instead of the much beloved Danielle Harris) story arc to a close early on. The Man in Black is revealed to be Smith’s Grove head honcho, Dr. Wynn (whom we first met briefly in Halloween 1978). Wynn is also the head of the Pagan cult that is now controlling Myers, with varying degrees of success depending on which version of the movie you’re watching. Both versions of Halloween 6 also mark the final appearance of the character of Dr. Sam Loomis, who was played masterfully by Donald Pleasence. The differences between the two cuts of the film are pretty striking. Those looking for a more mystical take on the character of The Shape would be best served by the Producer’s Cut, and those with a preference for slaughter will get more than enough of the red with the theatrical version. See? Change and choice can be a good thing!

Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) connect directly to 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.

With the irreplaceable Pleasence no longer with us to play Loomis, it was time for The Shape to have a new Ahab. Who better to bring back than Laurie Strode herself? Twenty years after the night He came home, Strode is living under an assumed name along with her son and is the dean of a private school located in Northern California. It may have taken 20 years, but Myers finally catches up with her, leading to a goosebump-inducing battle between the two that will always remain an incredible crowd-pleaser.

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later connect directly to Halloween: Resurrection.

Much like both versions of Halloween 6 did with their main character of Shapes gone by, the Laurie Strode story arc is ended very early on, and Myers is free to go back home and dispatch a whole new generation of victims… but there’s a twist! Thanks to an enterprising entrepreneur, the Myers house has been outfitted with cameras and taken online so that the world can join in on an investigation of it. This would be the last time this very familiar Michael Myers would be seen on screen as the series was about to have itself both a reboot and a rebirth.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween hits the reset button.

It was the dawn of a new time in the Halloween franchise as big changes were once again on the horizon for The Shape as Rob Zombie adds his distinct flavor to the character of Michael Myers. In this film we get to explore what makes Myers tick and eventually snap. After a time jump midway through the film, we find Myers as a new, hulking freight train of carnage that’s just waiting to be unleashed; and once he breaks his chains, all hell breaks out with him. The second half of Zombie’s film reveres what Carpenter had originally created, and all the pieces were firmly in place for this new Shape’s saga to continue.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween connects directly to Rob Zombie’s Halloween II.

Unlike the original Halloween II, which picks up the action immediately after the first film, a year has passed since Myers would once again begin his deadly pursuit of his sister, Laurie. Zombie expands on the world he’s built with his first film in every conceivable way and in the process delivers an extreme and unique spin on the horrors of Haddonfield. This Myers is not only haunted, but he’s also enormous, chaotic, and as brutal as can be. Zombie’s Halloween II will probably remain the most violent entry into this storied and multi-faceted franchise.

And with that, this history lesson is officially over. One franchise that is home to five distinctive storylines and worlds. Blumhouse is set to deliver its own spin on Halloween by ignoring everything that transpired after the original 1978 film. Forty years have passed, and now Laurie is back, as is Myers. But this Shape is of no relation to her. This Shape is nothing but pure, driven evil. The kind that had Sam Loomis frightened and desperate beyond words. The horrors that began on Lampkin Lane in 1963 are about to begin again. Despite the quintet of plots, one thing has always remained the same: Death is once again coming to a little town, and it can’t… no, it WON’T… be ignored.