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
‘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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