Editorials
5 ‘Halloween’ Sequels That Almost Happened
It took 8 months and about 80 drafts for David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley to nail the script for 2018’s most anticipated horror movie, Halloween. A direct continuation of John Carpenter’s beloved 1978 classic, the screenwriters boldly opted to ignore all subsequent sequels to go back to the roots of what made The Shape so scary. Considering just how off the rails the continuity got between seven sequels and two Rob Zombie remakes, it’s a clever choice. And that doesn’t even count the many scripts that went unused, which would’ve taken the franchise into much stranger territory. While we wait for Laurie Strode’s final battle with Michael Myers, we look back at five Halloween sequels that almost came to pass.
Halloween 666: The Origin
The initial script for the sixth entry in the Halloween series was rumored to have angered Moustapha Akkad so badly that he threw it across the room. Perhaps a large part of that was due to this iteration of Michael Myers being a homeless hobo squatting at the local Haddonfield homeless shelter. Tommy Doyle is still present in this version, but news reporter Dana takes center stage as the protagonist and long-lost sibling to Michael Myers. As for the cult of Thorn? It didn’t exist in this draft.
Halloween 3D
This almost sequel would have picked up right at the end of Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, well, more like 5 minutes before it ended, layering in new events from that fateful night and then skipping ahead to one year later. Written by Todd Farmer (Jason X, Drive Angry), Halloween 3D was meant to bridge Zombie’s take on Michael Myers back to Carpenter’s original vision. As the title suggests, this sequel would have included 3D elements like Drive Angry and My Bloody Valentine 3D, both directed by Farmer collaborator Patrick Lussier. Farmer completed the script in 2009, and it came close to getting made but never quite found the financing and time needed.
Halloween IV
After being tapped by John Carpenter and Debra Hill to write the novelizations for Halloween II and Halloween III, writer Dennis Etchison was asked by the pair to pen the script for Halloween IV. Etchison’s script was set 10 years after the events of Halloween II and would follow teens Lindsay Wallace and Tommy Doyle, the two children in Laurie Strode’s care from the first film. Haddonfield had long since banned Halloween as a holiday, with repression a central theme in the story. This version of the sequel wasn’t made, though, as Carpenter and Hill sold their interests in the franchise with Etchison’s script not part of their final deal.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of…Jamie Lloyd?
Halloween 5 was rushed into production without a completed script, thanks to the surprise success of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. There were several rejected pitches, including one by director Dominique Othenin-Girard’s friend Robert Harders, who wanted to make Michael Myers a sympathetic Frankenstein’s creature-like character. The first actual draft was written by Shem Bitterman, who wrote a continuation of the cliffhanger ending of part 4. In other words, the focus of this sequel was on Jamie Lloyd and her new lust for murder after stabbing her adoptive mother in the previous film. Even Donald Pleasance and Danielle Harris thought this was where the story would head, but producer Moustapha Akkad and Ohtenin-Girard scrapped the script and brought in Michael Jacobs to write a new script.
Halloween vs Hellraiser
Two years ago, an interview with Pinhead actor Doug Bradley revealed that we very nearly received a Michael Myers meets Cenobites crossover event. Right around the time Freddy vs Jason was in production, Dimension Films was presented with not one but two scripts for the proposed feature. They rejected both, predicting Freddy vs Jason would bomb. When it didn’t, they quickly changed their mind. The only problem? Akkad regained rights to the Halloween sequels and put an end to the crossover. It also likely didn’t help that fan reception for the concept was negative.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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