Halloween Kills was almost the end of Michael Myers, until the trilogy happened

Halloween deaths, the 2018 sequel Hallowe’en, has been compared to Avengers: infinity war due to its position as an open setting to the capper-trilogy planned for 2022, Halloween ends. But watching the horror unfold reminded me a little more of Mad Max: Fury Road. What director George Miller did for car chases, filmmaker David Gordon Green does for artistic slaughter. Fresh off a confrontation with a gray-haired Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Hallowe’en, Michael Myers emerges from a burning building with a vengeance. Thought you knew what a slasher rampage looked like – 2018 movie is creepy! – but Halloween deaths it’s non-stop murder. To be fair, Green put it right there in the title.

The middle chapter, a head-banging dream ballet, wasn’t always part of Green’s plan. When he and his co-writer Danny McBride signed on for the sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 original. Hallowe’en With a continuation of Laurie’s story, and the introduction of their daughter (Judy Greer) and granddaughter (Andi Matichak), the pair envisioned a pair of two, shot back to back.

“We talked about doing two at a time,” Green tells Polygon. “I got too scared because I thought that if everyone hated the first movie, I would have to sit around feeling gross for a year before the second one came out!”

Working with writer Jeff Fradley (Deputy Directors), Green and McBride essentially drew an arc for two movies, Hallowe’en and wherever Halloween ends he. “But then when we decided to focus on a movie, we pushed a lot [the ideas] Set aside and focused on our 2018 episode, reintroducing some of the characters and concepts from John Carpenter and Deborah Hill’s 1978 film, bringing in some new signature moves. Once it was successful, and we felt we could justify to the fanbase that we had more story to tell, we designed two more films. We were able to complete what I think is a great way to wrap up and resolve the situation that started in 1978. “

The Halloween franchise is riddled with sequels that got more and more complicated as Michael became less and less like “The Shape,” as Carpenter originally defined it, and more like a damaged but three-dimensional person. The film series includes direct sequels to Carpenter’s original timeline, two films in the revamped “H20” timeline, and then Rob Zombie’s separate reboot universe. Green and McBride eliminated all of that when they spoke to Laurie again, with her Hallowe’en positioned as the “first” true sequel to the 1978 film. But by making Halloween deaths, they faced pressure to avoid the pitfalls of the past, even as they gave Michael more prominence.

“Michael is at the heart of the movie, and that’s one of the obstacles and opportunities as a writer,” says Green. “But we refuse to delve into a psychology. We refuse to know more. “

The director compares Michael to the shark in Jaws Not that i want to do Jaws 2. In Spielberg’s seminal horror film, the killer fish’s first appearance tells audiences that the protagonists’ deaths could be anywhere, even if they can’t see it coming. Green wanted The Shape to work the same way, and for viewers to be anxious about where it might appear. “So it’s a different kind of horror movie, where there is the traditional character justification, and the character arc of a supervillain. It is a nothing, an essence of evil. He’s a deadpan, emotionless murderous creature. ”

Green felt it was key to keep Laurie as “the heart and soul of our movie,” even while creating a more violent and percussive beat for Michael’s chaos. On Halloween deathsWhen the other citizens of Haddonfield learn of Michael Myers’ return (the same night as the events of the 2018 film), Green says he wanted to “navigate through how [Laurie] deals with Michael and introduces him to the community. Then all hell breaks loose. ”

Avoid characterization and go all out in the splash department does Halloween deaths truly unique compared to other half-baked horror sequels. The decision also affected Green. Described as “a very aggressive movie to make, ”the production consisted of seven weeks of late-night shoots and few sequences in which the cast and crew were able to catch their breath.

“We laugh about it now, but it was very stressful at the time. There was no scene with two people in a room talking. It’s all crazy or logistics, or stunts or murder or screaming. You go to bed stressed at 8:30 in the morning every day. But at the same time, we have a bunch of collaborators and co-stars, and everyone involved is there for the right reasons, injecting a lot of excitement and fun. It was a sick adventure that seems like a dream. “

Halloween deaths premieres in theaters and airs on Peacock Premium on October 15