I guess it’s true what they say: You just can’t keep a good bad guy down. Especially if he’s Michael Myers. The unstoppable mask-wearing, knife-wielding maniac has been a mainstay of the Hollywood slasher scene since John Carpenter introduced him to the world in the 1978 seminal horror classic Halloween. The movie has spawned 7 sequels since then and 2002 (one of which, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, actually having absolutely bugger-all to do with the rest of the story) and now its getting another. Sort of.
Dimension Films and Trancas International Films have announced (via EW) that Halloween Returns is in development, with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, of The Collector, Feast and Saw franchise fame, writing the screenplay which Dunstan will direct.
Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of Dimension’s parent company, The Weinstein Company, stated that “Michael Myers has taken a long break from the big screen and we know fans are eager to see him return. We are excited to be back in business with Trancas and look forward to bringing one of the scariest installments of this classic franchise to audiences worldwide.”
You may be thinking that Weinstein is just being forgetful as it hasn’t been that long of a break, seeing as Myers was seen in the 2007 Rob Zombie directed Halloween reboot and its 2009 sequel, but it would appear that this new sequel will be ignoring those movies. And also ignoring a bunch of others.
According to some digging done by Moviehole and Shock Till You Drop, Halloween Returns will actually be a direct sequel to 1981’s Halloween II (the last film in the series that Carpenter had any involvement with) and will be ignoring the movies that came after that. It will also be returning to the original movie’s setting of Haddonfield where we will see a new group of youngsters facing off against Myers and his knife.
It is believed that the “18-year-old child of one of Myers’ victims plays a central role along with the child of a cop whose [sic] long been obsessed with Myers’ case, even putting it before his own daughter.” This cop is apparently none other Halloween II‘s Deputy Gary Hunt, the young blonde officer who assisted original movie protagonist Dr Sam Loomis and is now Sheriff of Haddonfield. This would imply that not much time has passed between the second film and this new one.
Reportedly, in Halloween Returns, we find that “Myers is now on death row and the two kids with their own personal vendettas against the killer sneak in to watch his execution. But when things go awry and Myers escapes, the pair, along with their friends, find themselves in the firing line.”
That certainly sounds like a solid enough premise for these types of slasher movies, which don’t really require the most complex of plots as long as they can deliver on the chills and thrills. The latter will be totally reliant on Dunstan and Melston. I’ve yet to see any of their work, but a quick bit of googling reveals the general consensus that their movies are gore-porn thrillers that definitely appeal to the hardcore crowd, but not much else. The Halloween movies – well at least the early ones – were always more about the shock and suspense than fountains of blood, so I will have to adopt a wait and see approach for now.
Casting is now underway to find a new Michael Myers as well as all his new young victims.
Last Updated: June 18, 2015
