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Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
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Wikipedia article
'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' is a 1995 American slasher film directed by Joe Chappelle and written by Daniel Farrands. The film stars Donald Pleasence in his final film appearance, Paul Rudd and Marianne Hagan. It is the sixth installment in the 'Halloween' film series, and concludes the Jamie Lloyd story arc established in 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers' and 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'. Set six years after the events of 'Halloween 5', the plot follows Michael Myers as he stalks the Strode family, cousins of Laurie Strode, in order to kill his last surviving relatives, while Dr. Sam Loomis pursues him once more. The film also reveals the source of Michael's immortality and his drive to kill.
Shot in Salt Lake City in the fall of 1994, 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' had a reported troubled production. Its original cut performed poorly with test audiences, leading to the film undergoing a series of reshoots and edits. The finished film was distributed by Dimension Films, who would go on to distribute the rest of the series until 2018's 'Halloween'. It was released on September 29, 1995, grossing $15.1 million at the domestic box office on a budget of $5 million, and was panned by critics upon release. Donald Pleasence died on February 2, 1995, nearly eight months before the film was released. The film was dedicated to his memory.
After the film's home media release, the original workprint of the film, which featured 45 minutes of alternative footage and a different ending, was discovered by fans of the series. This version, dubbed the 'Producer's Cut', developed a cult following, with bootleg DVD copies sold on eBay and online petitions targeting for an official release of it. In 2014, the 'Producer's Cut' was officially released on Blu-ray.
'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' was followed by 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' in 1998, which does not contain any references to Jamie Lloyd storyline of the prior three films (although they were featured in the original script and comic book tie-ins published by Chaos! Comics), instead serving as a direct sequel to 'Halloween II' (1981).
Plot
On October 31, 1989, Michael Myers and his niece Jamie Lloyd are abducted from the Haddonfield Police Station by the Man in Black. Six years later, on October 30, 1995, a now fifteen-year-old Jamie gives birth to a child, and the Man in Black, revealed to be the leader of a Druid-like cult, takes the child away. Later, Nurse Mary, a midwife, helps Jamie escape with her child, but Michael kills her. Jamie and her child flee in a stolen pick-up truck, with Michael in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sam Loomis has retired and moved to a cabin on the outskirts of Haddonfield, where he lives as a hermit. He is visited by his friend Dr. Terence Wynn, the chief administrator of Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where Michael had been incarcerated as a boy; Wynn asks Loomis to return to Smith's Grove. They overhear Jamie's plea for help on a local radio station when she makes a call to Loomis, only to be ignored by the radio D.J. Barry Simms. Michael catches up with Jamie, and she crashes the truck into an old barn. He kills Jamie but finds that her child is not in the truck.
In Haddonfield, Tommy Doyle, whom Laurie Strode babysat in 1978, now lives in a boarding house run by an elderly woman named Mrs. Blankenship. Tommy is a reclusive individual who has become obsessed with finding the truth behind Michael's motives. The dysfunctional family living in the Myers house across the street are relatives of the Strode family: Kara Strode, her six-year-old son Danny, her teenage brother Tim, caring mother Debra, and abusive father, John. Danny is being tormented by the Man in Black who is grooming him to follow Michael's footsteps, leading him to almost use a knife on John during a heated argument between him and Kara during breakfast, the latter being slapped by her father.
Tommy finds Jamie's baby at the bus station, takes him to the hospital. There, he runs into Loomis and tells him about the Strode family living in the Myers house. Tommy takes the baby back to his house where he names it Steven. Loomis goes to the Strode house and alerts Debra on Michael. While Debra starts to pack up belongings to leave, Michael shows up and kills her. Tommy runs into Danny on the street who is coming home from school and takes him home. Kara returns calling for Debra but is unable to find her. She comes across Tommy with Danny in Danny's room. Tommy takes them to the boarding house, where he reveals to Kara that he believes Michael has been inflicted with 'Thorn', an ancient Druid curse that causes him to kill his bloodline on Halloween night and believes that Jamie's baby will be Michael's final sacrifice.
Later that night, while Tommy meets Loomis at a Halloween party at a community college that Kara, Tim, and Tim's girlfriend Beth attends with a DJ, Barry Simms, as a special guest. Meanwhile, Mrs. Blankenship reveals to Kara that she was babysitting Michael the night he killed his sister and that Danny is hearing a voice telling him to kill just like Michael did, indicating Danny also possesses the power of Thorn. Shortly after, Michael kills John, Tim, Beth, and Barry Simms. Kara follows Danny back to the Strode house after he is summoned by the Man in Black. There, she sees Michael and fights him off, then escapes with Danny back to boarding house where Tommy and Loomis are waiting. To their shock, the cult has arrived there with Mrs. Blankenship as an alliance and the Man in Black revealing to be Dr. Wynn. The cult drugs Loomis and Tommy and takes Kara, Danny, and Steven to Smith's Grove. Kara is locked in a maximum-security ward while the boys are kept in an operating room.
Loomis confronts Wynn, who reveals that the Smith's Grove staff have been working with the Thorn cult to study the power of Thorn and learn how to control it. Steven is implied to be the successful result of experiments to clone Michael's pure evil. Wynn wants Loomis to join in on his conspiracy, as he was the first to see the evil inside Michael. Loomis refuses and is knocked out by a cult member. Meanwhile, Tommy frees Kara as Michael pursues them through the sanitarium. They find Wynn and his team, who are about to perform a medical procedure on Danny and Steven. Michael suddenly appears and turns against Wynn and the doctors, killing them all.
Tommy and Kara rescue the kids, and Michael chases them into a laboratory, where Kara notices fetuses from Wynn's failed experiments. Tommy injects Michael with corrosives and beats him unconscious with a lead pipe. Tommy, Kara, and the children leave Smith's Grove while Loomis stays behind to take care of business. Inside, Michael's mask lies alone on the lab floor, and Loomis screams in the background, leaving their fates unknown.
Cast
* Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis
* Paul Stephen Rudd as Tommy Doyle
* Marianne Hagan as Kara Strode
* Mitch Ryan as Dr. Terence Wynn
* Devin Gardner as Danny Strode
* J. C. Brandy as Jamie Lloyd
** Danielle Harris as young Jamie Lloyd (archive footage, The Producer's Cut only)
* Keith Bogart as Tim Strode
* Mariah O'Brien as Beth
* Kim Darby as Debra Strode
* Bradford English as John Strode
* Leo Geter as Barry Simms
* Susan Swift as Nurse Mary
* George P. Wilbur as Michael Myers
* Janice Knickrehm as Mrs. Blankenship
* Alan Echeverria as Dr. Bonham
* Hildur Ruriks as Dawn
* Sheri Hicks as Paramedic
* Tom Proctor as Motorist
* Bryan Morris as Attendant
* Lee Ju Chew as Nurse
* Raquelle Anderson as Ballerina
* Kristine Summers as College Coed
* Elyse Donalson as Lunatic
* A. Michael Lerner as Additional Shape
* Jimmy Chunga as Drunk College Student
* Brad Hardin as The Shape - Second Unit additional photography
* Fred Lerner as Smith's Grove Doctor
* James Woodson as Deputy
Production
Concept and writing
symbol of Thorn, which is a major theme in the film.After the less than enthusiastic response to 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers' which came out only a year after 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers', producer Moustapha Akkad put the series on hold to re-evaluate its potential. Akkad felt 'Halloween 5' had strayed too far from 'Halloween 4' and the box office response was much lower than expected. In 1990, screenwriter and long-time 'Halloween' fan Daniel Farrands set out to write the sixth entry in the 'Halloween' series. Farrands gave his horror film scripts to the producer of 'Halloween 5', Ramsey Thomas; impressed by his writing, Thomas set a meeting for Farrands with executive producer Moustapha Akkad. Farrands described the meeting:
Farrands, who knew the films, as well as Dennis Etchison's novelizations intimately, constructed a bible of the entire franchise and presented it to the studio. Although the producers at the time had already sought to make a sixth 'Halloween' film, a series of complicated legal battles ensued which delayed plans for a sequel; eventually Miramax Films (via its Dimension Films division) bought the rights to the 'Halloween' series. Phil Rosenberg was the first writer hired for the film. His script, titled 'Halloween 666: The Origin', was hated by Akkad, who tossed the script across his room after he finished reading it. 'Evil Dead II' co-writer Scott Spiegel was hired to direct the film with a new script being written by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino's planned script would have involved Michael Myers and the Man in Black fleeing Haddonfield together and going on a road trip down Route 66 while murdering people, but he was never officially hired and Spiegel later departed the project. Tarantino's rejected ideas bear a resemblance with his screenplay for 'Natural Born Killers', which he was pitching to Miramax Films at the same time as he was considering ideas for a screenplay for 'Halloween 6'. According to the commentary track from the Producer's Cut of the film, while Tarantino was considered in the early stages of production, the story that Tarantino had ever actually completed a script is an urban legend. John Carpenter was asked to return at one point and proposed setting the film in a space station, but Moustapha Akkad rejected his proposal. The idea may have been referenced in a scene in which a conspiracy theorist calls Barry Sims's radio show ranting about the CIA launching Michael Myers into space. The rejected premise might also have inspired the plot for 'Jason X.'
Other concepts involved Michael being found to be Dr. Loomis's son or Michael's mother being kept as a sex slave by the Man in Black.
In June 1994, Farrands was hired to write a new screenplay, as the film had an impending shooting date scheduled for October in Salt Lake City, Utah. At this time, Fred Walton, best known for directing 'When a Stranger Calls' and 'April Fool's Day,' was attached to direct the film. A deal was not reached with Walton, which led the studio to hire Joe Chappelle after being impressed with his debut film, 'Thieves Quartet'. Farrands has said his initial intent for the film was to "bridge the later films (45) in the series to the earlier films (12) while at the same time taking the story into new territory so that the series could expand for future installments." This in part meant expanding on the presence of the "Man in Black" as well as the appearance of the Thorn symbol, both of which appear without explanation at the end of 'Halloween 5'. In beginning the script, Farrands contacted the writers of 'Halloween 4' and '5' for additional information, but they were unable to provide clear answers, leaving him to "pick up the pieces."
Farrands expanded the "Curse of Thorn" plot line, in which Jamie Lloyd is kidnapped by a covert cult who has cursed Michael Myers via the Runic symbol of Thorn, which compels him to kill and also affords him immortality. Farrands had in part based the idea on dialogue present in 'Halloween II' (1981) about the night of Samhain, during which the "veil between the living and the dead is thinnest," the one time of the year during which Myers became "active, and seeks out his bloodline." References to Druidism as well as Myers's grandfather "hearing voices" had also appeared in the 1978 novelization of 'Halloween' by Curtis Richards. While the character of Jamie Lloyd dies early in the film, the initial versions of Farrands' script had her character surviving until the final act, at which point she was ultimately killed by Michael. Other elements of Farrands' working script that ultimately had to be trimmed down included an extension of the Curse of Thorn subplot, which had the entire town of Haddonfield in collusion with the cult, an idea Akkad wanted to use for the series' seventh installment. However, this idea was scrapped in favor of the 'Halloween H20' script in 1997.
According to Farrands, there were around ten different drafts of his script between June 1994 and the October 1994 film shoot and much of the finale that appears in the theatrical version (including the events at the hospital, as well as the references to the cult using Myers's power as a means of scientific investigation), was not written by him, and had been written and shot in post-production under the supervision of Dimension Films.
Farrands compares Tommy's arc in that film to Laurie Strode's in 'Halloween H20': that of a traumatized victim who must stop running and face their worst fear. He claims that this was supposed to be more obvious, with flashbacks to the original film, but the development of the film resulted in many of those scenes being lost. Farrands says that he brought Tommy back as a way of bridging the gap between the sequels and the first film. His intent was for Tommy to be the successor to Dr. Loomis, to act as a "voice of sanity...a kind of modern Van Helsing, the fearless Michael hunter!", a role he believed was missing from 'H20' and 'Resurrection'.
Originally, Kara's fate varied in various script drafts. In the first draft, Kara is murdered by her son Danny in the Haddonfield Bus Depot, while the near final draft had the film ending with Tommy and Kara driving away. The film as released ends with Kara and Tommy driving off with the children, Danny and Stephen.
Farrands describes Michael as a "sexual deviant". According to him, the way Michael follows girls around and watches them contains a subtext of repressed sexuality. Farrands theorizes that, as a child, Michael became fixated on the murder of his sister Judith, and for his own twisted reasons felt the need to repeat that action over and over again, finding a sister-like figure in Laurie who excited him sexually. He also believes that by making Laurie Michael's literal sister, the sequels took away from the simplicity and relatability of the original 'Halloween'. Nevertheless, when writing 'Curse', Farrands was tasked with creating a mythology for Michael which defined his motives and why he could not be killed. He says, "He can't just be a man anymore, he's gone beyond that. He's mythical. He's supernatural. So, I took it from that standpoint that there's something else driving him. A force that goes beyond that five senses that has infected this boy's soul and now is driving him." As the script developed and more people became involved, Farrands admits that the film went too far in explaining Michael Myers and that he himself was not completely satisfied with the finished product.
Allusions and references
Farrands, a long-time fan of the series, sought to incorporate various references and allusions to the previous 'Halloween' films, particularly the original, to play with the "'Halloween' mythology." These range from situational allusions, such as Tommy Doyle living across the street from the Strode house (a play on the events in the original 'Halloween', which take place between the Wallace and Doyle residences, which are across the street from one another) to minor references, such as the naming of an address from 'Halloween II' (1981), and the character of Mrs. Blankenship, a name referred to in passing in 'Halloween III: Season of the Witch' (1982). Other references outside the narrative diegeses of the series include the names of characters, such as John and Debra Strode (referencing John Carpenter and Debra Hill), as well as the naming of Danny Strode, a character Farrands has said was modeled after Danny Torrance in 'The Shining' (1980).
Farrands also referenced Carpenter's 'The Fog' (1980) with the line referring to a "stomach pounder" (a protein milkshake Tim drinks early in the film), and Beth's murder scene was modeled after a scene from Fred Walton's 'When a Stranger Calls' (1979) (Farrands wrote the scene upon hearing that Walton had been attached to direct the project, though Walton would eventually drop out of the production). Additionally, extended scenes of Kara walking on the college campus and en route to her home were intended to allude to scenes featuring Laurie Strode in the first film, while Danny dropping his pumpkin while walking home alludes to a scene in the first film in which a group of bullies force Tommy to drop his pumpkin outside the elementary school.
Casting
reprised his role as Dr. Loomis, in what would be one of his final film appearances., in what would be one of his first film appearances.
Donald Pleasence returned to play Dr. Loomis, in what would be one of his final film performances; according to Farrands, Pleasence was fond of the script. Danielle Harris, who was seventeen at the time, contacted producer Paul Freeman about reprising her role as Jamie Lloyd, and went so far as completing paperwork to become legally emancipated in order to shoot the film. She was officially cast in the role, but Dimension Films could not come to an agreement over her salary; Harris alleges that Dimension offered her a scaled $1,000 to shoot the part over the course of a week, which was less than the amount of money she had paid for her emancipation. Farrands and Freeman both had wanted Harris for the part, but at that point "had their hands tied."
According to Harris, the head of the casting department refused to negotiate her salary, stating that she was a "scale character who dies in the first twenty minutes." This ultimately led to her dropping out of the project. "People automatically assume I wanted some crazy amount of money, or something," Harris commented in 2014, "[but] it's not like I [was] demanding of anything, really ... When you've been asked to do something and then they insult you by saying, "You're a piece of shit, you die in the first actI don't give a fuck that you were in two other 'Halloween' movies, who cares?"... I was in shock." Actress J. C. Brandy was cast as Harris's replacement.
The producers initially wanted Brian Andrews to reprise his role as Tommy Doyle. However, with Andrews not having an agent, they were unable to contact him. Paul Stephen Rudd was cast in the part of Tommy, which marked his first starring role before he appeared in 'Clueless' (1995). The leading female role, Kara, was given to Marianne Hagan; however, Hagan has since stated that Miramax executives Bob and Harvey Weinstein did not favor her for the part, and made aesthetic criticisms about her being "too thin" and her chin being "too pointy". Farrands, however, had wanted Hagan for the part because he felt she possessed an "every-girl" quality of having "lived a little, and had a hard time," and likened her screen presence to that of Jamie Lee Curtis. The filmmakers also approached Howard Stern to make a cameo appearance as the radio DJ Barry Sims, but he declined in order to appear in 'Private Parts'.
For the role of Dr. Terence Wynn, Mitch Ryan was cast, based on his performance in 'Lethal Weapon' (1987); Farrands originally urged the producers to cast Christopher Lee, having had the veteran horror actor in mind when writing the character. This is a reference on Carpenter's initial choice for role of Dr. Loomis during film making of Halloween from 1978 where he was offered that role, but declined due to low pay, only to regret it in later years. Denise Richards also auditioned for the part of Beth, but the studio passed on her, giving the role to Mariah O'Brien. Stunt performer George P. Wilbur, who portrayed Michael in the fourth installment, reprised his role as Michael Myers. However, once reshoots took place, Wilbur was replaced by A. Michael Lerner as director Joe Chapelle found Wilbur to be "too bulky."
Filming
Special effects artist John Carl Buechler created the mask for the film, which was based heavily on the mask featured in the poster for 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'. Buechler hand-crafted the mask over actor George P. Wilbur's face.Filming began in fall of 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Within the first week of shooting, however, the city experienced an early winter snowstorm, which complicated the production. As a result, several scenes which were supposed to take place on exterior locations had to be transferred to interiors. The original hospital scenes were shot at the abandoned Old Primary Children's Hospital in The Avenues section of Salt Lake City.
Producer Paul Freeman and director Chappelle reportedly rewrote the ending on-set, even from shot-to-shot as production deadlines loomed. Freeman also sent the crew home when crucial scenes needed to be shot; deleted scripted scenes indiscriminately; rewrote dialogue and action sequences; and assumed the responsibility of directing second-unit shots and the supervision of post-production of the original cut. These complications resulted in Dimension Films' parent company (and the film's co-production company) Miramax, taking over the film's production, and ordering many of the reworked sequences to be reshot.
Associated producer Malek Akkad explained the film's lack of a cohesive "vision" being the result of director Chappelle "answering" to the visions of the distributor, Dimension Films; Moustapha Akkad's production company, Nightfall Productions; and writer Daniel Farrands. Tensions between what Dimension, Nightfall, and Farrands envisioned for the film resulted in a finished product that had needed "more forethought," according to Akkad.
Reshoots
In early 1995, after filming and editing was completed, 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' was given a test screening in New York City which, as described by actress Marianne Hagan, "consisted primarily of fourteen-year-old boys." During the Q&A afterward, one of the audience members expressed great displeasure at the ending of the film, which entailed a Celtic ritual and the passing on of the "Curse of Thorn" to the Dr. Loomis character. As a result of the audience's disapproval toward the film's finale, the movie was rushed back into production, this time without Donald Pleasence, who died on February 2, 1995. Pleasence had been in ill health during the shooting of the film.
Reshoots took place in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1995. According to Farrands, the reshoots occurred with a new director of photography and spanned a total of four days. At this time, the Akkads were sidelined as Dimension Films took over the film and Farrands was instructed to pen a new ending. However, simultaneously, a new writer was brought in for rewrites. These revisions included "thunderous voices of God", a group of doctors seeking to harness "scientifically-engineered evil", as well as turning Kara into a "machine gun-toting heroine", similiar to "Linda Hamilton in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'". Farrands dropped the recharacterization of Kara and the voices, but the doctor elements remained in the film. A. Michael Lerner replaced George P. Wilbur in the role of Michael Myers, as the studio executives wanted him to appear less bulky. This resulted in continuity errors as the last third of the film features a slimmer Myers. Some of the additional footage incorporated into the finale of the film was shot at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles.
Post-production
In addition to the re-shoots prompted by the poor test screening, the film also underwent significant editing in post-production, resulting in brisker pacing and a "flashier" cinematic style that favored "blood and guts," but, according to Farrands, ultimately resulted in a "more confusing" movie. According to writer Farrands, the stylized flash cuts prominent in the final theatrical cut of 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' were not originally intended, and he likened the style of the final product to an "MTV video rather than a 'Halloween' film." Composer Alan Howarth similarly called the final product a "fix job," with numerous elements of the production being in flux both during and after principal photography. In addition to Howarth's score being redone, the film's sound design was also significantly altered from Howarth's original "minimalist" design.
Musical score
The original music score is composed and orchestrated by long-time 'Halloween' contributor Alan Howarth, his work in the series dating back to his collaboration with John Carpenter on 'Halloween II'. However, Howarth's score was redone by music editor Paul Rabjohns when the film went through reshoots. A soundtrack album was released by Varse Sarabande, and is an unusual combination of the music featured in the original cut of the film, as well as that of the final theatrical cut. According to Howarth, he helped re-score the revised cut of the film, incorporating the use of guitar and drums in addition to the original score, which had been more synthesizer and piano-based. Howarth's official score for the film was released on August 24, 1995.
The music of Alabama-based rock band Brother Cane was featured throughout the movie. The music came from their 1995 release 'Seeds' on Virgin Records. The album's hit single "And Fools Shine On" can be heard when Kara, Tim and Beth arrive at school in their car. The song is also heard during the closing credits. Three other Brother Cane songs (all from the 'Seeds' album) are featured in the film: "Hung on a Rope", "20/20 Faith", and "Horses & Needles". "Disconnected" by the group I Found God is also featured in the film.
'Track listing'
Release
The film's troubled production resulted in two cuts of the film, which prompted a legal battle between the film's production company, Nightfall, who wanted to release the original cut, and its distributor, Dimension Films, who had incorporated reshoots and additional material. Ultimately, Dimension Films won the dispute, and their cut of the film was officiated for theatrical release.
An earlier teaser trailer of the film employed the title 'Halloween 666: The Origin of Michael Myers', which according to Daniel Farrands, came before an official title had been decided, and that the trailer title was a combination of an earlier script titled 'The Origin of Michael Myers' by another writer, and Farrands' original script titled 'Halloween 666'. At one point, executive producer Moustapha Akkad asked Farrands for a title, who suggested 'The Curse of Michael Myers' due to the troubled production. Although Farrands's comment was in jest, Akkad took the name to heart and decided upon it. Farrands also added that this coincidentally made the subtitles similar to those in 'The Pink Panther' films, which also used 'Return', 'Revenge', and 'Curse' subtitles as 'Halloween's fourth, fifth and sixth films, respectively.
Box office
'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' was released on September 29, 1995 in the United States, and brought in a $7,308,529 opening weekend gross, coming in second to serial killer thriller 'Seven', being the first film in the series to be on par with 'Halloween II's opening weekend gross (both 'Halloween 4' and '5' had earned under $7 million). The film went on to gross a total of $15,116,634 at the U.S. box office, from an estimated $5 million budget.Critical reception
The film was not screened in advance for critics. It has a 9% approval rating and an average rating of 3.52/10, based on 35 reviews, on the internet review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The sites critical consensus states "'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' trades the simple, brutal effectiveness of the original for convoluted mysticism, with disastrously dull results." On Metacritic, the film holds a 10/100 based on 13 reviews, signifying as "overwhelming dislike". It is the lowest rated Halloween film on both sites.Daniel Kimmel of 'Variety' called the film "tired" and "run-of-the-mill", while Mick LaSalle of the 'San Francisco Chronicle' said the film lacked suspense and said that "not even the presence of the late, gloriously histrionic Donald Pleasence can liven things up," deeming it "bland", "deadening", and "by far the worst in the series."
Stephen Holden of 'The New York Times' called the film's script "impossibly convoluted", and wrote that "shock effects are applied with such hamfisted regularity that they quickly backfire." Josh Hartl of 'The Seattle Times' criticized the film's conventionality, writing: "instead of sending up the current glut of serial-killer movies, the filmmakers trot out the old slasher tactics." Jack Mathews of the 'Los Angeles Times' similarly criticized the film's lack of originality, comparing it negatively to its predecessors.
Richard Harrington of 'The Washington Post' also criticized the script, writing: "While director Joe Chapelle and writer Daniel Farrands took advantage of a clearance sale at the Horror Cliche Emporium, they forgot to stop in at Plots R Us." The 'Time Out London' film guide deemed the film "A series of competently engineered shock moments jollied along by a jazzed-up version of John Carpenter's original electronic score: slicker than crude oil and just as unattractive."
Home media
The film was first released for home media on VHS and LaserDisc on October 7, 1996 from Buena Vista Home Entertainment. A DVD followed on October 10, 2000. In January 2010, the film was released for the first time on Blu-ray in Canada from Alliance Films alongside 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' and 'Halloween: Resurrection' with no bonus material. The film was released on Blu-ray and again on DVD in the United States on May 10, 2011 by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, once again with no bonus features.Anchor Bay Entertainment and Shout! Factory once again released the film on Blu-ray on September 23, 2014 as a part of their 15-disc box set containing the entire series. This release also contained extensive bonus features, such as a commentary from writer Daniel Farrands and composer Alan Howarth, interviews with producers Malek Akkad and Paul Freeman, actresses Marian O'Brien, J. C. Brandy, and Danielle Harris, George P. Wilbur, makeup artists John Carl Buechler and Brad Hardin, as well as Howarth, in addition to deleted scenes and archival behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, and a tribute to Donald Pleasence. Lionsgate released yet another standalone Blu-ray on September 15, 2015 containing 'The Producer's Cut', but without any of the bonus features featured on the 15-disc release.
While the film was initially released on VHS in Australia with a rating of MA15+, the DVD was not released until October 8, 2014, with no extras.
Alternate versions
'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' is notorious among 'Halloween' fans for having multiple versions. The 'Producer's Cut' is the best known; however, a Director's Cut also exists with footage cut by the MPAA. The theatrical version was the only version commercially availablewith the Director and 'Producer's cuts existing as low-quality bootlegsuntil the 'Producer's Cut' was included in the official 'Complete Collection' box set released by Scream Factory and Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2014.
'The Producer's Cut'
The original cut of the film that screened for test audiences prior to the reshoots became known colloquially as 'The Producer's Cut', and bootlegged copies of it surfaced among film collectors. This cut of 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' features numerous differences, ranging from different scores and musical cues to substantial shifts in plot, particularly regarding the film's conclusion. In a retrospective interview, Farrands noted that the finale in this cut of the film was sufficiently "creepy" and "Gothic," but conceded that it lacked intensity, which is largely what prompted Dimension Films to begin reshoots. 'The Producer's Cut' of the film garnered a cult following, according to writer Farrands: "It's amazing the life that ['Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'] has continued to have because there is this alternate version that has been, kind of in-the-vault all these years."Farrands & Howarth 2014 (0:59:09)
In the finale of 'The Producer's Cut', Kara awakens at Smith's Grove Sanitarium on a concrete slab, surrounded by the cult's members, including Mrs. Blankenship, Wynn's secretary Dawn, the bus depot man, and Sheriff Holdt. Wynn conducts a ceremony in which Michael will kill Steven as a final sacrifice of innocent blood, after which the curse will pass on to Danny with Kara as his first sacrifice. Kara realizes that Steven is a product of incest between Jamie and Michael, and uses this to try to convince Michael not to kill the baby. Tommy holds Wynn hostage, forcing the cult to free Kara, and they run with the children through the sanitarium until they reach a locked gate. Tommy uses the power of the ancient runes to stop Michael in his tracks, and Loomis helps the group escape. Later, after telling the others he has unfinished business, Loomis walks back into the sanitarium to find Michael lying on the floor of the main hallway. Upon removing the mask, Loomis finds Dr. Wynn, with whom Michael switched clothes and then escaped. Wynn dies, but not before saying "It's your game now, Dr Loomis", and passing on the Thorn symbol, which appears on Loomis' wrist; realizing that he himself is now to act as the leader of the cult, Loomis screams in both despair and disgust (this is heard as ambient noise in the final frame of the theatrical cut).
Another substantial difference in 'The Producer's Cut' is the death of Jamie Lloyd: she does not die at the beginning of the film, but survives being stabbed by Michael in the barn. She remains in a coma and is taken to the hospital, where Loomis and Wynn visit her. Midway through the film, a "Gothic" montage occurs, which reveals in fragmented detail the conception of Jamie's child among the cult. After the sequence, an unseen person, later revealed to be Wynn, shoots the unconscious Jamie in the head with a silenced pistol.Farrands & Howarth 2014 (0:55:09) Additionally, John's death scene in 'The Producer's Cut' was shorter; in the theatrical cut, an additional shot (completed during the reshoots) was incorporated of his head graphically exploding from an electrical power surge.Farrands & Howarth 2014 (1:05:09) Other various transitional shots throughout 'The Producer's Cut' version were extracted or truncated in the theatrical cut.
'The Producer's Cut' remained officially unreleased for nearly 20 years. It had its first public exhibition on October 27, 2013 at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. Screenwriter Farrands was present for a short Q&A, in which he stressed that there was still a major push in the works to get this version a proper release. He also said that the studio allowing this version to be screened in public for the first time, and the overwhelmingly positive response, were both huge steps in the right direction. Anchor Bay Media and Scream Factory gave 'The Producer's Cut' an official release on Blu-ray in September 2014.
A few select scenes from the Producer's Cut can be seen in the television version of the film. The scenes were re-inserted to increase the running time of the film.
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