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Steve Miner

Wanna’ See Keri Tate’s Driver’s License from Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later?

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As Halloween fans, we love minutia, from the fine print on John Tate’s screen-used permission slip for Hillcrest Academy’s Yosemite outing as seen in 1998’s Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (you can see that here), to the same’s screen-used 17th  birthday card and envelope (we took a peek at those here). Today we bring you a look at another piece of production art from the film: Keri “Laurie Strode” Tate’s driver’s license!

With her address listed as “1313 Hillcrest Lane” (a partial nod to the street number of the Munsters mansion, perhaps?), it seems H20’s art department had a bit of a sense of humor.

As for a peek at the location which stood in for Hillcrest Academy, we took at look at that recently as well here.

Sam Loomis’ Psychiatric Evaluation of Michael Myers Revealed

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Following the arrival of detectives Fitz and Matt to Marion Crane’s ransacked office in Steve Miner’s 1998 hit Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, the subsequent opening credit montage features shots of the items which adorn its walls: newspaper clippings, sketches of escaped murderer Michael Myers, and a psychiatric evaluation of the same, written by deceased Dr. Samuel Loomis. But what was in that medical report?

According to the fine print in the screen-sued evaluation, Loomis had initially requested shock treatment for his young ward in the Warren County Sanitarium document, in addition to lamenting that, “It is extremely unfortunate that this boy was not given treatment in infancy. It would be regarded highly unlikely that any such treatment would be of minor significance.”

Check it out below.

John Tate’s Permission Slip from Halloween H20 Revealed

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Josh Hartnett & Michelle William’s in Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

In director Steve Miner’s 1998 film Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, Keri “Laurie Strode” Tate initially expressed great trepidation in signing her son John’s fall field trip permission slip for Hillcrest Academy’s student body outing to Yosemite National Park. Was it due to her, as John puts it, “overprotection and paranoia (which was) inhibiting (his) growth process,” or something more malevolent?

According to the fine print seen in the screen-used permission slip pictured below (currently in the hands of a private collector), it apparently stemmed from the fact that in signing it she would not only be shelling out $1,200.00 for the trip, but would also be voluntarily waiving the “school’s liability for the students if they were attacked by bears, mountain lions, snakes, or psychopathic killers with knives and/or are carried off by bald eagles.”

It seems that the film’s art department had a bit of a sense of humor!

What screen-used Halloween props do you own? Sound off in the comments below.

‘DEEP CUT’ TRIVIA: ‘What’s the name of Laurie Strode’s Ex-Husband?’

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Following the events of Halloween and Halloween II, director Steve Miner’s 1998 film Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later finds those films’ heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) with a different name, living under the assumed identity of ‘Keri Tate,’ the “head mistress of a very posh, secluded private school in Northern California,” with her seventeen year-old son John (actor Josh Hartnett).

But who’s John’s father? We’ve done some digging, and according to the screen-used birthday card and envelope as opened by Hartnett in the film (recently acquired by a private collector – photos below), the character’s dead-beat dad and Laurie’s “abusive, chain smoking, methadone addict ex-husband” is one ‘Robert Tate,’ who resides at 6323 1st Street in Ptrunk, Illinois.

According to Google, Ptrunk, Illinois doesn’t exist, and neither does Summer Glen, California, but ah, movie magic, and you’ve gotta’ appreciate that art department’s dedication to minutia!

Check out the scene below.

Did Halloween H20’s Shooting Script Acknowledge The Cult of Thorn? Patrick Lussier Speaks

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Over the course of eleven films the Halloween franchise has taken several varied narrative paths, and director Steve Miner’s 1998 film Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later is no exception.

Intended as the finale to the story arc of character Laurie Strode (the series’ ‘Final Girl’ originated by actress Jamie Lee Curtis in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween, who reprised her role three years later in Rick Rosenthal’s direct sequel Halloween II), Miner’s film intentionally ignored everything which followed the two, including the narrative thread established in the sequels Halloween 4, 5 & 6. Those three films, without the inclusion of Curtis, saw series’ slasher Michael Myers set his sights on a new target, one Jamie Lloyd, a character who was introduced as the orphaned daughter of Strode, the latter having perished in an automobile accident.

But what if H20 hadn’t ignored this thread?

IMDB legend has it that the shooting script of H20, as written by Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg (from a loose treatment by Kevin Williamson) allegedly bridged the gap with a scene in which a Hillcrest student Sarah (H20 actress Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) delivers a class report on the “Haddonfield Murders,” which ties the series’ disjointed narrative threads together (you can read the script pages below), and in effect renders the Lloyd narrative canon.

Above: Actress Danielle Harris as ‘Jamie Lloyd’ in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

So, was the scene shot? We reached out to Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later editor Patrick Lussier last week for clarification, and you can read his response below.

But first, the scene in question.

INT. CLASSROOM – LATER THAT DAY

Students file into the class, sit in their assigned seats. KERI stands behind a desk at the head of the class. The Bell Rings.

KERI

Good morning, class.  Mr. Elliot’s out sick this week…turns out it was his appendix.

The students ad-lib “COOL,” “ALRIGHT,” “YEAH.”

KERI(cont’d)

Your compassion is overwhelming.  But I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that he gave me the list of students who will be giving their oral reports today.

The students groan.

KERI (cont’d)

I thought so.  First up is Sarah Locke.

Sarah crosses to the podium at the head of the class, stands behind it. She reads off a stack of index cards in front of her…

SARAH (rapidly)

“The Haddonfield Murders” by Pamela Whittington.  A totally gruesome depiction of serial killer Michael Meyers’ path of destruction in a small Illinois town.

Keri sits up in her chair, uneasy.  Of all the books…

During the following, we INTERCUT between the described flashbacks and Keri, as she struggles to maintain her composure as the memories come flooding back —

SARAH (cont’d)

The riveting tale begins with young Meyers repeatedly stabbing his older sister to death on Halloween night in 1963.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

During the previous dialogue we see the correlating scene from “Halloween” where young Michael Meyers in clown attire murders his sister.

SARAH (OS) (cont’d)

Years later Meyers escaped from Dr. Loomis’ care at Smith’s Grove Institution and returned home to Haddonfield.

During the previous dialogue we once again see the correlating scene from “Halloween” where Michael escapes from outside the gates of Smith’s Grove in Dr. Loomis’ station wagon.

SARAH (OS) (cont’d)

It was there that he stalked Laurie Strode…Meyers’ younger sister…

We see the correlating scene from “Halloween” where the Shape watches Laurie Strode through the screen door as she approaches the old Meyers’ house.

SARAH (OS) (cont’d)

What followed was a night of terror as Michael Meyers slaughtered one innocent victim after another. Strangled some… stabbed others… in the end it was a Halloween of unprecedented carnage.

We see a MONTAGE of murders from “Halloween” and “Halloween II.”

END OF FLASHBACK.

ON Keri, eyes swelling, struggling to keep the lid on her emotions…

SARAH (cont’d)

Ironically, Laurie survived that night, but was said to have died in a car accident years later… leaving behind her only daughter, Jamie.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

During the previous dialogue, we see footage of young Jamie from “Halloween IV.”

SARAH (cont’d)

The book maintains there is truth to the rumor that Laurie Strode is actually alive and well and living under a new identity.  Claiming that she gave up her daughter for adoption to protect the eight-year- old from her psychotic Uncle. Bad idea.  Last Halloween, Jamie’s mutilated body was found in a barn just outside of Haddonfield.

We see Jamie’s demise as depicted in “Halloween VI.”

END FLASHBACK.

ON Keri, unable to stand it any longer.  She grabs her bag, heads for the door.

KERI

Excuse me…

Keri darts out of the classroom.

The students sit in stunned silence, baffled.  Sarah collects her cards and heads back to her seat…

SARAH (cont’d)

That was like so rude.

INT. GIRLS’ RESTROOM – MINUTES LATER

Keri bursts through the bathroom door…locks herself inside an empty stall…drops to her knees, barely making it over the toilet before tossing up her breakfast.

When queried, Lussier said of the pages to HalloweenMovies.com, “That’s an interesting scene, but never one that I read or encountered in the footage.  As far as I know, there was never a scene like (above) that (was) shot. There was a big rewrite shortly before production where several things changed, including the (removal of the) whole character Charles S. Dutton had been hired to play (which included a death scene in the middle of the film) although the (scripted) scene as described was never shot, or if it was, it never came through editorial (which would be highly unlikely).”

Lussier concluded, “So, there was never any cult reference in H20 shot, or in the scripts that I read for the film.”

So there you have it?

Diff’rent Strodes: A Tale of Two Lauries

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Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton Takes a Look at 2018’s Final Girl, Twenty Years Removed

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 back Barton to HalloweenMovies.com as a guest writer, as here he takes a breezy look back at the tale of two Lauries, from director Steve Miner’s 1998 film Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later to director David Gordon Green’s upcoming Halloween, which opens in theaters this October 19th from Universal Pictures.

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

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Diff’rent Strodes: A Tale of Two Lauries

Trauma. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with it. Everyone handles their demons in far different ways, but sometimes said demons are so diabolical… so maniacal… that even if you survive their onslaught, there’s no way you could ever be the same. As noted in my earlier piece, the Halloween franchise is home to very different plot threads, and that’s part of what makes it so enduring and exciting. It’s also home to two vastly different portrayals of the same character by the same actress – the indomitable Jamie Lee Curtis.

At the end of John Carpenter’s Halloween, Curtis’ character of Laurie Strode was left shaken, bloodied, broken, and barely breathing. The events of Halloween II were a direct extension of the horrors of that night. Strode was still very much hanging by a thread. Was it the boogeyman? As a matter of fact, it was.

This all led to Halloween: H20. In Steve Miner’s 1998 film, twenty years had passed since the massacre in Haddonfield, and Laurie still held on to the possibility that the events of that horrific night were not yet at their end. The result? She chose to fake her own death and assume the fictitious identity of one Keri Tate, a dean at a private school in Northern California, residing there with her 17-year-old son, John, the only other person to know her true name.

In H20, things haven’t been easy for Strode, and given the sound of her relationship with John’s father, who she describes as “An abusive, chain smoking, methadone addict,” her life has remained in the proverbial shitter. It’s no wonder she chose to hide. To start fresh. Her son didn’t deserve to be a product of the pain she’s been put through and struggles she’s had to face. Starting over and regaining some semblance of normality is high on her agenda. Make no mistake… Laurie in H20 is not weak; in fact she’s damned strong. She may have her demons, exemplified by alcohol abuse and a cabinet full of prescription pills, but she endures.

Unfortunately, her greatest fear is speeding toward Hillcrest Academy, and this time The Shape is looking to finish what he started. Their confrontation forces Laurie to channel her strength and anger into doing what needs to be done. However, the relentless killing machine that is Michael Myers ends up slipping away again, and this “seemingly” costs Strode her sanity and ultimately her life.

But now, forty years since Michael’s initial rampage, a different Laurie is back; and this one is doing anything but hiding. Instead, her psychological scars are on display, and not unlike like Myers, she’s been lying in wait for just the right moment to exact her own revenge. She’s empowered, angry, strong, and calculating. Gone is the sweet girl-next-door babysitter, and in her place is a warrior. One who will never let anyone or anything take from her again. She has a daughter and granddaughter whom she will fight tooth and nail for, and a single-gear drive that keeps her laser focused. She knows now that both she and Dr. Loomis were right: Michael Myers IS the boogeyman, and this time she will be ready.

There’s a lot of psychology at work in the best entries of the Halloween franchise. That’s what makes it so very special and why it has endured the test of time. How would you react if everything you knew and loved was taken from you? Especially your innocence. Ultimately it’s the loss of Laurie’s that is the most compelling victim of Myers, and David Gordon Green dives into the exploration of that loss, and the reclaiming of power – a conversation itself  pulled from the headlines – in Halloween.

Laurie roars.

Curtis is the kind of actor who has an incredibly dynamic range, and that’s part of what makes her character of Laurie Strode as legendary and iconic as The Shape himself. This undeniably epic collision that’s on our horizon… it is a gift for Halloween fans and the genre as a whole. We’re headed toward the exciting climax of a rivalry that has been brewing for decades. One whose epitaph is bound to be etched into stone and splashed with blood.

This is as big as it gets. Are you ready?

Trick or treat.
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Co-written by director David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween serves as the eleventh entry in the franchise and is intended as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s seminal 1978 film of the same name. Produced by Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block, with McBride, Green and star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and John Carpenter, the latter who also serves as the film’s composer.

Halloween opens wide in theaters on October 19th 2018 via Universal Pictures.