Without a doubt one of the best horror film franchises of all-time, Halloween debuted in theaters in 1978 and the series has been brought back again and again ever since then. As is the case with many of these long-lasting franchises, the quality of the series has been a pretty mixed bag at times. That said, the series has left such an indelible mark on the horror landscape that viewers get excited whenever Michael Myers gets brought back to life.
Currently made up of eleven different films, with the most recent released in October 2018, the Halloween franchise has benefited from the efforts if many talented artists. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that a lot of fascinating things went on behind the scenes during the production of these movies. In fact, when you learn about how some of the memorable aspects of these films came to it is simply amazing that things turned out as great as they did on screen.
In order for a piece of information to be considered for possible inclusion in this list, it must, first and foremost, relate to the making of the Halloween series in one way or another. On top of that, something about it needs to be astonishing enough to hold the interest of the series' fans. Of course, it should be noted that every person’s knowledge base is different, so huge fans may be aware of some things to come.
Here are 20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of The Halloween Movies.
In the Original Film, 6 Different Actors Played Michael Myers
The next time you watch 1978’s Halloween, the fact that 6 different people played Michael Myers in that film will enhance your experience even more. Starting out with the people that embodied the 6-year-old version of the character, Debra Hill was a stand-in for his hands during the point of view shot and he was played by Will Sandin when he could be seen.
On top of that, the adult version of the character was embodied in different scenes by Nick Castle, Tony Maran, and Tommy Lee Wallace, all of whom served a different purpose. If that weren’t enough, they needed a stunt person to double for Michael as well, and they hired Jim Winburn for that job.
Jame Lee Curtis Has An Uncredited Role in Halloween III
Truly a huge departure for the Halloween franchise, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was the first film in the series that was not written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Of course, on top of that, the movie left behind the tales of Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Samuel Loomis. However, that does not mean that every star of the previous two films failed to appear in the third movie. Instead, in a really awesome Easter egg, Jamie Lee Curtis was brought in.
She voiced a telephone operator who can be briefly heard in Season of the Witch.
Clearly, you have to listen really close to pick up on the fact that it is her.
John Carpenter Is No Fan of Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake
If there is anyone whose opinion of the Halloween franchise that should be taken seriously, it's John Carpenter. As such, the things he had to say about Rob Zombie’s reboot to the series must have been a really big disappointment for his successor.
Whhen Carpenter revealed his opinion about Zombie’s version of Halloween, he made it clear he had some hard feelings for Zombie, which we will touch on more later. Still, when he said of Zombie’s version of Michael, “he took away the mystique of the story by explaining too much,” that must have stung.
Michael Myers Was Not Supposed to Appear After Halloween III
Able to create several memorable characters, the Halloween series spawned the likes of Laurie Strode, Samuel Loomis, Jamie Lloyd, and Annie Brackett. Despite all of them, there is no doubt that most people associate the series with Michael Myers above anyone else. Even though he was clearly a hit, when producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill were approached to make a third Halloween movie they made the surprising decision to go a wholly new direction.
They made an attempt to turn the franchise into an anthology series.
The plan was to have every sequel after Halloween III: Season of the Witch tackle wholly new characters and stories. While Seasons of the Witch is now seen as a cult classic, it was a failure in its own time, which is why Michael was brought back for the next film.
They reused fake leaves
As it's meant to take place at Halloween time in the Midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois, when you watch 1978’s Halloween, it is hard to imagine it actually was shot in Southern California in May. One of the best ways of making it feel like the film takes place in the fall was to scatter leaves on the ground.
Since none of the leaves were there naturally, in order to make this happen the crew had to carry around bags of leaves that they would throw around in the background of scenes. Once filming in any area came to an end, those very same leaves would have to be bagged once again and taken to the next location.
Danielle Harris Wasn’t in Halloween 6 Due to a Lowball Offer
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers’ introduced a new protagonist into the series with Jamie Lloyd, played by Danielle Harris. The star then returned for Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, which is a big deal.
Cast to play Laurie Strode’s daughter, Harris was set up to be the franchise’s main star for years to come.
As it turns out, the reason she was absent from the sixth film was reportedly because the producers only offered her scale to appear in it, which is the lowest amount a union actor can be paid to act in a film. Insulted by that, especially since she had paid to emancipate herself in order to work longer hours on the movie, Harris walked away from the series.
Jamie Lee Curtis Wanted Mike Myers to Cameo in H20
The movie that producers hoped would bring the Halloween franchise back to the forefront of the horror genre, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later wound up being a mixed bag. On the plus side, it did well enough at the box office and on video that it got a sequel. However, it was a minor hit, at best, and received mixed reviews from critics.
It is interesting to contemplate how different things could have been if H20 embraced a more comedic element like Scream did in the same era. According to the special features included on Halloween: The Complete Collection Blu Ray release, Jamie Lee Curtis wanted comedic actor Mike Myers to have an H20 cameo.
Halloween 5 Began Filming With an Unfinished Script
Filmmakers are artists, but in order to make their vision come to life, they often have to deal with studio heads. There are endless examples of executives forcing their will on to those involved in crafting a film. A great example of that kind of thing, when Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers began shooting, the film did not even have a finished script to work from.
It was rushed into production because the previous film in the series was a hit.
Ultimately, this left the fifth movie’s cast questioning many of its plot developments and arcs for their characters.
Jake Gyllenhaal Helped to Convince Jamie Lee Curtis to Play Laurie Again
Far too many beloved films have gotten mediocre sequels that have tarnished the quality movies that came before them. With that in mind, stars who are approached to appear in a sequel often have to weigh the risks. This is something that Jamie Lee Curtis grappled with when she was approached to star in 2018’s Halloween. Fortunately for us all, she signed on and the movie has been positively received. Interestingly enough, it turns out that it took Jake Gyllenhaal to convince her to the film.
Curtis told Variety that when her "unofficial godson" Gyllenhaal told her that the co-writer and director of 2018’s Halloween, whom he’d worked with, was talented, Curtis took his word seriously.
The Michael Myers Mask Was Based On William Shatner's Face
Who can forget the first time they saw Michael Meyer's haunting mask? A facial piece that perfectly fits the soulless nature of Michael, his mask looks as plain as possible, yet audiences are able to read all kinds of malice in its unmoving face.
It would make a lot of sense to assume that a team of special effects experts created an entirely custom mask for the character.
Instead, it turns out they found a mask that was supposed to be William Shatner as Captain Kirk, spray-painted it, altered the eye holes, and added the attached hair. The other option was a clown mask, but they clearly made the right call.
