Editorials
[Butcher Block] ‘Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers’: Gory Theatrical vs. Myth-based Producer’s Cut
Butcher Block is a weekly series celebrating horror’s most extreme films and the minds behind them. Dedicated to graphic gore and splatter, each week will explore the dark, the disturbed, and the depraved in horror, and the blood and guts involved. For the films that use special effects of gore as an art form, and the fans that revel in the carnage, this series is for you.
Of all the detours and artistic liberties taken with Michael Myers’ story in the Halloween franchise, none of the films are as strange as the sixth entry of the series. Coming on the heels of the universally panned Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, the franchise seemed to be at a crossroads. Then there were legal battle issues over the series, eventually leading to Dimension Films purchasing the rights. From there, several scripts were rejected until the hiring of writer Daniel Farrands, who expanded the Cult of Thorn in depth from its brief mentions in previous films. Michael Myers then became less of a boogeyman and more of a mindless murder puppet by way of evil curse placed upon him from his youth thanks to the mysterious Cult of Thorn.
The Curse of Michael Myers didn’t just completely alter Myers’ motivation and trajectory, but it also wasted no time killing the protagonist from the previous two films, Jamie Lloyd. Dimension didn’t really care if actress Danielle Harris came back for the role, so Lloyd was played this time by actress J.C. Brandy. The move lessened the impact of Lloyd’s unceremonious demise in the film’s first act. Farrands’ extensive Cult of Thorn mythology seemed to be at odds with the film Dimension Film had in mind, which was in turn at odds with that Moustapha Akkad’s production company had in mind, leaving director Joe Chappelle trying to appease everyone.
The lack of cohesive vision and departure from the formula fans had long been familiar with, the test screening obviously didn’t go so well. Attendees of that screening took major issue with the ending, in which the Curse of Thorn guardian role was passed on to Dr. Loomis. As a result, the film was then rushed into reshoots. Thus, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers became two movies; the original Producer’s Cut in all of its Cult of Thorn glory (or infamy), and the cut that was released into theaters, with the gore and slasher elements emphasized and a lot of the cult stuff trimmed out.
The first major change between the versions was the death of Jamie Lloyd. In the Producer’s Cut, Michael stabs her and leaves her for dead. She survives long enough to be brought to the hospital, where her coma dreams reveal more cult exposition and that Michael is the father of her baby. Yup, they went there. She never wakes from her coma. In the theatrical cut, Michael impales Jamie on a corn thresher. When she taunts him that she won’t give him the baby, he turns the thresher on in a gruesome, violent disembowelment death.
Pretty much all of the deaths in the theatrical cut unleash the gore. The death of jerk father John Strode (Bradford English) may win the prize for the series’ most over the top death of all as the inexplicable impalement on an electrical box that proceeds to electrocute him until his head explodes. This death was the favorite to create by special makeup effects artist John Carl Buechler (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) and Brett Hardin (Hatchet). They acknowledge it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it’s a really fun kill regardless. Hardin can be spotted in the climax on screen as a doctor getting brutally slaughtered by Michael.
John Carpenter’s original films were minimal on the bloodshed, though, which means that if you’re a purist the theatrical cut doesn’t work either for its emphasis on bloodlust. The Curse of Michael Myers is a strange film, no matter which version you watch. The exposition-heavy dive into the weird world of cults that changes everything we knew about Michael Myers, or the exposition-lite slasher where Michael Myers is at his goriest but narratively unfocused. What does make worth the watch, at least once, is Donald Pleasance committing fully once again to series’ pillar Dr. Sam Loomis. Even when battling illness through what would become his final film, Pleasance always gave Loomis his all, no matter where the story took his character.
Where do you sit on this sequel? Team Producer’s Cut or Team Theatrical? Or neither?
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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