Movies
Which Classic Character Is Back For ‘Halloween Returns’?!
Yesterday, we reported that the Halloween franchise will be roaring back to life this summer when production begins on Halloween Returns. Written by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan and directed by the latter, it will be a standalone return to the original franchise, eschewing the Rob Zombie duology of the ’00s. This latest entry to rejuvenate the saga of The Shape will presumably take place during the present as two teens (one the child of a victim of Michael, the other the daughter of a Myers-obsessed cop) sneak in to witness the execution of Michael Audrey Myers, who is now on death row. Naturally, he escapes and the boogeyman is unleashed on Haddonfield once more.
Yes, as with Texas Chainsaw 3D, another classic slasher franchise will be ignoring its remake years and going back to the old ways. Will any classic characters be returning alongside Michael? According to STYD, the answer is a big fat “YES”.
Shock has learned Halloween II’s Deputy Gary Hunt—who you may remember from the 1981 sequel as the blonde officer who accompanies Dr. Loomis to the school on the night he came home—appears in Halloween Returns, now as sheriff.
So now we know exactly who that teen’s father is and which films specifically count when it comes to Halloween Returns‘ own continuity: Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981). Does this mean that the other sequels don’t count? No. I’m sure fans will spend the next few decades arguing over whether this film fits the initial continuity (Halloween through The Curse of Michael Myers) or the revised continuity (H1 & H2, plus H20 & Resurrection) or a new continuity all to itself. I’m sure the producers will officially state the latter, but unofficially leave things vague enough in interviews and the film itself so as not to alienate each subset of fans. I’m also sure that it really won’t matter in the long run.
What does matter? The quality of Halloween Returns itself and, to a far lesser degree, its ability to revive and sustain the franchise into the future. Even a fan like myself can admit that most entries in this series are passable at best, so it would be nice to have another outright winner in the group. Here’s hoping Halloween Returns ends up being just that. In the meantime, watch this space for further announcements. Shooting begins next month, so casting and further story details are imminent.
Speaking of casting, I don’t expect Hunter von Leer to return to the role of Gary Hunt here. While I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to the idea, a quick look at his resume shows that he hasn’t worked in over a decade and it’s highly likely that the producers will want to cast a name actor of similar age (probably genre veteran) in the part instead.
There’s been a lot of talk about how Christopher Nolan snuck in some horror elements into his epic adaptation of The Odyssey. However, even before the Cyclops began to eat Ithican soldiers and Circe subjected them to magical body-horror, cinemagoers were already witnessing supernatural terror through a certain trailer that was attached to most IMAX screenings of Nolan’s film.
It turns out that this trailer was for Rob Savage’s Other Mommy, an adaptation of Bird Box author Josh Malerman’s horror novel, Incidents Around the House. With the teaser now available online and revealing that the award-winning Jessica Chastain is playing the titular antagonist (as well as her ill-fated human counterpart), not to mention the fact that the picture is being helmed by the director of hits like Host and The Boogeyman, genre fans are understandably hyped for this upcoming thriller.
That’s why I’ve decided to take a closer look at the trailer and share four things we learned from this sneak peek at Other Mommy!
4. Rob Savage is Going Back to His Supernatural Horror Roots
I know I’m in the minority when I admit that Dashcam is my favorite Rob Savage movie, but even I understand why the filmmakers’ fans have been waiting a while for the director to get back to telling more grounded paranormal stories as he did with 2020’s Host.
Other Mommy obviously isn’t a found footage movie, but moments like the poltergeist activity on the kitchen table combined with the nature of the source material, which actually features a full-on exorcism, indicate that this adaptation is more than a simple creature feature. That’s why I think Savage is once again going to borrow from the same ghostly narratives that made his debut film such a viral hit.
3. Other Mommy is a More Convincing Doppelganger in the Adaptation
Part of the horror from Malerman’s original novel came from the fact that the entity taking on the form of Bela’s (Arabella Olivia Clark) mother wasn’t very good at passing itself off as human. This resulted in several uncanny moments where other characters began to notice that there was something visibly wrong with the family and decided to keep their distance.
Savage’s film appears to be taking a different route, with the trailer showing a version of the entity that can, at least physically, imitate Chastain’s character perfectly. This change is likely the result of the filmmakers wanting to incorporate more paranoid scenes where Bela and her father, played by Jay Duplass, are confused about which Mommy is safe to interact with.
2. The Family is Also Better Off This Time Around
Incidents Around the House featured some interesting subtext about how poverty can negatively affect American family dynamics. After all, the main characters were already feeling scared and isolated before the entity emerged from Bela’s closet and began scratching at their emotional wounds. The trailer for the movie, however, depicts the family as being relatively well off before these incidents begin to occur.
I can only imagine that this part of the story was changed so that the family’s fall from grace can be even more dramatic as the mom and dad’s pasts are revealed and Bela falls further into the clutches of the demonic antagonist.
1. Jessica Chastain is Embodying Evil Dead Rise’s Alyssa Sutherland
Mothers turning against their children is one of the most disturbing horror tropes out there (just check out classics like Hereditary and Carrie if you need proof), but it takes a remarkably skilled actress to pull off such a monstrous transformation. This is especially true when both a regular, loving mother and the Other share the screen in the same film.
That’s why I appreciate how Chastain appears to be channeling another evil redhead mother that recently traumatized audiences with her performance. It’s too early to be sure, but I’m fairly confident that Chastain’s character has at least some amount of Ellie in her cinematic DNA – Ellie being the iconic deadite brought to life by Australian actress Alyssa Sutherland in 2023’s Evil Dead Rise.
Let us know in the comments if you think we missed any important details from the trailer, and don’t forget to check out Other Mommy when it hits theaters on October 9!
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