The Curse of Michael Myers
 

So the whole curse of thorn thing was really divisive when it was explained in The Curse of Michael Myers, but after thinking about it I feel like as a 'motive' for Michael its pretty damn cool. I like the idea of Michael being a victim himself, a sacrifice as the vessel for this evil that demands the blood of his family to be placated. I feel like it makes Michael much more interesting than just the embodiment of pure evil. Don't get me wrong, Halloween is a masterpiece, but it's more of a demonstration of John Carpenter's mastery of the craft than it is an interesting story.

Michael is less of a character and more of a tool to carry the theme of "Evil never dies," and while that does have it's strength in that film, I personally feel that he becomes vastly more intriguing in Halloween II when Loomis finds the word "Samhain" written in blood in the classroom, and that ultimately pays off in The Curse of Michael Myers (albeit, ungracefully). I feel as though this characteristic gives Michael the longevity to be a viable character to carry multiple movies, not just the first.

What do you all think? Do you think that explanation for Michael would have been easier to swallow had it been executed better? Or do you think that it should have never gone past Halloween?

Obviously this is a topic that interests me. I rather like that Carpenter's Halloween simply made Myers into an unthinking killing machine, the embodiment of pure evil, no rationale given. Freddy and Jason both have complex backstories but Myers is horrifying in its simplicity.

I thought the SAMHAIN bit was in the first film. In the TV version of the movie.

I don't like the Thorn thing. I like the idea that he disappears at the end of the first movie. Like a fairy blinking out of existence.

What do you all hope to see out of this.


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I haven't seen the TV version in a long time, so maybe its in both? It's for sure in Halloween II though.

And I totally agree that the motiveless Michael works perfectly in the first movie, but I don't think that you can do much more with him without some kind of gimmick, like bringing Jaime Lee Curtis back in H20, or doing the whole live internet show in Resurrection, or remaking it. I feel like the curse of thorn and the connections to Samhain add depth to the character and make him more interesting.

Personally, I think its cool that the curse of thorn turns Michael into a tragic character, which fits thematically with a lot of the imagery throughout the movies, like his crying blood when he was shot in the face in Halloween II, or his moment of humanity when he takes off his mask in front of Jaime in Halloween 5. It just could have been executed better, I think.

I'm hoping Halloween Returns ends up being a better version of H20, as much as I love the movie, its pretty average as movies go, and isn't as enjoyable unless you've seen Halloweens I and II. I hope it doesn't fall into the pitfalls of modern horror (jump scares, obnoxious music, sensory overload climaxes), but with John Carpenter involved I have high hopes for it.

I couldn't imagine where to take the character. He doesn't do anything but kill. If only he'd take up a hobby or get a job...HOHO.
maybe Myers vs zombies? He could be a kind of good guy. Maybe we could see into his past lives and see that he was always like this.

Interesting... Could you elaborate more on "the Thorn" thing? I saw The Curse of Michael Myers a long time ago, and I don't remember the deal there.

In regards to Halloween 1 and 2, I liked that he was the Boogyman, just some powerful evil with a lot of history, but murky history. I just kind of figured he was going after his sisters because there was something left of the mind of the possessed, so to speak. It was an interesting thing that he would stop when the mask was ripped off. It would be an interesting thing to flush out in sequels.

As I said, I don't remember the thorn thing. Sounds interesting, and maybe you can tell us all about that. But I certainly like the idea of simply 'the real boogyman' as a vehicle to the films.

The thorn is a rune. It was painted near sacred groves to protect them. MYers was locked up in Smith's GROVE. SPOOOOKY.

So the Curse of Thorn had to do with a cult hinted at in Halloween 5 and introduced into The Curse of Michael Myers. They celebrated the old Samhain, and on certain years, when the constellation Thorn would appear in the sky, it was seen as an omen that there would be mass deaths in their tribes. In order to avoid it, they would sacrifice one family to bear the brunt of the curse. In that family, one member (usually a child) became an indestructible killing machine, pretty much an avatar for the force that came with the constellation, and they could not rest until they had murdered their family. At the last kill, the curse would be transferred to another person, and the cycle would begin anew. This is why Michael is unkillable and why he is killing his family.

Thanks, Gum! That is interesting. I read Samhain is a real pagan harvest festival, but there is no Thorn constellation in real life.

Yeah, the whole Thorn thing was made up for the movie, but I thought the connection to Samhain was really cool, especially how it was presented in Halloween II.

If you think back to when that came out, no one knew anything about Michael Myers other than he killed his sister for some reason, was near catatonic for 15 years, then suddenly escaped to kill more people in the same town. Everything as far as a motive is a mystery, and all you know is that Michael is something dark and dangerous. Suddenly, when Loomis is called to the elementary school that Michael defaced, you are given a child's drawing of a family with a knife sticking out of the daughter, and the word "Samhain" written in blood on the wall. This is the first glimpse we get into Michael's mind, because no matter what was compelling him to do what he did, Samhain was important enough to him that he had to write it on the wall. With the reputation that paganism has, and the later revelation that Laurie is also Michael's sister, I feel like the connection to Samhain through the Curse of Thorn was a great development for Michael as a character.

The "Samhain" written on the wall, in Halloween II, is interesting, considering Carpenter and Hill wrote the story/screen play. But as you know, besides the word, the film tells you absolutely nothing about it. I'd assert 99% of all viewers had absolutely no idea what it meant, or what to make of it. That being the case, and as bright at Carpenter and Hill are, they had to know the only association people would make with the word "Samhain" written in blood on the wall is the Manson Family murderers writing "pig" and "Healter Skelter" in blood and "REDRUM" written on the mirror from The Shining. I think Carpenter and Hill were just trying to make it weirder. Neither of them wanted to do the film.

I read a interesting thing about Halloween II...

Although we'll never see Rosenthal's cut, Carpenter should have left it alone. Either direct or not... too many cooks soils the Shape.