Michael Myers (Halloween)

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Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween (197Image:Cool.gif as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as "The Shape" in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film, with Tony Moran and Tommy Lee Wallace substituting in during the final scenes. He was created by Debra Hill and John Carpenter. Michael Myers has appeared in eight films, as well as novels, a video game and several comic books.

The character is the primary antagonist in the Halloween film series, except Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which was not connected in continuity to the rest of the films. Since Castle, Moran, and Wallace put on the mask in the original film, six people have stepped into the role. There have been no actors to portray the character in consecutive films, with a new actor filling the role in each succeeding film; only one actor has portrayed the character more than once. Michael Myers is characterized as pure evil, whether directly in the films, by the filmmakers who created and developed the character over eight films, or random participants in a survey.<ref name="Unmasking"/><ref name="psy"/>

Appearances

Michael Myers is the primary antagonist in all of the Halloween films, with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, as that film did not feature any of the characters from the original two films and had nothing to do with Michael Myers. Michael would return immediately following Halloween III, in the appropriately titled Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. The silver screen is not the only place Michael Myers has appeared; there have been literary sources that have expanded the universe of Michael.

Films

Michael Myers made his first appearance in the original 1978 film, Halloween, although the masked character is credited as "The Shape". In the beginning of the film, a six-year old Michael (Will Sandin) murders his older sister, Judith (Sandy Johnson), and is taken to a Smith's Grove - Warren County Sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael (Nick Castle) escapes the sanitarium and returns to Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael procedes to stalk and murder several teens. When he attempts to kill Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) she manages to fend him off long enough for Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), Michael's psychiatrist, to find him. Loomis shoots Michael six times in the chest, before Michael falls over the house's second-story balcony ledge. When Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he finds it missing.<ref name="H1">Modèle:Cite video</ref> Michael's second appearance was in Halloween's sequel, Halloween II (1981). The film picks up directly where the original ends, with Loomis still looking for Michael's body. Myers (Dick Warlock) follows Laurie Strode to the local hospital, where he wanders the halls in search of her. Loomis discovers that Laurie Strode is Michael's younger sister, and goes to the hospital to find them. Loomis causes an explosion in the operating room, and Laurie escapes as the flames engulf Loomis and Myers.<ref name="H2">Modèle:Cite video</ref>

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (198Image:Cool.gif picks the story up ten years after the events of Halloween II. Michael (George P. Wilbur) is revealed to have survived the explosion, but he has been held at the Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium. Michael wakes from his coma when he learns Laurie Strode was killed in a car accident, but that her daughter is still alive. Michael escapes and immediately heads to Haddonfield to kill Laurie's daughter, Jamie (Danielle Harris). The state police find Michael and shoot him several times before he falls down a mine shaft.<ref name="H4">Modèle:Cite video</ref> Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) begins immediately after the fourth film ends, with Michael Myers (Don Shanks) escaping the mine shaft and being nursed back to health by a local hermit. The next year, Michael kills the hermit and returns to Haddonfield to find Jamie again. Michael is eventually captured and taken to the local police station, but an unseen figure kills the officers and frees him.<ref name="H5">Modèle:Cite video</ref> Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) takes place approximately six years after the events of The Revenge of Michael Myers; both Jamie (J. C. Brandy) and Michael (George P. Wilbur) have disappeared from Haddonfield. The Cult of Thorn impregnate Jamie, in an effort to control Michael Myers. Michael kills Jamie, but not before she hides her newborn. Tommy Doyle (Paul Stephen Rudd) discovers Jamie's baby. While trying to protect the baby from Myers, Tommy learns that the Curse of Thorn is the cause of Michael's obsession with killing his entire family.<ref name="H6">Modèle:Cite video</ref>

Ignoring the events of the previous three films, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (199Image:Cool.gif follows Michael (Chris Durand) as he searches for Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her teenage son John (Josh Hartnett). Michael tracks Laurie to the private boarding school where she is headmistress and murders John's friends. After ensuring the safety of her son, Laurie battles it out with Michael, and succeeds in decapitating him.<ref name="H7">Modèle:Cite video</ref> Halloween: Resurrection (2002), which picks up three years after H20, retcons Michael's death, establishing that the man Laurie decapitated was a paramedic whom Michael had attacked and swapped clothes with. Michael tracks Laurie to a mental institution, where she was placed after she learned the truth of her actions. Michael kills Laurie and returns to his home in Haddonfield. There, he finds a group of college students filming an internet reality show inside his house. He begins killing each of them before being caught in an electrical fire.<ref name="H8">Modèle:Cite video</ref>

Michael's latest appearance is in Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007), a reimagining of the original film.<ref> Borys Kit

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   Zombie plots new mayhem for 'Halloween' 
     
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 . </ref> Zombie's film focuses more on Michael's psychology. The film follows the basic premise of the original film, with Michael (Daeg Faerch) killing his sister Judith (Hanna R. Hall), escaping Smith's Grove, and stalking Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). In this film, Laurie is shown to be Michael's sister from the beginning, something not revealed until the original's sequel in 1981. Michael is shown to have an interest in Halloween masks and killing animals. During his time at Smith's Grove, he takes up the hobby of creating papier-mâché masks, which he wears constantly. Michael's (Tyler Mane) motives for coming after Laurie were altered to show that he was attempting to reunite with his sister, the one person in his family he cared for, instead of simply being out to kill her.<ref name="H9">Modèle:Cite video</ref>

Literature

Michael Myers made his literary debut in October 1979 when Curtis Richards released a novelization of the film. The book follows the events of the film, but expands on the festival of Samhain and Michael's time at Smith's Grove Sanitarium.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> Michael returned to the world of literature with the 1981 adaptation of Halloween II written by Jack Martin; it was published alongside the first film sequel, with the novel following the film events, with an additional victim, a reporter, added to the novel.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> The final novelization to feature Michael was Halloween IV, released October 1988. The novel was written by Nicholas Grabowsky, and like the previous adaptations, follows the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref>

Over a four month period, Berkley Books published three young adult novels written by Kelly O'Rourke; the novels are original stories created by O'Rourke, with no direct continuity with the films.<ref> Interview with Kelly O'Rourke

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The character's first break into comics came with a series of comics published by Brian Pulido's Chaos Comics. The first, simply titled Halloween, was intended to be a one-issue special, but eventually two sequels spawned: Halloween II: The Blackest Eyes and Halloween III: The Devil's Eyes. All of the stories were written by Phil Nutman, with Daniel Farrands—writer for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers—assisting on the first issue; David Brewer and Justiniano worked on the illustrations. Tommy Doyle is the main protagonist in each of the issues, focusing on his attempts to kill Michael Myers. The first issue includes backstory on Michael's childhood, while the third picks up after the events of the film Halloween H20.<ref> Halloween - Michael Myers comic book titles

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In 2003, Michael appeared in the self-published comic One Good Scare, written by Stefan Hutchinson and illustrated by Peter Fielding. The main character in the comic is Lindsey Wallace, the young girl who first saw Michael Myers alongside Tommy Doyle in the original 1978 film. Hutchinson wanted to bring the character back to his roots, and away from the "lumbering Jason-clone" the film sequels had made him.<ref> The Arrow interviews Stefan Hutchinson

. Arrow in the Head 
 
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. Retrieved on 2007-11-25. </ref> On July 25,2006, as an insert inside the DVD release of Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, the comic book Halloween: Autopsis was released. Written by Stefan Hutchinson, and artwork by Marcus Smith and Nick Dismas, the story is about a photographer assigned to take pictures of Michael Myers. As the photographer, Carter, follows Dr. Loomis he begins to take on Loomis's obsession himself, until finally meeting Michael Myers in person, which results in his death.<ref> Halloween: Autopsis

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. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. </ref> Stefan Hutchinson has plans to release a series of Halloween comics, starting in 2008, through Devil's Due publishing. The first comics will be a 4 issue mini series, titled Halloween: Nightdance, with the first issue focusing primarily on Michael Myers, with no appearances from characters from the films. The storyline will take place on October 31, 2000, so that it will fall between Halloween H20 and Halloween Resurrection. Issue #1 will follow Michael as he stalks Lisa, a fifteen year-old girl with insecurities and "a chronic fear of darkness".<ref> Stefan Hutchinson talks Halloween

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Concept and creation

The character derives his name from distributor Michael Myers, who worked with Debra Hill and John Carpenter on Assault on Precinct 13. According to John Carptener, Myers helped "push [Assault on Precinct 13] into the London Film Festival, that's where my reputation kind of began, so I felt I owed him. So that was my tribute to him, he was this dearest, dearest man". Carpenter wanted to "raise this Michael Myers character up to a mythic status; make him human, yes, but almost like a force. A force that will never stop, that can't be denied."<ref name="CutAbove">Modèle:Cite video</ref> He did not want to give Michael a backstory, but put him immediately into a "legendary kind of situation".<ref name="Unmasked">Modèle:Cite video</ref> To elaborate, Carpenter explained that he was influenced by Yul Brynner's "killer robot that couldn't be destroyed" in Michael Crichton's Westworld.<ref name="CutAbove"/> Carpenter felt this kind of character, one that was "a force", would be more terrifying than personifying him. Michael mask was meant to help illustrate this further, because it would "blank out his human features […] Making him then just some sort of force of evil that is irrational, unstoppable."<ref name="Unmasked"/>

When developing the 2007 Halloween remake, Rob Zombie commented on his intentions for the character, stating that he wanted Michael Myers to be the lead character in the film. Zombie felt the character could be made "more intense" if he was more than just a "faceless thing floating around in the background". Zombie believed it was important to be able to see the events that shape the character, making it "more disturbing" to the audience.<ref name="mtv"> Robert Mancini

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Becoming "The Shape"

"[Nick Castle's] father was a choreographer for Fred Astaire, and he just moved great. And I think John really wanted to play him as that, where he just looks, and his head turns, and he's enamored by this sister-like character that he sees in Laurie Strode. He makes the connection; he breaks out of the insane asylum and gets to his house, and sees this young girl, and makes this sort of subtle connection."<ref name="CutAbove"/>

Moran, who was looking for work, received a call from his agent about an audition for a "B flick", where he would be playing a "psycho". Moran prepared for his audition by neglecting to sleep, shave, shower or wash his hair for three days. He wore tattered clothes, with hiking boots to the audition. After being introduced to John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, Moran proceeded to slam his feet up on the table and demand some coffee. He startled everyone at the table, and that afternoon received a phone call that he had gotten the job. Moran would take up the role from the point that Michael is strangling Laurie, as production designer Tommy Lee Wallace had performed the job during the scene where Michael breaks through the closet and Nick Castle in the part up to that scene. Moran would film the rest of the scenes—the removal of Michael's mask, being shot by Loomis and then falling over the balcony—except where Michael's body lies on the ground outside. In response to the "angelic face" remark made by Castle, Moran contends that he was not made aware of that "concept" when he was hired, but after viewing some photos of him and Carpenter on an A&E special, he "kind of sees what [Castle] means".<ref name="moran int"> Sean Clark

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Stunt performer Dick Warlock played Michael Myers in Halloween II, replacing Castle who was beginning a career as a director. Warlock's previous experience in film was as a stunt double in films such as The Green Berets (196Image:Cool.gif, Jaws (1975) and the 1974 television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Warlock had not seen the original film before he was hired, but after getting the job we watched the film "two or three times", modeling his behavior after the few scenes Tommy Lee Wallace performed. Wallace portrayed the character in the scene where Michael attacks Laurie in the closet, and the scene where he sits up and turns toward Laurie, after having fallen down wounded from her counter-attack. Warlock modeled his movements for Halloween II after those scenes, as well as the scene where Michael tilts his head to the side while staring at the body of Bob stuck on the wall.<ref name="Warlock 1"> Interview with Dick Warlock

. Pit of Horror  
 

 

. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. </ref> Warlock took on Michael's characteristic "breathing", which was heard in the original film, while he was behind the mask.<ref> Interview with Dick Warlock (2)

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. Retrieved on 2007-10-03. </ref> Debra Hill claims that although "the Shape" had no lines, Castle's portrayal gave them the presence that they wanted for the movie; she goes on to say that Dick Warlock was unable to emulate that presence, despite studying Castle's performance.<ref name="Unmasked"/>

George P. Wilbur did not study any of the previous Halloween films when he took over the role in The Return of Michael Myers.<ref name="Warlock 1"/>

The mask

"We didn't have any money to make a mask. It was originally written the way you see it, in other words, it's a pale mask with human features, almost featureless. I don't know why I wrote that down, why Debra and I decided on that, maybe it was because of an old movie called Eyes Without a Face. It's a French film, Franju made it, this girl had a burned face so she wore this face mask, it was real creepy because it was featureless and immobile except for her eyes. So Tommy Lee Wallace, our production designer, ran up to the mask shop on Hollywood Boulevard and bought a couple, one was a clown mask, and that's, you know, one way to go, and the other he got this William Shatner Star Trek mask; Captain Kirk."<ref name="CutAbove"/>

Contrary to reports, the mask used in Halloween II was the mask used in the original film. According to Dick Warlock, Debra Hill stored the original mask under her bed before she brought it to Warlock to wear. Warlock offers his opinion on why the mask looks different in the second film: "I think the lighting has a lot to do with the way the mask looks from film to film. The shape of my face is also totally different than [Nick] Castle's, [Tommy Lee] Wallace's or probably any of the other people who wore it in Halloween." The original mask has since been sold "to a man in Ohio. He has two haunted houses. One in Toledo and one in Tiffin. He had the mask and coveralls on display there this past October. I'm supposing he'll display them every year in one place or the other," according to Warlock.<ref name="Warlock 1"/>

Dominique Othenin-Girard, director of Halloween 5, began casting for the Michael Myers character using the Halloween 4 mask during auditions, but was "perplexed" with Don Shanks performance. Girard wanted the character to "feel human and alive", but knew that without dialogue or facial expressions he would not be able to achieve his goal. Girard decide to use latex material to create new masks for Don Shanks, and the KNB special effects team attempted to go for a human interpretation of evil. Girard also felt it was necessary to distance himself from the "plastic, shiny look of the hockey mask of Friday the 13th". While the special effects team worked on the new masks, Girard requested that the team alter the traditional design of the nose, which he thought felt "too realistic and too normal, too round and soft, too much like a human nose". Girard wanted "the feel of a mask", something "unmovable, like a façade hiding a terrible secret behind steel".<ref name="Domini"> Dominique Othenin-Girard

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Adam Arkin, who plays guidance counselor Will Brennan in Halloween H20, remarks, "There's something that's so minimalistic and so neutral about that face, that becomes sort of indelibly edged in your memory, number one. And I think number two, you're able to project any kind of frightening idea or image on top of it."<ref name="Unmasking"/>

Characterization

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A common characterization is that Michael Myers is evil. John Carptener has described the character as "almost a supernatural force - a force of nature. An evil force that's loose," a force that is "unkillable"<ref name="Unmasking"/> His inspiration for the "evil" that Michael would embody came when he was in college. While on a class trip at a mental institution in Kentucky, Carpenter visited "the most serious, mentally ill patients". Among those patients was a young boy around twelve to thirteen years-old. The boy this "schizophrenic stare", "a real evil stare", which Carpenter found "unsettling", "creepy", and "completely insane". Carpenter's experience would inspire the characterization Loomis would give of Michael to Sheriff Brackett in the original film. Another instance of Michael's evil is the scene where he kills the Wallace's German Shepherd. Debra Hill has stated the scene shows how Michael "was really evil and deadly".<ref name="CutAbove"/>

The ending scene of Michael being shot six times, and then disappearing from the ground outside the house, was meant to terrify the imagination of the audience. Carpenter tried to keep the audience guessing as to who Michael Myers really is—he is gone, and everywhere at the same time; he is more than human; he may be supernatural, and no one knows how he got that way. To Carpenter, keeping the audience guessing was better than explaining away the character with "he's cursed by some..."<ref name="CutAbove"/> For Josh Hartnett, who portrayed John Tate in Halloween H20, "it's that abstract, it's easier for me to be afraid of it. You know, someone who just kind of appears and, you know [Mimics stabbing noise from Psycho] instead of an actual human who you think you can talk to. And no remorse, it's got no feelings, that's the most frightening, definitely." Richard Schickel, film critic for TIME, felt Michael was "irrational" and "really angry about something", having what Schickel referred to as "a kind of primitive, obsessed intelligence". Schickel considered this the "definition of a good monster", by making the character appear "less than human", but have enough intelligence "to be dangerous".<ref name="Unmasking"/>

Modèle:Quote box Dominique Othenin-Girard attempted to have audiences "relate to 'Evil', to Michael Myers's 'ill' side". Girard wanted Michael to appear "more human […] even vulnerable, with contradicting feelings inside of him". He illustrated these feelings with a scene where Michael removes his mask and sheds a tear. Girard explains,"Again, to humanize him, to give him a tear. If Evil or in this case our boogeyman knows pain, or love or demonstrate a feeling of regrets; he become even more scary to me if he pursue his malefic action. He shows an evil determination beyond his feelings. Dr. Loomis tries to reach his emotional side several times in [Halloween 5]. He thinks he could cure Michael through his feelings."<ref name="Domini"/>

A study was conducted by California State University's Media Psychology Lab, on the psychological appeal of movie monsters—Vampires, Freddy Krueger, Frankenstein's monster, Jason Voorhees, Godzilla, Chucky, Hannibal Lecter, King Kong, and The Alien—which surveyed 1,166 people nationwide (United States), with ages ranging from 16 to 91. It was published in the Journal of Media Psychology. In the survey, Michael was considered to be the "embodiment of pure evil"; when compared to the other characters, Michael Myers was rated the highest. Michael was characterized lending to the understanding of insanity, being ranked second to Hannibal Lecter in this category; he also placed first as the character who shows audiences the "dark side of human nature". He was rated second in the category "monster enjoys killing" by the participants, and believed to have "superhuman strength". Michael was rated highest among the characters in the "monster is an outcast" category.<ref name="psy">Modèle:Cite journal</ref>

In popular culture

In Robot Chicken's nineteenth episode, "That Hurts Me", Michael Myers appears as a housemate of "Horror Movie Big Brother", alongside other famous slasher movie killers such as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Leatherface. Myers is evicted from the house, and takes off his mask to reveal himself to be the comedian Mike Myers, and utters his Austin Powers catchphrase, "Groovy baby!" He proceeds to kill the host.<ref name=RobotChicken19> "That Hurts Me".

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In one of the various merchandises to feature the character, Michael Myers made his video game debut with the 1983 Atari video game Halloween. The game is rare to find, often being played on emulators. No characters from the films are specifically named, with the goal of the game focusing on the player, who is a babysitter, protecting children from a "homicidal maniac [who] has escaped from a mental institution".<ref> Matt

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References

External links

• Official site of the Halloween series
• Official site of John Carpenter
• Modèle:Imdb character
• Michael Myers at the Horror Film Wiki, a horror film Wikia

Modèle:Halloween series

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