I’m not sure if any original property has been as damaged over the years as John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). That original film – taglined ‘The night HE came home’ – was the moment slasher films hit the big time, with the initial tracking shot one of the most unique and exciting openings to a horror film to that date. Carpenter’s taut direction and moody score were game-changers. Even casting seemed serendipitous with the big screen debut of Jamie Lee Curtis – daughter of Janet Leigh – as protagonist Laurie Strode delivering a knowing wink to one of the chief inspirations of the slasher sub-genre, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho.

That original film brought horror fans so much. It probably cemented the concept of ‘the final girl’ in horror cinema. It offered an iconic villain, a view of small town Americana as a scene for horrors that David Lynch would ably traverse with films like Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks for years to come. It created the concept of the scream-queen lead, gave us an iconic villain whose irresistible force mowed through a group of victims who were more than what film critic Roger Ebert would later label ‘dead teens’. It was, in many ways, damn near perfect. It was also a box-office smash, meaning that direct sequels – even if Carpenter and co-writer/producer Debra Hill weren’t that keen – were a certainty. And so we got Halloween 2 in 1981.

It was initially conceptualised as the beginning of a series – a set of independent productions set around the concept of the Halloween season (or Sam-hain as Donald Pleasance (Dr. Loomis) hilariously mispronounces the Irish term Samhain (it’s pronounced sau-in, Donald)). This move away from baby-sitter stalkers was attempted with Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1983). In a sign that maybe we get what we deserve, audiences were not happy with the turn. They wanted Michael even if it was the stilted, fire-proof version mowing through ciphers in that 1981 sequel. They got him back in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988). Then again for number 5. And Number 6. And H20. And Halloween: Resurrection.

Because in creating a juggernaut like Michael Myers (or The Shape as he was originally billed), Carpenter and Hill found themselves stuck with a character that not even terrible directing, shoddy plotting and script writing or Harvey Weinstein could kill. Michael has been burnt alive (Halloween 2), shot numerous times including in the head (too many to count), impaled on farming machinery (Halloween 4 and Halloween H20) and decapitated (H20 again). It has survived time in the house of Weinstein, been rebooted (Rob Zombie’s gritty efforts in 2007 and 2009) and retconned (the new Blumhouse studio film series starting in 2018 starring a returning Jamie Lee Curtis, helmed by David Gordon Green and scripted by, among others, comedian Danny McBride). Even Rob Zombie admitted in publicity for his 2009 film version that Michael should be dead but what are you going to do? The franchise, despite getting more stilted, less interesting, hammier, and terminal to the point of flat-lining has continued to experience new iterations.

The 2018 version attempted a redo, with the sub-plot of Michael and Laurie Strode being brother and sister – added in Halloween 2 in a shonky attempt to add depth to Michael – being dumped. To say the 2018 version was a success ($80 million in its opening week) would be putting it mildly. Yet many felt that the film was extremely uneven in places with horror and comedy proving at best tonally unreliable bed-fellows. Halloween Kills follows on directly from the events of the 2018 film ( the original Halloween and Halloween 2 did the same) and is slated for an October release with a planned Halloween Ends penciled in for 2022. These films will definitely make money and will probably be nowhere near as bad as some of the films Michael has stalked / been dragged through. The last of those will be the twelfth Halloween film (I think – this franchise is a mess).

The Blumhouse production company’s tactic of reinvigorating old properties with smaller budgets and hungry young directors echoes the shooting and budget of the 1978 original (20 days / around $300,000). Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, the tactic has a sketchy history artistically. Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man was damn good, Black Christmas was sadly confused while Fantasy Island (good god my eyes!) was largely horrible. But they were all financially successful considering their modest budgets, a tempting investment versus return relationship that often attracts financiers to the horror genre.

Blumhouse owner Jason Blum is an avowed horror fan who has done far more good than harm to horror over the years, and most fans applauded his company’s securing of the property from Dimension Films. Not every Blumhouse project will be a success – for every Get Out there seems to be a Trick or Treat – but the retention of Green means there’s less risk that this series going off the rails before the completion of Halloween Ends. Keeping him at the helm should at least avoid some of the miscommunication that hampered the original franchise, leading John Carpenter to conduct re-shoots after debut director Rick Rosenthal’s initial film version was deemed ‘as scary as (day-time TV’s pathologist/detective) Quincy’.

That 1981 film was supposed to be the end for Michael, but the failure of Season of the Witch meant his 1988 return made financial – if little other – sense. What comes after 2022 for Michael and Laurie is unknown, but I’d be surprised if the title of the film holds in any way true. Which will mean more money for someone. John Carpenter’s fantastic original remains one of horror cinema’s greatest moments. Unfortunately, it’s success also means that it’ll probably never – much like its villain – be left to rest in peace.

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