So with Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan announced as the writers who have been hard at work on a new Halloween, it looks like we’ll finally be getting a new entry in the franchise. As is always the case, this could be very good or it could be very bad. The new entry in this series is in an interesting and unique position, however. It is the first new film since Rob Zombie remade the original and carried it on in his own sequel.
The Halloween franchise is at a crossroads. It could go in a hundred different directions. Luckily, the writers behind it really know what they’re doing, but who knows what could happen between now and when the next entry finally hits the screen. Here are five things we hope make it into the new movie.
The Shape
There’s a distinction here. In the script for every Halloween film in the original series, Michael Myers was referred to as the shape. The idea was that this was something that wore the shape of a human being, but was devoid of any actual humanity. Rob Zombie’s two Halloween entries were definitely about Michael Myers, not the shape. They were about a human sociopath, examining what actually goes into the creation of a serial killer. To get the series back on the right track, we need to see the shape as we know it best. We need to return to the mystery of the original Halloween.
Actually, I don’t mean Season of the Witch. If they want to follow up with unrelated installment as Season of the Witch did, I’d be all for it. But this should not be a third entry in Rob Zombie’s Halloween series. Whether you like what he did or hate it, Zombie set out to tell the story he wanted to tell and told it completely. His story is done and there’s no way to take it forward. It’s unlikely that they would choose that route at this point, but you never know. Zombie’s Halloween remake was very popular, but the sequel grossed much less and was released six years ago. It’s time for something new.
No Halloween 9
This would be just as useless. Halloween: Resurrection did nothing for the franchise. It was the most by-the-numbers demographic pandering of any horror sequel. It was also made over ten years ago. A continuation of the original series would be pointless. Where would it go? Laurie Strode was killed off in Resurrection and Donald Pleasance died just after the filming of Curse of Michael Myers. Do people really want to see a final showdown between Josh Hartnett and Michael Myers that badly? Because John Tate is the only character that was still left alive at the end of the series, other than Busta Rhymes. All the more reason to move on.
The Music
It should be a given. Every Halloween film has used the iconic theme music except the last, Zombie’s Halloween II, which only played the original score halfway through the ending credits. I don’t think we have to worry about this one too much. But it would be hard for the reboot to feel like a Halloween movie without including this.
It Should Be its Own Thing
This seems to be the path they’re on, all they have to do is stick to it. The next Halloween should not be a sequel to either series, as we’ve gone over. That doesn’t mean that it can’t include a little bit of backstory as to who Michael Myers is and where he comes from. But it should stand on its own two feet, it should be its own story with its own characters. Technically this will be a reboot no matter how we look at it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t go back to the tone and style of the original. The last thing to attempt something like this was Halloween: Resurrection, but being a Halloween feature was the last thing that particular entry was concerned with. The fact that this has the chance to be free of all continuity threads from any previous installments could actually turn out to be the best thing about it.
