OMAR AZIMI
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The highest-grossing independent film of its time, Halloween featured a chilling yet straightforward plot. The plot involved a group of babysitters being stalked by a masked killer, which was initially titled The Babysitter Murders. ProducerIrwin Yablans suggested that the film take place on Halloween and be titled simply Halloween. The film was shot in locations around southern California and is best known for featuring the film debut of Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of acting legends Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. The film also starred frequent John Carpenter collaborators such as Charles Cyphers, Donald Pleasence, and Nancy Kyes.
Although the film was slow to find success, word of mouth propelled it to a box office gross of more than $47 million. A sequel followed in 1981, and the franchise has continued to expand ever since, the latest installment being 2021’s Halloween Kills. Another installment is due in October 2022, titled Halloween Ends, which had recently wrapped up filming. Throughout each installment, the mask worn by serial killer Michael Myers continues to terrify audiences.
9) 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers' (1989)
A year after Michael awoke from his coma and went after his niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), Michael awakes from his slumber and murders the hermit man whose care he’d been under. Michael murders Rachel Carruthers (Ellie Cornell) and advances on Jamie once more. The movie ends with Michael under police custody, which he easily escapes with the help of “The Man In Black.”
The neck of Michael’s mask being untucked outside of Michael’s outfit makes the overall look extremely silly. Although the mask itself looks relatively scary, the mask is ineffective, given that it’s supposed to be the same mask from Halloween 4.
8. 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers' (1988)
It’s been a decade since Michael Myers escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and went on a murder spree in his hometown. On Halloween Eve 1988, during a transfer from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium back to Smith’s Grove, a seemingly comatose Michael awakes when he hears that he has a niece, Jamie (Harris), living in his hometown. Once Michael (George Wilbur) returns to Haddonfield, he begins to stalk Jamie and her foster family, the Carruthers, all while on the run from Dr. Loomis (Pleasence).
Michael finds a new mask to wear at the Discount Mart. The mask has almost no features and is too blank. The hair of the mask has been slicked back, and the mask itself wrinkles due to its structural weakness. Michael appears at the elementary school in a mask with blonde hair in one scene. Although producers chalk that error up to a late-night shoot, that brief, accidental change pulls us out of the movie.
7) 'Halloween: Resurrection' (2002)
After Laurie Strode (Curtis) seemingly decapitated Michael at the end of the 1998 film, the intro to Halloween: Resurrection tells us that the person Laurie killed was a paramedic. Nurses at the Grace Anderson Sanitarium, where Laurie is committed, reveal that Michael incapacitated and switched outfits with the paramedic at the end of Halloween H20, allowing Michael to escape the scene undetected. The movie also starred Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks, and Katee Sackhoff.
The mask used in Halloween: Resurrection is a very similar look to the 1978 mask. However, the mask looks very made up and has too much definition. Additionally, Michael’s hair and the look of the mask seem to change in different shots of the movie.
6. 'Rob Zombie’s Halloween II' (2009)
Taking place just a year after the events of Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake, the film follows Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor Compton) as she spirals in the aftermath of the previous year’s attacks. Nearing her breaking point, Laurie learns the truth about Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) — that she’s his long-lost little sister. Meanwhile, Michael, missing since the events of the previous film, is on his way back to Haddonfield to reunite with his baby sister.
Michael’s mask in this Halloween installment has nearly completely deteriorated. The mask is shredded and grimy, and half of Michael’s face can be seen. Although Zombie’s vision for his Halloween films was to make Michael scary again, the mask in this movie erases some of the mystique of the masked killer.
5.'Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers' (1995)
After a lengthy hiatus, Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers was released. Jamie (now played by JC Brandy) delivers a baby and is killed after attempting to escape the lair she was taken to. The movie then takes us to the Myers house, where the adoptive relatives of Laurie are living. The film is best known for being Paul Rudd’s debut role, alongside Clueless.
The mask in Halloween 6 is closer to the style of the 1978 mask, although it appears bulkier. The mask also features a strange bulk on the forehead, and the mask seems off-color. However, the mask is better than those used in Halloween 4 and Halloween 5.
4) 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' (1998)
It’s been twenty years since Michael attacked Laurie and murdered her friends. Now, Laurie is living in the fictional town of Summer Glen, CA. To hide her identity from Michael (Christopher Durand), Laurie changes her appearance and uses the name "Keri Tate." Laurie also has a son, John (Josh Hartnett). Unfortunately for them, back in Illinois, Michael murders Marion (Nancy Stephens from the first and second Halloween movies) and steals the file related to Laurie. Michael steals a car and heads for California and begins to stalk Laurie and John. At the end of the movie, Laurie finally kills Michael, seemingly for good.
Four different masks are used in Halloween H20. One is a recast of the mask used in Halloween 6. There is also a new mask made by KNB FX, a mask by Stan Winston, and a CGI mask. The KNB and CGI masks looked odd on-screen, however. The mask created by Winston was the best-looking version of the mask due to audiences being able to see Michael’s eyes.
3) 'Rob Zombie’s Halloween' (2007)
In this remake of Halloween, Michael’s backstory is depicted. After murdering his stepfather (William Forsythe), Judith’s boyfriend (Adam Weisman), and Judith (Hanna Hall), Michael (Daeg Faerch) is committed to the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. Michael becomes closed-off and begins wearing masks to hide his appearance. Fifteen years later, Michael (Mane) escapes the sanitarium and goes back to Haddonfield, searching for his sister Laurie (Taylor-Compton).
Zombie, a massive fan of the Halloween series, sought to make Michael scary again, and the mask created accomplishes this. The mask is an excellent recreation of the original and was made to be dirty and damaged when adult Michael gets to it. Although the clean mask looks silly on young Michael, adult Michael makes the dirtied mask look terrifying.
2) 'Halloween II' (1981)
Set just after the first film's ending, Michael (Dick Warlock) goes into hiding in the alleyways of Haddonfield. Hot on his trail is Sheriff Brackett (Cyphers) and Dr. Loomis. When Michael hears that Laurie was taken to the hospital over the radio, he heads straight there. Michael methodically kills the security guard and several nurses. Michael finally finds Laurie, who runs down to the hospital’s basement. Laurie escapes and hides out in a car. Meanwhile, Marion informs Dr. Loomis that a hidden file revealed that Laurie is Michael’s long-long sister, which explains why Michael has been stalking her. In the end, a confrontation between Dr. Loomis, Laurie, and Michael leads to that section of the hospital being blown up. Laurie survives and is transported to a new hospital.
The mask used in this movie is the same one used in the first film. However, the mask looks very different. Warlock explained this by saying that the mask flattened and yellowed due to being kept under Hill’s bed between the two films and from Hill’s smoking habit. Additionally, Warlock was stockier than Castle, which explained the mask’s wider look. Still, the mask is extremely creepy, even more so due to Warlock’s robotic interpretation of Michael’s movements.
1) 'Halloween' (1978)
On Halloween night in 1963, Michael (Will Sandin) murdered his sister Judith (Sandy Johnson). Fifteen years later, Michael escapes from the Smith’s Grove sanitarium, where he spots Laurie Strode (Curtis) outside the Myers house. Michael stalks her at various locations throughout the day and follows her and Annie (Kyes) to their babysitting gigs. Michael murders Annie, Lynda (PJ Soles), and Lynda’s boyfriend Bob (John Michael Graham) and leads Laurie to discover their bodies. It’s here where Michael makes his move and attacks Laurie.
As Neve Campbell said in Scream 4 (2011), you can’t mess with the original. The original mask is legendary. Originally a William Shatner mask, it was spray-painted white, and the eyeholes were widened. The eyebrows and sideburns were also removed. The mask is chilling, and the way Castle portrays Michael is extremely terrifying, even almost 45 years later.