Each 3.75″ scale toy has five points of articulation and is packaged on a vintage-inspired backer card featuring artwork by Justin Osbourn (“The Last Drive-In”).

Ghost Bob comes with a corded telephone, while Young Michael includes a knife and a clown mask. They’re $20 a piece.

Produced in collaboration with Plastic Meatball,  Fright-Rags’ previous Halloween toys include Michael Myers, Dr. Loomis, Lynda, and Annie, along with a Halloween 4 two-pack of Michael and Jamie.

The packaging on the new figures teases a Myers House collector’s case that could soon become a reality.

In John Carpenter’s Halloween, 15 years after murdering his sister on Halloween night, Michael Myers escapes from a mental institution and returns to the small town of Haddonfield to kill again.

The 1978 genre-defining slasher stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Nancy Loomis, and Nick Castle as The Shape.

While the future of the Halloween franchise remains up in the air at this time, Halloween: The Game will be released on September 8.

The post Fright-Rags’ ‘Halloween’ Retro-Style Toy Line Adds Ghost Bob & Young Michael Myers appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That gathering took place on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 3:30pm ET at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and the team noted that they needed at least 250 fans to show up in Michael Myers cosplay in order to slash through the record. We can now report that the Guinness World Record has been set!

Illfonic, Gun Interactive, and Compass Entertainment were officially handed the Guinness World Record for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Michael Myers yesterday, and the team has celebrated with a series of Instagram posts that document the record-breaking assembly of 254 horror fans dressed up as Michael Myers and packed into a single location.

The game’s official Instagram account announced, “We did it! YOU did it! Thank you to everyone who helped make history today by showing up to set the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Michael Myers! Thank you to Illfonic, Gun, Further Front, and all the fans who helped make today one that the world will always remember.”

“This is one for the horror history books,” they note. Indeed it is!

You can follow the journey through the series of Instagram posts below.

Halloween: The Video Game will launch for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store just in time for Halloween this year on September 8, 2026.

 

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The post Michael Myers Gathering for ‘Halloween: The Game’ Just Set a Guinness World Record! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Are you ready to make horror history? To help etch the name Michael Myers into the book of Guinness World Records? On March 28, the Halloween: Video Game team will be attempting to set a new world record for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Michael Myers“!

The gathering is taking place on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 3:30pm ET at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and the hope is to bring as many Halloween fans – dressed up as Michael Myers – together into such a massive Horde of Shapes that a literal Guinness World Record is set.

“We’ve seen a lot of incredible Michael Myers cosplay over the years and we’d love to experience Boston overrun with hordes of Boogeymen to slash this record!” the team says.

“Whether you’re local to the area, flying in for PAX East, or just want to share in this special moment, we’re calling on you to show up dressed in your best Michael Myers costumes.

“First, we need at least 250 people fully dressed as Michael Myers to claim this record as our own. Ideally, we want to set this bar much higher, but this is our minimum threshold.”

The official requirements for all participants? We’ve got them. Here they are…

• A white mask with eye holes – Something that captures the essence of The Boogeyman.
• Blue coveralls.
• Brown, slicked back hair – This can be a hair built in to a mask, a separate wig, or natural hair that is styled accordingly.
• And a prop knife – Emphasis on PROP here. No real knives.

“You need to be instantly recognizable as Michael Myers and following these guidelines will ensure participants aren’t disqualified and we secure our title on behalf of IllFonic, Compass International Pictures, Gun Interactive, and the amazing Halloween fans around the world,” they explain. “If you forget your coveralls, we’ll also have additional Michael Myers costumes standing by for anyone in the Boston area interested in taking part in the attempt.”

IllFonic, Gun Interactive, and partners Compass International Pictures and Further Front will be in Boston for PAX East on March 28 with the first playable demo for Halloween: The Game.

The PAX East demo will feature the previously-revealed Haddonfield Heights map, a deceptively quiet Midwestern neighborhood filled with modest single-story homes, fenced yards, dimly lit streets, and the abandoned Myers house. Civilians must scavenge car trunks, search for escape routes, barricade themselves inside homes, and slip into risky hiding spots, all while Michael stalks from the darkness in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

On March 28, at 12:00 pm, at PAX East’s Main Theater, IllFonic will host a panel exploring how developers and original creators collaborate to build authentic interactive worlds.

They will be joined virtually by John Carpenter! The panel will also offer fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the game honors its cinematic roots while evolving into a new medium.

The post ‘Halloween: The Game’ Attempts World Record for Largest Gathering of Michael Myers Cosplayers appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It’s October and the Halloweenies are still in Haddonfield. Even better, they’ve brought their knives … to carve out a new list. If you recall, last year, they ranked all of Michael Myers’ masks. For 2025, they’ve conferred with the local coroner to list the 31 best kills in the franchise.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, and Alien! This year? The Universal Monsters.

(See: Bloody Disgusting’s Definitive Ranking of All 13 Movies in the ‘Halloween’ Franchise!)

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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This Halloween night, the Master of Horror takes the stage. Bloody Disgusting has joined forces with John Carpenter and Veeps to present John Carpenter Live: Halloween from Los Angeles, an epic, first-of-its-kind live stream event happening on both Veeps & Screambox! If you want to live stream the live Halloween Night concert on Screambox but you’re not yet a member, you can sign up right now and get the first three months for $6.66 in total!

The post The 31 Best Kills in the ‘Halloween’ Franchise [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The 7″ scale toy is fully articulated and includes two interchangeable heads (standard and burned), seven interchangeable hands, two kitchen knives, serrated knife, broken knife, camera on tripod, doll, and Jack-o’-lantern.

The Shape is packaged in a window box with an opening front flap.

In Halloween: Resurrection, when a group of fame-hungry college students signs up for an internet reality show in the infamous Myers house, cameras start rolling — but so does the body count.

Released in 2002, the eighth installment in the slasher franchise is directed by Rick Rosenthal (Halloween II) and written by Larry Brand and Sean Hood (Conan the Barbarian).

Brad Loree plays Michael Myers opposite Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Ryan Merriman, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The post ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ Michael Myers Ultimate Action Figure Available from NECA appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Up next? The official Michael Myers Popcorn Bucket! Based on 1981’s Halloween II, particularly the final moments of the film where Michael memorably bleeds through the eyeholes of his mask, the popcorn bucket is coming to Cinemark Theatres on October 7!

The bloody Michael Myers popcorn bucket will be available for a limited time on the road to Halloween, so make sure to grab one as soon as you see it at your local Cinemark theater.

And speaking of Michael Myers and Halloween II, this year’s AMC FearFest kicks off TODAY with a Halloween franchise marathon. The Halloween movies will be playing all month long, on October 1, October 10, October 13, October 19, October 25, October 30, and October 31.

The Night He Popped Corn: The Michael Myers popcorn bucket is coming to Cinemark Theatres on October 7! pic.twitter.com/U3XLD5QY0u

— Bloody Disgusting (@BDisgusting) October 1, 2025

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You can even pick up the World’s Smallest figures of Chucky and Michael Myers at Five Below this Halloween, part of Super Impulse’s massive line of “Micro Figures” offerings.

Hellboy is also part of this first series of World’s Smallest figures based on Universal Studios genre properties, with each Micro Figure measuring just 1.25 inches tall.

Each highly detailed and articulated micro figure includes a mini collector case for display and storage and a figure stand. You can grab them from Five Below in stores and online.

Browse Five Below’s Halloween Fan Shop for more fun horror treats.

The post Five Below Is Selling the World’s Smallest Chucky & Michael Myers Figures for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

• Ghost Face – shipping in September
• Chucky – shipping in September
• Billy the Puppet – shipping in September
• Coraline – shipping in October
• Pennywise – shipping in November
• Jason Voorhees – shipping in January
• Beetlejuice – shipping in January
• M3GAN – shipping in January
• Michael Myers – shipping in February

Priced between $29.99 and $31.99, each collectible stands approximately 4.5″ tall.

The post Youtooz to Release Horror Figures of Jason, Michael, Chucky, Ghost Face, Pennywise, More appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Chucky, Freddy Fazbear, M3GAN and The Grabber are all featured in the commercial, with the horror icons descending upon a supermarket. Chucky, Freddy Fazbear, and The Grabber will be featured on Fanta cans this Halloween, and Michael Myers is also getting his own can artwork as well. Myers, however, is curiously not present in the official Fanta commercial. He’s been replaced by M3GAN for the commercial, who seemingly isn’t getting her own can. At least not in the early promotional artwork we’ve seen for the partnership, which you’ll find below.

The only Exclusive Flavor in the mix is Chucky’s Punch, with the other flavors including Strawberry, Pineapple, and Orange. It looks like Chucky’s Punch will also be available in bottles.

Check out the commercial below and look for the Fanta x Horror Icons cans on shelves soon!

These aren’t even the only horror icons headed to supermarkets for the Halloween season. Available now, Jason Voorhees has joined forces with Angry Orchard Hard Cider!

Chucky, Freddy Fazbear, Michael Myers, M3GAN, and The Grabber slash into the grocery store in a special collaboration with FANTA, coming to shelves for the Halloween season! pic.twitter.com/LcpT8p2INq

— Bloody Disgusting (@BDisgusting) August 28, 2025

Image Credit: Markie Devo

The post Chucky, Freddy Fazbear and More Horror Icons Unite for ‘Fanta’ Halloween Commercial! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

NECA has revealed at San Diego Comic-Con this week that Michael Myers from Halloween: Resurrection is indeed also getting his own Ultimate Edition action figure later this year!

Our friends over at ToyArk.com snapped some photos from the convention floor, and the upcoming Halloween: Resurrection figure will include two different heads: the standard Michael Myers mask and the burn-damaged mask from the finale. An alternate Busta Rhymes head is unfortunately not included, but we bet NECA at least tried to get the likeness rights.

Accessories will include a bloody knife, a pumpkin, and a blood-soaked camera tripod, which Myers of course memorably used as a murder weapon – Peeping Tom style – in Resurrection.

Preview NECA’s Halloween: Resurrection action figure below.

Photo Credit: ToyArk.com

Photo Credit: ToyArk.com

The post ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ Michael Myers Gets an Ultimate Action Figure from NECA appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The fully articulated 7-inch scale figure includes interchangeable heads with different masks and seven interchangeable hands.

Accessories include two kitchen knives (clean and bloody), fire axe, ice skate, and pumpkin. It’s packaged in a window box with opening front flap.

Priced at $34.99, it’s due out in the third quarter of 2025.

In Steve Miner‘s 1998 seventh installment in the Halloween franchise, Laurie Strode, now the dean of a Northern California private school under an assumed name, must battle the Shape one last time as the life of her own son hangs in the balance.

Jamie Lee Curtis returned to star alongside Josh Hartnett, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Janet Leigh, LL Cool J, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Chris Durand as Michael Myers.

The post ‘Halloween H20’ Michael Myers Gets NECA’s Ultimate Action Figure Treatment appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Did you know that Robert Englund worked on the set for one day to throw leaves around? At least that’s what he says.

Tune in this week to have a laugh or two and to hear the film discussed between a casual fan and somebody who regards it as his favorite movie of all time.

Follow The Horror Show: Instagram | Facebook | Patreon | Discord | Website

Listen to The Horror Show: Apple | Spotify | All Other Platforms | RSS | YouTube (coming soon!)

The post The Horror Show Finally Covers the Original ‘Halloween’ [Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

From the all-time highs that got them into the genre to the deep, dark doldrums of the series, the four carve through one pumpkin after another. They also discuss why aesthetic is so integral to horror, their podcast roots, and why Dr. Loomis is so much fun to impersonate.

Want more from our friends? We Hate Movies will be covering horror films for the rest of this month, new episodes released on Mondays wherever you get your podcasts. This past week, they hit up Fiddler’s Green to discuss George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead.

Stream our chat below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, and Alien!

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon | Store

The post The Highs and Lows of the ‘Halloween’ Franchise with ‘We Hate Movies’ [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Spotify , RadioPublic , Acast , Google Podcasts , and RSS . New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween , A Nightmare on Elm Street , Friday the 13th , Scream , The Evil Dead , Chucky , and Alien .

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind , for even more hilariously irreverent commentaries (eg The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , Darkman ) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (eg Poltergeist , Manhunter , Phantasm ). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

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The post Ranking: The Many, Many Masks Worn By Michael Myers (Yes, All of Them) [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The official Michael Myers Countdown Character collectible is based on the slasher icon’s appearance in Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and it features 13 different pieces that snap together to create a striking statue of the knife-wielding maniac from Zombie’s remake.

Numskull details, “The pieces come in an eerily stunning collector’s box, that you can keep and use afterwards. Inside the drawers you will find 13 boxes holding all the pieces you need to build your own figurine. How you create this is up to you. Start 13 days before Halloween, open one piece each day and then celebrate when the statue is complete on 31st October. Or dive right in and open all the pieces and build it at once to pay tribute to your favorite horror film.

“The end result is a fantastic diorama showing Michael in signature boiler suit and mask, holding a knife standing alongside his own gravestone and pumpkin. This creation will look awesome in any horror fan’s collection showing that Michael is for life not just for Halloween!”

The finished figure stands 9″ tall, with no glue required to bring the pieces together.

Grab your Michael Myers Countdown Character for $69.99 through Numskull today!

The post Build Your Own Figure of Rob Zombie’s Michael Myers With Unique ‘Countdown to Halloween’ Collectible appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Goosebumps Shirt from Sadist Art Designs

It’s 1990-something, and you saved your lunch money to spend at the elementary school book fair. While other kids flock to glitter pens and Lamborghini posters, you leave with an armful of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books.

If that evokes warm feelings of ‘90s kid nostalgia, Sadist Art Designs’ new shirt if for you. It’s available on black or white tees for $28.

Friday the 13th & Killer Klowns Towels from Eternal October

Have a killer summer with Eternal October’s six towels inspired by Friday the 13th (standard and 8-bit) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Rudy, Slim, Shorty, and Deadly Delivery).

Priced at $30, each oversized microfiber towel can double as a tapestry.

The Last Man on Earth Vinyl from Waxwork Records

Rob Zombie presents The Last Man on Earth’s soundtrack on vinyl via Waxwork Records. The score is composed by Paul Sawtell (The Fly) and Bert Shefter (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!). Priced at $40, it’s expected to ship in August.

The 2xLP album is pressed on 180-gram neon green vinyl with green and yellow splatter. It’s housed in a gatefold jacket with matte satin coating featuring art by Graham Humphreys and an 11×11 booklet with an interview with Victoria Price by Zombie.

The Last Man on Earth is the latest title under Waxwork’s Rob Zombie Presents banner, following White Zombie, Spider Baby, Carnival of Souls, and House on Haunted Hill.

Michael Myers Animatronic Inflatable from Halloween.com

Who needs one of those big skeletons when you can have The Shape guarding your front lawn?

Be the talk of the town this Halloween with a 6.5′ Michael Myers animatronic inflatable with moving head and arm. It’s available exclusively at Halloween.com — the newly launched sister site of HalloweenCostumes.com — for $129.99.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Shirt from Fright Rags

A Nightmare on Elm Street meets Raiders of the Lost Ark on a new shirt from Fright-Rags.

Priced at $33, Yannick Bouchard’s design emulates Richard Amsel’s classic Indiana Jones artwork with Freddy Krueger and the Elm Street brats.

Deadstream VHS from Witter Entertainment

Bonus item for shameless self promotion! Deadstream will be released on officially licensed VHS today at 9am PT/12pm ET from Broke Horror Fan and Witter Entertainment.

The 2022 Shudder Original horror-comedy arrives on VHS in slipcase packaging for $25. 25 orange tape variants autographed by filmmakers Joseph & Vanessa Winter (V/H/S/99) with a Wrath of Shawn sticker will be available for $45.

Each tape includes an exclusive introduction by Joseph & Vanessa Winter plus special features after the film: Monsters & Makeup FX and On the Set. For optimal VHS viewing, the film has been cropped to 4:3 full frame, approved by Joseph & Vanessa Winter.

For more merch madness, peruse the Killer Collectibles archives. You can also visit Broke Horror Fan.

The post 5 of This Week’s Coolest Horror Collectibles Including a Michael Myers Animatronic Inflatable! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

What can we expect from the Halloween TV series, you ask? For starters, don’t expect any kind of continuation to the storyline from David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy.

As a reminder, Miramax co-owns the Halloween film rights alongside Trancas. In other words, this new universe from Miramax and Trancas could potentially span film and television.

2022’s Halloween Ends was the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, which to date has never made its way onto the small screen. This one will be a big time first.

Stay tuned for more on Miramax and Trancas’ plans for the Halloween franchise.

The post ‘Halloween’ – Miramax TV Series Will Be a “Creative Reset” for the Franchise; Here’s the Latest appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While horror fans often look back on the ’80s with a nostalgic glow, 1989 was not what most would consider a strong year for the genre — particularly when compared to the embarrassment of riches spawned by the rest of the decade. Not even Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger were safe from the slasher slump.

Each franchise had its ups and downs across a cumulative 17 movies in the ’80s, but the decade came to a close with low points — creatively and financially — in all three sagas: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan — the eighth Friday flick in nine years — sailed into theaters on July 28th. With $14.3 million, it’s the poorest-performing film in the franchise to date. Paramount subsequently sold the rights to New Line Cinema, who went on to give the series a soft reboot with 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.

While the effort to move the slashing away from Crystal Lake after seven movies with the same setting was admirable, Jason Takes Manhattan fails to live up to its premise. The titular killer doesn’t arrive in the Big Apple until the final 20 minutes. Aside from an all-too-brief glimpse of Times Square, Vancouver serves as a generic city backdrop due to budgetary restrictions.

What’s more, most of the film takes place aboard a cruise ship; that a small lake in New Jersey inexplicably connects to the Atlantic Ocean is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the film’s ill-conceived decisions go. Jason teleports, young Jason appears as an average boy with a full head of hair, unmasked Jason looks like a slimy Muppet, and the New York sewers flood with toxic waste every night at midnight.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child opened on August 11th. Although it was the most successful slasher of the year, its $22.1 million gross was a steep decline from its predecessors. Diminishing returns prompted New Line Cinema to “kill” (albeit temporarily) their golden goose with the follow-up, 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.

Although less insulting to fans than Jason Takes Manhattan or The Revenge of Michael Myers, The Dream Child is bogged down by superfluous backstory and uses the dream motif as a cheap excuse for illogical storytelling. It only has three kills, but they’re each fairly inspired: one character is fused to his motorcycle in a body-horror nightmare; a model is force-fed to death; and a comic book nerd is shredded in 2D by Super Freddy.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers hit the big screen on October 13th. A far cry from the original Halloween, which was one of the most financially successful independent movies ever made, its meager $11.6 million makes it the lowest-grossing entry in the series. Despite its cliffhanger ending, The Shape would lay dormant until 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

There are many grievances to be had with The Revenge of Michael Myers: Michael is nursed back to health for a year by a hermit, Jamie Lloyd is a mute with a telepathic link to Michael, returning final girl Rachel is unceremoniously killed off, bumbling cops are accompanied by circus sound effects, the Myers house is drastically different, Michael sheds a tear… But its worst offense is the hasty addition of the Man in Black, a flagrant “mystery” with no intention of a resolution.

The beauty of these long-running series is that every entry is someone’s favorite, and each one has its merits. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 features beautifully stylized production design throughout; Halloween 5‘s laundry chute sequence is an undisputed highlight; and Friday the 13th Part VIII gave us Jason Voorhees’ guest appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.

Disappointing box office performance and divisive fan reception may have temporarily hobbled the horror icons, but 1989 proved that you can’t keep a good franchise down. As we know 35 years later, each misunderstood monster was reworked and reanimated to continue their reign of terror.

Lisa Frankenstein is only in theaters this Friday. Get Tickets Now!

The post The ’80s Came to a Close With a Slasher Slump [1989 Week] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

October has been a pretty exciting month: we celebrated our 250th episode of the podcast with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, then tackled one of Jason Voorhees’ best entries with Friday the 13th Part 2 before getting real serious with Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil.

We’re closing out the month with a seasonally appropriate film: Rob Zombie‘s 2009 return to the Halloween franchise, Halloween II. Important note of distinction, however, we’re talking about the Unrated Director’s Cut.

In the film, it’s been two years since Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) faced down Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) but she’s still suffering from serious PTSD. Despite Annie (Danielle Harris) and Sheriff Brackett’s (Brad Dourif) claims that she’s safe, Laurie is spiraling as Halloween approaches.

Not helping matters is Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), who has written an insensitive new book about the murders. As Michael returns to finish what he began, can Laurie survive or is she doomed to be reunited with her Ghost Mom Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie) and that damn white horse?

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 253 – Halloween 2 (2009) Unrated Director’s Cut

Look out for Ghost Mama and avoid death-magnet Laurie Strode because we are talking about Rob Zombie’s much maligned Halloween 2 (2009). C/W: the dog dies.

The film has problems, but we’re fond of its all-star cast (Brea Grant! Margot Kidder! Nurse Octavia Daniels!), as well as the film’s surprisingly nuanced consideration of Final Girl PTSD.

Plus: MVP Danielle Harris and Annie’s powerful death scene, human caricature Dr. Loomis, a misogynistic strip club scene, and all of the changes that makes the Director’s Cut an improvement over the Theatrical Cut.

Cross out Halloween 2!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing to court controversy with the debut of a new theme month where we’ll look at nothing but films depicting Toxic Masculinity! First up: Michael Haneke’s disturbing Funny Games (1997 or 2007)

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for 270 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on No One Will Save You, Totally Killer, Saw X, Exorcist: Believer, and our audio commentary on John Carpenter’s classic Halloween.

The post Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween II’ Is the Best Depiction of Final Girl PTSD [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“In this fun, thrilling “Match 3″ game, you’ll collect items to escape from Michael Myers. Michael gets closer with every wrong move you make, so you better make your moves wisely!”

Having escaped and on the loose from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, you and the rest of the residents of Haddonfield must act to survive Halloween night by solving ever increasingly difficult puzzles using the iconography of this classic film. Along the way you will collect special abilities and repair the damage this night has wrought upon this idyllic town.

Make those matches as quickly as possible to ensure you stay one step ahead of The Boogeyman, because as Dr. Loomis said, “if you don’t, it’s your funeral.”

Visit https://1978halloween.app/ for more info!

The post ‘Halloween: A Match Made in Terror’ – Official Mobile Game Just Launched for Halloween! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Specifically, the 10 scariest cults to assemble across the Horror genre. Don’t get too presumptuous as you’ll be quite surprised at the collection they’ve assembled. So, join the gang — specifically, Rachel Reeves, Dan Caffrey, and Wolfman Mac Gerber as they take inventory on all the nightmare cults that have hit celluloid in the past.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, and The Evil Dead. This year? It’s Chucky!

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon | Store

The post The 10 Scariest Cults in Horror [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Officially licensed, HalloweenCostumes.com just launched pre-orders on three different Michael Myers inflatable decorations, measuring 8-foot, 15-foot, and 25-FOOT TALL!!

The company tells us, “These inflatables are officially licensed and exclusively sold by us. Available for pre-order now, and we estimate that they’ll be in stock around mid-September.”

The three different Michael Myers inflatables more or less look the same, but the prices increase as the height increases. The 8′ version is $119.99, while the 15′ version is $299.99.

If you want the 25′ tall Michael Myers, you’ll have to spend $499.99.

All three inflatables feature Michael Myers holding a bloody knife, suggesting he just wrapped up another fresh kill, and the look of Michael is based on John Carpenter’s original classic.

Head over to HalloweenCostumes.com to place your pre-orders now!

The post 25 FOOT TALL Michael Myers Inflatable Coming This Halloween from HalloweenCostumes.com! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

For starters, the company’s growing collection of Michael Myers masks will grow even further to include two masks from Rob Zombie’s Halloween, they’ve previewed this afternoon.

Trick or Treat Studios notes on social media that Wayne Toth, the artist behind the masks in the film, provided the castings for the two different Halloween masks they’re releasing.

You’ll be able to grab the clean Myers mask or the Rob Zombified variant.

Stay tuned for much more from Trick or Treat Studios this year!

The post Trick or Treat Studios Previews Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’ Mask Collection appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Menu Vinyl Soundtrack from Waxwork Records

Between Hereditary, Color Out of Space, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Colin Stetson is becoming one of the most effective composers in the horror genre. His latest score for The Menu is coming to vinyl from Waxwork Records.

The album is pressed on 180-gram splatter colored vinyl. It’s housed in a gatefold jacket with matte satin coating featuring artwork by Matt Needle and a 12×12 art pint. Scheduled to ship in February, it costs $30.

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla Figures from Mezco Toyz

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla introduced Mechagodzilla and King Caesar to the Godzilla franchise in 1974, and Mezco Toyz is releasing a 5 Points XL toy set featuring all three kaiju in July 2023. It’s available to pre-order for $60.

Godzilla has two interchangeable heads, attachable heat ray FX, and display base. Mechagodzilla has two interchangeable heads, two interchangeable finger missile hands, two attachable space beam FX, cross attack beam FX, and display base. King Caesar has two interchangeable heads, attachable prism eye FX, and display base.

Pennywise Doll from Trick or Treat Studios

Trick or Treat Studios has revealed a Pennywise premium scale doll that stands a whopping 50″ (that’s over 4 feet tall!). First announced at Toy Fair earlier this year, it’s now available to pre-order for $699.99.

Sculpted by Mark Anthony, the doll is based on Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of the evil clown in 2017’s IT. It’s made of soft flexible foam surrounding an industrial-strength poseable aluminum frame. Shipping is estimated to begin in May 2023.

Dredd Vinyl Soundtrack from Mondo

Dredd’s original motion picture soundtrack is available on vinyl via Mondo. The double-LP album is pressed on 140-gram “Dread” and “Slo-Mo” colored wax.

The score is composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan (Limitless, Cyberpunk 2077). A bonus disc with remixes by Morgan, John Tejada, P.T. Adamczyk, and Mogwai as well as piano reinterpretations by Morgan is included.

The soundtrack housed in a jacket featuring art by Luke Preece, and the first pressing includes a gold foil slipcase. Priced at $45, it’s expected to ship in January.

Michael Myers & Chucky Pillows from Surreal Entertainment

Surreal Entertainment has turned Michael Myers and Chucky into plush pillows. Each cuddly slasher measures approximately 19″ long, 13” high, and 6” wide. They retail for $32.99, but you can currently grab them for $29.99 each.

For more merch madness, peruse the Killer Collectibles archives. You can also visit Broke Horror Fan.

The post 5 of This Week’s Coolest Horror Collectibles Including a New $700 Pennywise Doll! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Of course, not all killer kids are created equal, and after our previous article celebrating some of the best Final Kids in horror, we thought that it was time to give the juvenile villains a chance to shine with a list celebrating six of the best evil child performances in horror movies. After all, every evildoer has to start somewhere…

Like last time, we’ll be choosing characters based on the child actor’s performance and memorability, not necessarily the quality of the movie(s) that they appeared in. We’ll also only be including actual children on this list, so no Sam (Trick ‘r Treat) or Esther (Orphan), as those characters only look like kids.

As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite villainous child actor performances if you think we missed an important one.

Now, onto the list of some of horror’s best killer kids…

6. Daeg Faerch / Michael Myers – Halloween (2007)

Rob Zombie’s remake of John Carpenter’s classic may get a lot of flack for its excessive brutality and overall Rob-Zombie-ness, but even the harshest critics have to admit that the first half of the film is a shockingly unique take on a slasher villain origin story.

Taking Donald Pleasance’s line about meeting a child with the devil’s eyes and expanding it into a whole sub-plot, Zombie’s re-imagining of Michael Myers features a pint-sized psychopath brought to life by Daeg Faerch. Years of abuse and untreated mental disorders have turned this seemingly mild-mannered child into a ticking time bomb, and the real horror behind this remake is in seeing how both nature and nurture can team up to conjure an unstoppable killer.

Faerch even gets to murder one of the original Spy Kids in cold blood! What’s more evil than that?

5. Alexander Brickel / Dougie – Satan’s Little Helper (2004)

One of the naughtiest children ever depicted in a horror movie, Alexander Brickel’s “Dougie” earns his place on this list due to his utter devotion to the trick part of “trick ‘r treat”. Satan Man may be the star of the show in this oddball horror-comedy, but the humor simply wouldn’t work if his serial killer sidekick wasn’t equally hilarious.

While some horror fans have criticized Dougie’s ridiculous levels of naïve compliance, that’s not really the actor’s fault, as the part was originally written with a younger child in mind. Besides, the movie clearly isn’t meant to be taken seriously, with the picture even featuring a scene where the murderous main duo run over pedestrians (including a baby carriage) with a trolley cart in what I can only assume is an homage to Death Race 2000. That’s Peak Cinema right there.

4. Yuya Ozeki / Toshio Saeki – Ju-On (2002) / The Grudge (2004)

The green-band trailer for the American remake of The Grudge was already enough to give me nightmares as a kid, so I couldn’t help but include the infamous Toshio on this list. The ghostly apparition of a boy who was murdered by his own father, Toshio stands next to Sayako/Samara as one of the most iconic characters in all of J-Horror.

The pale ghost also boasts the most disturbing use of a cat’s meow in any movie ever, though some of the character’s shock-value has been toned down after the memorable (and slightly problematic) parody that shows up in Scary Movie 4.

Curiously, Yuya Ozeki returned to play Toshio again in the American version of the film. That time, the little actor benefited from a larger make-up budget, which made his ghostly performance all the more convincing.

3. Jodelle Ferland / Alessa – Silent Hill (2006)

Christophe Gans’ Silent Hill may not be a perfect movie, but it’s still the best horror game adaptation out there. While the film features quite a bit of nightmare fuel, many of its scares come from the updated characterization of Alessa, a character that was mostly relegated to epistolary scraps of text in the original game.

In the 2007 film, Jodelle Ferland plays a double role as both an innocent victim and the sadistic orchestrator of the town’s curse, with enough nuance in her performance for you to actually root for the antagonist by the end of the picture. While it’s a shame that the film’s sequel didn’t do her character justice, Ferland’s incarnation of Alessa remains a memorably creepy addition to the franchise.

2. Harvey Spencer Stephens / Damien – The Omen (1976)

After years of absurd parodies and diluted sequels, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Richard Donner’s original The Omen was actually an incredibly terrifying picture. And those scares are in no small part due to Harvey Spencer Stephens’ memorable take on the young antichrist, Damien.

Most of the character’s spooky charms can be attributed to the young actor’s natural abilities, but Donner was instrumental in getting the very best performance out of this talented child actor. In fact, the iconic final shot of the film was achieved by the director telling Harvey not to smile towards the camera, knowing that the kid would end up doing the exact opposite!

1. Linda Blair / Possessed Regan – The Exorcist (1973)

Sometimes, classics are regarded as such for a reason, so I don’t think anyone will be surprised by our inclusion of Linda Blair’s Regan in the number one spot. Another double role, with Blair alternating between an innocent child and the eldritch being Pazuzu, the extensive special-effects makeup was only one small part of what made this performance so iconic.

Hell, Blair was even nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Regan, which is pretty cool for a 14-year-old. While it’s a shame that she didn’t reprise her role in the 2016 Exorcist series (though the recasting makes sense due to the mid-season twist), Blair’s interpretation of Regan remains one of the best horror movie performances period and will likely live on as the definitive archetype of the evil child in cinema.

The post Killer Kids: Six of the Best Evil Child Performances in Horror appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Things have changed for the Halloweenies, too. With Mike Vanderbilt now part of the gang, rest assured, this list is going to look a whole lot different once the candles are lit and we all step back to watch our work. And, not to mention, the other Halloweenies have certainly adjusted their respective rankings. So, is this a trick or a treat? You decide.

Stream the new ranking below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Scream.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

Oh, and to quote our man Bud: “Happy Halloween…”

The post Ranking the ‘Halloween’ Movies from Worst to Best [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That was not what we got. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers was released only a year later, showing a Jamie who was affected by the trauma of her encounter with the shape, but still a sweet little girl, no more murderous than she had been at the beginning of Halloween 4. Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield for his annual slaughter and for all the movie’s well known eccentricities, it was by all accounts a traditional Halloween sequel. The evil had not been passed on, the possibility that it could not be contained only an apparent myth. Michael Myers was evil, but remained the only one of his kind. Jamie did not take up the mantle or take on a role as an accomplice, as the ending of Halloween 4 had seemed to explicitly suggest. Michael Myers would continue to be the sole face of the series—so to speak—and the future teased by the end of that fourth entry would not come to pass until Halloween Ends hit theaters on October 14th, 2022.

The new film, especially for a finale, is obviously divisive. Spoilers ahead, as we’re going to get into the meat of the story. This movie not only goes in a completely different direction from the two entries before it, but from really any other movie in the series as a whole. Even Halloween III had the benefit of completely wiping the slate clean, so that its brand new, unconnected story was just that. Halloween Ends introduces a new protagonist/antagonist in Corey Cunningham, a boy accused of killing a local child in what was actually a tragic accident. He tries to find a way to move on from what happened, but the town’s perception of him is concrete and unwavering. After being attacked by a literal band of bullies, Corey has an encounter with Michael Myers that leaves him changed. Something happens the moment they lock eyes with one another, and the two become connected. Corey is infected by the evil within the shape, and it grows inside of him (or awakens something within him) until it takes him over completely. From there, it is a glorified remake of Christine with Michael Myers instead of a car.

It is at its very core, not for everyone. Maybe even not for most. It is a big swing, especially for the concluding chapter of a trilogy, not to mention the entire franchise. Allegedly. As someone with a deep love of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, I am not the person to speak to that particular point. And I don’t want to deride anyone’s tastes if they absolutely despised this movie, but if this movie is not right up my alley, then I truly don’t know my own tastes. What I really want to do though is simply take a look at the specific big swing this movie takes, the central concept of a character becoming infected, possessed, aligned with and even an accomplice to Michael Myers. Because even though that might be incredibly jarring to see play out on screen, it is something that has almost happened several times in this franchise’s 44 year history. It is an idea that has been constantly touched on but never truly explored until now.

The most obvious example would be the end of Halloween 4, as I pointed out, but the kernel of this idea dates all the way back to Halloween II. That film is infamous for its big twist. Laurie becoming Michael’s sister is the first time a protagonist is directly tied to the killer in this series. And she’s never told about it; she pieces it together through dreams, so it is an almost psychic connection there, particularly in her knowing he’s coming for her at the hospital before she possibly could.

Halloween 4 is still the most overt building block. Once the sibling connection was established, it set the franchise down a long path of movies about Michael targeting his family members. This time, he’s after his young niece, Jamie. When she touches his hand at the end, it is incredibly similar to Corey being immediately affected by simply looking into Michael’s eyes. One moment of contact is all it takes. Jamie, after that encounter, puts on a mask and starts stabbing, as does Corey, eventually. I almost think my litmus test for if someone is likely to enjoy Halloween Ends is to look back at any posts they might have made about how the ending of Halloween 4 should have been the new direction for the franchise and ask themselves how much they really meant it. What that movie only teased, Ends embraces. It jumps into that incredibly intriguing, exciting concept of “We don’t know what happened to Michael, we don’t know what transformed him, but what if it happened again?”

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers does not completely abandon the supernatural connection between Jamie and Michael by any stretch, but certainly downplays it. One year later, Jamie cannot speak, which could be caused by her trauma or could be a lingering effect of Michael’s psychic bond with her. At the end of 4, she stabbed her foster mother with a pair of scissors, but now she’s using her newfound abilities to track Michael like a nine-year-old psychic detective. It only rarely touches on the darkness of her connection with Michael and what it could mean. The highlight of the movie, as far as this plot point goes, comes in a rare emotional moment for the shape. Jamie asks Michael to remove his mask, sees the face of what could be any ordinary man, and says “You’re just like me,” as Michael sheds a single tear. It’s as if, for just a second, whatever supernatural evil is rooted deep within him loosens its grip. A second later, Michael is disgusted by his own display of emotion and starts destroying everything around him out of what appears to be genuine embarrassment. It’s just a little scene, but it’s so fascinating and raises so many questions about the nature of the evil inside Michael, but it’s never really addressed again.

In Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers that evil is explained in no uncertain terms. Michael was inflicted with the curse of Thorn, an ancient Celtic curse that would infect one member of a family and cause them to kill their bloodline so that other families would be spared and crops would flourish. Curse is the first movie to directly revolve around the notion that Michael’s evil is something that can be passed onto another, and much of the plot deals with the notion of one cycle ending and another beginning. Though, once again, that does not come to fruition. In both the endings of the producer’s cut and the theatrical cut, Michael survives to continue doing what he does best.

Perhaps the most important movie to examine when thinking of the building blocks of Halloween Ends is Halloween H20, not necessarily for the movie it is, but the movie it could have been. As some fans are probably unaware, that was set to be a very different film before Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the role. Dimension had been ready to send the Halloween franchise direct-to-video as they would do for Hellraiser, The Crow, Children of the Corn and more, thanks to the lukewarm box office of Curse of Michael Myers. Curtis single-handedly saved it from that fate with her suggestion to return for a twentieth anniversary movie. The pre-existing script by Robert Zappia was basically combined with Kevin Williamson’s treatment for a Laurie Strode-centric sequel.

The original concept evolved through several scripts from Halloween: Two Faces of Evil to Halloween: The Revenge of Laurie Strode to finally H20, but it basically dealt with a killer being obsessed with Michael Myers to the point that they would take on the mantle for themselves, only to come face to face with the real shape by the end. It’s intriguing, I’ll admit, but also sounds very much like a Dimension DTV sequel. It’s kind of fascinating to think that the scrapped plot for Jamie Lee Curtis’ first big return to the franchise is so similar to the plot of her final return to the franchise 24 years later.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II also deals with notions of a character being affected by Michael’s evil, a surprising move for a sequel to what had been an overwhelmingly realistic first movie. This time, the person being affected by Michael is Laurie herself. She sees visions identical to Michael’s own, which Zombie simply suggested on the commentary to be her having an identical illness to her brother, but since absolutely none of that is how mental illness works, it has to be read as some kind of psychic connection. After all, she not only sees visions of her mother before she even knows anything about her own origin, she sees her dressed in the same clothes that Michael sees, and there are points when she and Michael are literally interacting with the same vision at the same time.

The two versions of Zombie’s Halloween II end very differently. In the director’s cut, Laurie is shot down by the police while standing over Michael’s body, and as she dies, she sees a long white hallway, smiling a broken smile as she accepts her own death. The theatrical cut, however, does not kill Laurie, and that final shot of the hallway only looks like she has been taken away and her smile looks like the grin of someone who has finally given in to the rage and violence that has been tightening its grip on her throughout the film. It looks like she’s taking up the mantle for what appears to be an unequivocally dead Michael, and is extremely similar to the tease at the end of Halloween 4. Again, that obviously didn’t happen.

David Gordon Green’s new trilogy has dealt with this concept from the beginning. Taken on its own, 2018’s Halloween is actually the first sequel to inject a second killer into the heart of the story with Dr. Ranbir Sartain. Touted as the “new Loomis” he’s actually the anti-Loomis in that Sartain has no intention of stopping Michael. In fact, he is so obsessed with learning the pleasure Michael feels by killing that he appears to kill Officer Hawkins just to feel that for himself. However, Halloween Kills reveals that Hawkins lived and Sartain didn’t actually kill anyone, right in its opening scene. Much of Kills is even about the opposite; rather than a killer following in Michael’s footsteps, the town’s fear of him turns them into a rampaging vigilante mob that leads to the death of a man they wrongly believe to be Myers. It’s a heavy handed, blunt, and gruesome scene about how their paranoia has turned them into monsters, that ends with Brackett literally saying that it has turned them into monsters.

Finally, all of these elements come together in Halloween Ends. With Laurie Strode now representing the hope of overcoming a traumatic past and Michael Myers representing what happens when you succumb to violence entirely, enter new character Corey Cunningham, poised directly in the middle between the two. Like Laurie, he was a babysitter, and like Michael, he’s a town pariah. Corey, at the beginning, simply wants to go about his life. He was a good kid in a miserable situation. Both he and Laurie are harassed simply for things that have happened to them, and that connection is important, because Halloween Ends is at its core about the fact that you cannot control people’s perception of you, you can only control how it changes you. The supernatural turn, and the metaphor, come about when Corey first looks into Michael’s eyes and that infection, and kinship between the two, begins.

(from left) Billy (Marteen), Corey (Rohan Campbell) and Terry (Michael Barbieri) in Halloween Ends, co-written, produced and directed by David Gordon Green.

I can’t even express how it felt to finally see that. This was a scene I’d seen play out before in Halloween movies, as I’ve pointed out. It felt so similar to Halloween 4, in particular, only now it’s not coming at the very end to tease a sequel that the next filmmakers are by no means obliged to make. Now it’s coming at the end of the first act. This is, finally, that movie. The notion that Michael’s supernatural evil can be strengthened or dormant from moment to moment from Halloween 5 is in there when a feeble, broken Michael stabs a cop to restore his own strength. The idea that the cycle is beginning anew, a background plot point from Curse, is central to this film. The rejected plot of H20, in which a young imposter takes on the mantle of the shape is the whole concept of Halloween Ends.

Whether on a large or small scale, all of these things made it into this film that is all about internalizing an external evil, exploring the concepts of Halloween from the inside out. And as out-of-left-field it is for a franchise finale, it ties itself back to the original in some clever and surprising ways. For example, Michael kills three people in the movie, the same amount he killed on Halloween night 1978, has almost the same screen time as the original, and Laurie is not aware of the threat of Michael until the moment she comes face to face with him, just like the first time.

For only focusing itself as a sequel to the 1978 classic, this trilogy has always kept the other sequels in mind. Like Halloween II, Halloween Kills features a bigger body count while Laurie gets sidelined in the hospital. There are kids running around in the Silver Shamrock masks from Halloween III. The mob leading to Tivoli’s death in Kills is extremely similar to the group of drunken rednecks who accidentally shot local citizen Ted Hollister in Halloween 4. On this level, Halloween Ends is not a surprising supposed end to this series, because it is factoring in the saga as a whole to an even greater degree than its predecessors. Halloween Ends takes all of these abandoned threads, all these promises of a wildly different take on the Halloween formula and simply makes that movie. As divisive as it is, no matter how time treats it or how its reception changes if at all, it will always be a fascinating footnote in a larger legacy.

And I, for one, am grateful for it.

The post Infectious Evil: How ‘Halloween Ends’ Finally Does Something the Franchise Has Long Been Teasing appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After closing out September with a discussion on one of the best horror remakes and a candid chat with Chucky creator Don Mancini, we kicked off spooky season by checking in with an infamous psychopathic bisexual and reevaluating the controversy surrounding that film’s release. Now, just after Halloween Ends (review) divided fans, we’re taking a look back at David Gordon Green‘s similarly polarizing sequel Halloween Kills.

In the film, unstoppable killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) escapes from Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie checks out of most of the movie while Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), the boy she was babysitting on the night Michael began his reign of terror, takes control of the narrative. As Laurie continues to fight through the pain, Tommy leads an angry mob of vigilantes to rise up against Myers and destroy the evil once and for all.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 199: Halloween Kills (2021)

We’re opening the Patreon vault this week to unleash our episode on David Gordon’ Green’s divisive slasher sequel Halloween Kills just after last week’s release of Halloween Ends. But before you listen (or re-listen), please sing along with us!

♬♬ Through the streets, through the ‘burbs, through the Strodeses and the Bracketts!

Michael’s coming but it’s one exciting riiiiiiiide!

Say a prayer, then we’re there, at the doorway of the Myers house!

There’s something truly terrible insiiiiiiide. ♬♬

♬♬ A masked man!

He’s got knives, razor sharp ones!

Massive hands, killer plans, making friiiiiiiight!

Hear him stalk, see him roam!

But we’re not coming home until he’s deaaaaaaad!

Good and deaaaaaaaaad!

EVIL DIES TONIGHT! ♬♬

(Yes, we think we’re really clever for this. No need to smugly reiterate that sentiment in the comments. We know.)

Cross out Halloween Kills!

Coming up next: We’re celebrating 200 episodes(!!!) with a discussion of what we consider to be a perfect film, and that film is Karyn Kusama’s masterful exercise in unbearable tension: The Invitation!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 207 hours of additional content! This month, we’ve got episodes on the film adaptation of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Disney’s legacy sequel Hocus Pocus 2, Hulu’s Hellraiser reboot, the final(?) entry in David Gordon Green’s Halloween series Halloween Ends, and an audio commentary on Gore Verbinski’s The Ring, just in time for its 20th anniversary!

The post Living in a Fanbase Divided: An Analysis of ‘Halloween Kills’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It certainly does! Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year again, when the Halloweenies return to the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois for a little trick or treating. This time around, though, there’s a new Shape in town, one that has traded in a station wagon for a motorcycle and a cold stare for some complicated Peter Parker vibes. What could go wrong?

Find out by joining co-hosts Justin Gerber, Dan Caffrey, McKenzie Gerber, Mike Vanderbilt, and Michael Roffman as they blow out the candle within David Gordon Green‘s Halloween Ends. Together, they discuss big swerves in horror, franchise newcomer Corey Cunningham, Jamie Lee Curtis’ final swan song as Laurie Strode, and whether or not this all paid off.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, and The Evil Dead.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon | Store

The post ‘Halloween Ends’ With a New Beginning [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

What’s on the boob tube tonight? John Carpenter‘s Halloween. In anticipation of Halloween Ends, the gang has unlocked their 2020 commentary track for the 1978 blockbuster that started it all. Join Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Mike Vanderbilt as they return to Haddonfield, Illinois to talk all over your favorite horror movie.

Stream the commentary below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Scream.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon | Store

The post John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ Gets Yet Another Commentary Track [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A mere 300 of the sets will be available at the Kidrobot booth on the NYCC 2022 floor next month, with the limited edition collectible toys measuring 3″ tall and made out of vinyl.

“The nostalgia craze is back, only this time it’s a little more bone-chilling. Kidrobot is leading the charge with this limited-edition Trollify mashup featuring the Good Luck Trolls and NBCUniversal icons of horror – Chucky, Bride of Frankenstein and Michael Myers.

“Following a pre-order sellout, the Trollify vinyl collectibles are available in extremely limited quantities, with only 300 available, priced at $75 for a 3-pack.

“Additionally, the Kidrobot booth will feature a special Trollify Artist Series installation by Universal artists. Designers from Universal Products & Experiences – a division of Universal Parks and Resorts – created one-of-a-kind artistic interpretations of the Good Luck Trolls dolls for an incredible selfie photo wall.”

New York Comic-Con takes over the Javits Center from October 6-9, 2022.

The post Universal Horror Icons Become Good Luck Trolls for NYCC Exclusive Toys! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Your collection is entitled to one good scare!

“The exclusive Pop! VHS Cover of Halloween features a spooky, glow-in-the-dark Pop! Michael Myers.

“The exclusive Pop! comes pre-packaged in a premium protective case along with the original VHS cover art from the 1978 film.”

Pre-order here.

The post Walmart Exclusive ‘Halloween’ Vinyl Figure Gives Michael Myers the Orange Tint of the Original VHS! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

On Tuesday night, Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures dropped the highly anticipated teaser trailer for the next Halloween sequel. By now, you probably have all 60+ seconds committed to memory — and that’s a good thing.

Why? Because now you can team up with the Halloweenies as they smash this proverbial pumpkin. Join co-hosts Michael Roffman, Mike Vanderbilt, and McKenzie Gerber as they trick and treat through the entire one-minute event. It’s a hoot.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Scream.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon | Store

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The post Breaking Down the ‘Halloween Ends’ Trailer [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The footage is a quick montage of scenes that culminates with the long-promised battle between Michael and Laurie, ending with the Shape trying to shove her hand into the garbage disposal.

After the duo’s fights in Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween H20, Halloween: Resurrection, Halloween (2018), and Halloween Kills, will evil finally die tonight?

Director David Gordon Green has recently teased that there will be a four-year time jump from the events of Kills to the events of Ends, and it’s said to be more “intimate” and “contained.”

We also finally received an official poster and synopsis, which you can read below the trailer.

HALLOWEEN ENDS ON OCTOBER 14TH.

Share your thoughts below!

Official Synopsis

“After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before. Only one of them will survive.

“Icon Jamie Lee Curtis returns for the last time as Laurie Strode, horror’s first ‘final girl’ and the role that launched Curtis’ career. Curtis has portrayed Laurie for more than four decades now, one of the longest actor-character pairings in cinema history. When the franchise relaunched in 2018, Halloween shattered box office records, becoming the franchise’s highest-grossing chapter and set a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a horror film starring a woman.

“Four years after the events of last year’s Halloween Kills, Laurie is living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and is finishing writing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, after allowing the specter of Michael to determine and drive her reality for decades, has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.”

Nick Castle, the original Michael Myers, had recently noted that Halloween Ends will be a “surprising” conclusion to David Gordon Green‘s trilogy, while makeup effects artist Chris Nelson similarly teased that the third installment in the trilogy is “weird” and “different.” And John Carpenter similarly called the new movie a “departure” in a recent interview.

Halloween Ends co-stars returning cast Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins, Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace and James Jude Courtney as The Shape.

Here’s the poster…

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Nothing quite sets off horror fans like the killing of a legacy character, but the decision to bump off Laurie Strode was put in place before Resurrection was written. The late producer Moustapha Akkad stipulated Michael Myers could not be killed, so the original plan of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later being The Shape’s swan song was off the table, much to Jamie Lee Curtis’ chagrin. A creative workaround allowed both Laurie and the audience to think Michael was finally dead at the end of H20 — and no footage in the actual film could suggest differently — yet in the inevitable sequel, Curtis asked for her character to return and be killed off. So, that loathed opening sequence of Resurrection was always going to happen.

Putting aside the much-hated explanation for how Michael survived that cathartic decapitation — Laurie killed an innocent man wearing Michael’s mask — his and Laurie’s final confrontation is not even the worst part of Resurrection. Curtis intended for Laurie to have a darker story when she first contacted Carpenter and Debra Hill about the 1978 film’s twentieth anniversary. The studio eventually dialed that darkness down in H20, but some of what Curtis originally had in mind found its way into the sequel. The opening scene puts a new slant on survivor’s guilt, and those first fifteen minutes account for Rick Rosenthal’s most coherent direction in the whole film. There is a good idea here about the eternal struggle between final girls and their enemies, and the unavoidable aftermath of said battle. The outcome here is not desirable from a fan’s point of view, although it is a conclusive, if not controversial, way of passing the torch from one generation to the next.

The big challenge after such a risky undertaking was making the audience still feel invested, even if Laurie was out of the picture. And Resurrection thought going back to the origin of evil would do the trick. The story severs the personal connection to Michael altogether, and in place of some other ill-fated relative, the sequel offers random fodder who mistakenly enter the old Myers house as part of some macabre attempt at entertainment. Michael hacking up various people who wander into his ancestral home and other haunts sounds a lot like something in the Halloween young-adult novels, but Resurrection adds a modern touch.

Despite all its apparent failings, Resurrection achieves a sliver of success with its unusual setup. Following the prologue, a year after Laurie’s demise, the film shifts focus to an internet stunt set inside Michael Myers’ childhood home. On Halloween Night, six college students along with the producers of “Dangertainment” are then picked off inside Haddonfield’s most infamous house. And from behind their computer screens, audiences watch in both pleasure and fear, asking themselves if this is real or not.

By 2002, reality television was well on its way to becoming a permanent, not to mention detested, part of people’s daily lives. Not enough outlets were willing to openly contest the format’s possible harm, but horror was on the frontline, emphasizing how some reality TV is deceptive and sadistic. While Resurrection was surely beaten to the punch by the indie slasher Kolobos, its inclusion of the fad-turned-fixture is noteworthy, especially in a big-studio production. The film was also well ahead of the true-crime obsession of more recent years, and the digital cameras worn by characters could be revisited if Halloween ever wants to make a found-footage entry.

Unfortunately, once inside the house, it becomes abundantly clear Resurrection has neither a sense of identity, nor a convincing reason to exist aside from making easy money off a popular IP. One after one, caricatures meet their ends at the hands of Michael before the last one standing, the uncompelling Sarah (Bianca Kajlich), has to take charge. She is of course not alone; help comes in the form of the high-school catfish (Ryan Merriman) who provides her a cyberlink to the outside world, and Freddie’s (Busta Rhymes) character steps far outside his producer role to live out his martial-arts fantasy. The rapper-turned-actor gets plenty of flak for his character, but in all sincerity, Rhymes’ performance is the one thing this film has going for it.

Halloween has gone on to become a “choose your own adventure” franchise; the story of Michael Myers has been revised enough to where a chart is almost necessary to keep everything straight. Of all the continuity branches, though, this duology is the most uneven. And between the two installments, H20 was the better made and better received; and had it been self-contained, Steve Miner’s direct sequel to Halloween II would have been a grand way to finish Laurie and Michael’s story. In spite of any minor flaws and the prearranged retconning, H20 at least felt like a Halloween film. Resurrection, on the other hand, lacks heart. All across the board, Michael’s journey has always had some sort of destination. Meanwhile, Larry Brand and Sean Hood’s script indiscriminately stabs away in the dark, hoping to finally hit something.

Time and reappraisal can turn over-hated horror films into cult classics. Not everything will resonate the first time around, and a lot of critical failures have become more liked and relevant later on. Reevaluation has certainly done wonders for some of the most lambasted horrors, but Resurrection will likely not be enjoying a major critical turnaround anytime soon. The needle on this contentious sequel has barely moved an inch in the positive direction after two decades.

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.

The post ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ 20 Years Later – Why the 2002 Sequel Remains a Franchise Low Point appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

John Carpenter’s classic 1978 slasher film Halloween returns to stalk Halloween Horror Nights in terrifying haunted houses where guests come face-to-face with the merciless Michael Myers, beginning September 2 at Universal Orlando Resort and September 8 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Halloween is one of the most popular horror films of all time and to many fans, spawned the most-feared antagonist in horror movie history – Michael Myers. As the franchise’s latest trilogy concludes with Universal Pictures’ release of Halloween Ends on October 14, guests will venture back to where it all began in “Halloween” – eerily authentic haunted houses that depict the most chilling moments from the critically-acclaimed original film.

On both coasts, this year’s harrowing experiences will transport guests to the infamous town of Haddonfield, Ill. on Halloween night, when Michael Myers first donned his notorious mask to embark on his brutal rampage. As guests make their way through his dilapidated home and iconic scenes from the movie, they’ll narrowly dodge attacks from the knife-wielding Myers as he stalks their every move. Myers is the embodiment of pure evil who unleashes terror at every turn, and guests will quickly realize that he will stop at nothing and no one to take his bloody revenge.

Select tickets and vacation packages are now on sale for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort which begins Friday, September 2, and tickets for Universal Studios Hollywood, which kicks off Thursday, September 8, will be available soon. Both events will run select nights through Monday, October 31, and additional details and haunted houses will be revealed soon. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.

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There are high top and low top Michael Myers shoes now available from Fun.com, each of them featuring completely different Halloween-themed colors and patterns.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Exclusive and Officially Licensed shoes…

High Top: “These Michael Myers Halloween Shoes combine the devious and unstoppable style of Halloween‘s dastardly villain, with a simple high top design that’s comfortable enough for everyday wear. The shoes have an all-over print of Michael wielding a knife. The orange laces and accents add a uniquely Halloween splash of color and the back of the shoes even have “Halloween” along the back strap. Put that all together and you have a style that cannot be stopped, just like Michael Myers himself!”

Low Top: “These shoes combine Michael Myers with a classic low top style. The shoes come with a printed image of Michael Myers on the side, complete with blood splatters and a knife for deadly effect. The shoe also has white accents near the eyelets and along the backstrap for color contrast. Finally, the tongue has the quote “You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman” for added creep factor. You can wear it to get yourself into the Halloween mood, or just a bit of horror movie style into your everyday wear!”

You can grab either pair of shoes for $39.99 right now!

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Peacock launched with a library of options, but they were all shit like Michael Scott from “The Office” and E.T.

While I rocked the lovable alien for the past year, I just now realized there’s a slew of new choices that include Jurassic Park & Jurassic World‘s T-Rex, “Chucky” & Child’s Play‘s Chucky, and Halloween/Halloween Kills‘ Michael Myers!  Here’s hoping that this is the first of many.

I decided to go with Chucky, which one are you going to pick?

Catch up on the entire season of Chucky with our own Horror Queers podcast. BD writers Joe Lipsett and Trace Thurman went deep on every episode of its first season. Stream the first recap below.

The post Peacock Streaming Service Makes Chucky, Michael Myers, and T-Rex Avatars Available appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Available now in Spirit Halloween’s online shop is a Spirt Exclusive Michael Myers toy from Funko, which includes both “The Shape” and the iconic Myers House from the original classic!

The box set is part of the POP! Town line, with the house measuring 5″ H X 4.5″ W x 4.75″ D. As for the included Myers toy, it’s the same size as your standard Funko POP! toy.

You can grab yours today for $32.99!

Keep the Halloween spirit alive by revisiting Season 1 of our horror franchise podcast, Halloweenies. The series carved out every entry in the long-running franchise, including October’s Halloween Kills. Stream that episode below.

The post Brand New Michael Myers Funko Toy Available Now from Spirit Halloween; Includes the Myers House! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The final few days of this year’s AMC FearFest are, as always, dominated by Michael Myers, and the many Halloween franchise movies will be airing all Halloween Weekend long!

Here’s the full schedule…

Friday, October 29th:

• 6pm EST – Halloween (1978)
• 8pm – Halloween II (1981)

Saturday, October 30th: 

• 1am – Halloween: Resurrection
• 4am – Halloween II (2009)
• 6:30am – Halloween 4
• 8:30am – Halloween 5
• 10:30am – Halloween (1978)
• 12:30pm – Halloween II (1981)
• 2:30pm – Halloween II (2009)
• 5pm – Halloween (2007)
• 7:30pm – Halloween H20
• 9:28pm – Halloween: Resurrection
• 11:28pm – Halloween (1978)

Sunday, October 31st: 

• 1:28am – Halloween II (1981)
• 3:28am – Halloween III
• 5:28am – Halloween 4
• 7:27am – Halloween 5
• 9:27am – Halloween (2007)
• 11:55am – Halloween: Resurrection
• 1:55pm – Halloween H20
• 3:53pm – Halloween (1978)
• 5:53pm – Halloween II (1981)

The rest of Halloween Night, unfortunately, belongs to “The Walking Dead,” specifically the spinoff shows “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.”

Celebrating its 25^th Anniversary this year, AMC FearFest featured over 680 hours of programming and more than 100 unique titles from iconic horror films from the Halloween franchise and Stephen King’s library to pivotal episodes from The Walking Dead Universe, the Season 3 premiere of Eli Roth’s History of Horror, and so much more.

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It’s been a long night of trick or treating for the guys, which is why they’ve now assembled at 45 Lampkin Lane, aka the Myers House, to open their bag of Tricks and Treats.

In this Haddonfield edition of their mailbag series, co-hosts Michael Roffman, Justin Gerber, Dan Caffrey, and Mike Vanderbilt discuss the best masks, the scariest moments, their favorite timelines, and what should be next for the Halloween franchise.

It’s all Michael and all Myers in this episode — and it’s all for you. Join ’em below or via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Keep the fun going by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and this year’s Scream. You can also become a member of their Patreon for hilarious commentaries and one-off episodes.

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I wasn’t too lost starting with the middle chapter, thankfully, because it was a self-contained story centering on a whole new cast of characters, and the references to Michael having supposedly caused a massacre and disappeared again the previous year only added to the mystique of the character in my young mind. I read that book over and over again, gobsmacked even as a kid by the fact that I’d somehow gotten my hands on an actual Michael Myers novel. I even did a book report on it for school, which did not go over well. 

Over time, my love for that book in particular has not lessened. It’s a teenage soap opera, it reads like so many other teen books of the era, and yet there is Michael Myers injected right into the heart of it. And even though it’s a YA book, he is not toned down for younger readers. More than anything, though, even after all this time, I am still shocked by how gory these are. There’s a passage in The Old Myers Place that describes a girl’s fingernails snapping off on a tombstone that deeply affected me as a kid and still makes me incredibly squeamish to read even now. Unfortunately, though, these books are pretty much lost to time. Whenever they pop up online, the prices are astronomical. To this day, I’ve still only managed to get my hands on two out of the three. But the two that I have I re-read often, especially this time of year. And despite the fact that I should have them memorized, every now and then you pick up on things you never noticed before. Even, or in this case especially in Halloween young adult novels.

On this most recent re-read, I started to pick up on parallels between these books and the current phase of the films. This started in the most obvious place, in that like the new movies, these books were only directly following the events of the original Halloween. Admittedly, they’re much more subtle about it than the 2018 movie, and there are no returning characters. There are even references to previous massacres, one which sounds almost like Halloween II, but doesn’t match up, and one vague return to Haddonfield in the early ‘80s. The events of the first film are the only thing clearly described, even on the back cover of each book: “Many years ago, in the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a boy named Michael Myers murdered his sister with a knife. Later, he returned to town on Halloween night to kill again. The only ones who knew how to stop him were his doctor and a teenage girl. Now it is time for Michael Myers to return to Haddonfield once again. And this time, there is no one who can stop him.” 

What I began to notice more and more, though, were the connections that went well beyond simply the framework of only making concrete references to the original. There are much larger parallels between these books and the current films, some of them incredibly specific, and I think those parallels are definitely worth diving into.

For the most part, Halloween: The Old Myers Place reads like any other teen girl book of the ‘90s. Mary used to be popular in her old school in Los Angeles, but now she’s moved to the small town of Haddonfield where nothing exciting ever happens, doing her best to fit in with the small group of cool kids, especially superstar heartbreaker Josh. But she also briefly dated Jeff over the summer, who is made fun of by the other kids because he’s poor and lives by the cemetery. As Mary keeps up her hip appearance, she’s also worried that her goth cousin Julifer will out her for her own counterculture past. That’s a ‘90s teen novel in a nutshell. Of course, it also happens that the house Mary’s moved into is the old Myers place, and that she and her friends have become the targets of an unkillable boogeyman. In terms of the overall plot, there’s not a lot here that really links to 2018’s Halloween, except that it returns Michael Myers to a motiveless enigma. Which is impressive to think about, considering the Michael-stalks-family-members momentum of the franchise was still firmly ingrained at the time.

Aside from the general continuity-free approach, let’s look at the ending of Halloween: The Old Myers Place. At the end of that book, Michael is trapped underneath the Myers house and left to burn, while Mary and Jeff make their way outside, believing the evil to finally be vanquished. Of course, Michael survives, escaping the fire minutes later while our heroes are none the wiser. This is nearly identical to what happens at the end of the 2018 Halloween, swapping the Myers house for Laurie’s compound, with that being much more of an elaborate trap sprung on Michael than a moment of desperate opportunity as it had been in The Old Myers Place. More than that, carrying on into the next sequel, Halloween: The Mad House, Michael’s mask is burned as a result of that fire, and he wears that burned mask from the beginning of The Mad House until the end. The parallels here are obvious. 

Michael Myers (aka The Shape) in Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green.

The Mad House is unique in that it is one of the only—if not the only—Halloween tie-ins to not actually be set on Halloween. Instead, it follows a high school video crew looking to make their own documentary about Michael Myers by returning to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium (now abandoned) in hopes of finally uncovering what exactly drove him to kill. They’re amateurs investigating something that no one has ever solved, looking to answer questions that no psychiatrist or journalist has ever successfully answered. In that respect, they are very similar to the podcasters of Halloween 2018. While Aaron and Dana certainly aren’t high schoolers, they’re not celebrated journalists, either. They’re like most podcasters, amateurs with an audience. This setup, especially with the aspect of it being filmed, also bears some similarity to Halloween: Resurrection, with that movie’s characters engaging in an internet broadcast in the Myers house. 

There’s another element of The Mad House that is definitely worth mentioning, though. Through the characters’ research, they find the notes of another doctor, other than Loomis, named Dr. Blackwell, who worked with Michael mostly in secret. Blackwell was sort of the anti-Loomis. Whereas Loomis, according to his monologue in the original film, spent years trying to reach Michael before admitting what he was, this other doctor was conducting his own bizarre, hidden experiments, feeding into that darkness in Michael in attempt to understand it. This bears some strong similarity to the 2018 film’s Dr. Sartain. He took over as Michael’s doctor after Loomis, but unlike Loomis who was horrified of Michael’s evil, Sartain is fascinated by it to the point that he attempts to take a human life just to better understand how Michael feels. He is just as obsessed as Loomis was, but expresses it in an entirely different way. 

In David Gordon Green’s Halloween, Sartain feels no remorse for his actions, and continues to be driven by his own obsession right up until the moment Michael stomps on his face and explodes his head like a watermelon. While both characters essentially boil down to the concept of “evil Dr. Loomis,” Blackwell and Sartain do end up having very different arcs. The Mad House sees its main characters searching Smith’s Grove for evidence of the doctor’s ghost. And they do find him, but not as a ghost. He still lives inside the abandoned hospital, consumed by guilt, and hoping to find a way to stop Michael after feeling at least partly responsible for unleashing him to begin with.

One thing that really fascinates me, reading these books with the current movies in mind, is that it’s not just the bigger swings and larger story beats that carry over from one to the other. There are some much more specific set pieces as well. One of the most tense moments in the 2018 Halloween finds Laurie in a darkened room inside her compound, knowing Michael is in the room with her, but being unable to see him as he hides amongst a group of mannequins. In Halloween: The Old Myers Place, there is a particularly strong sequence in which our main teens sneak into the Haddonfield mall, which is empty as it’s awaiting its grand opening. Two characters, naturally, sneak off to have sex.

They make their way into a clothing store and start making out, surrounded by white, blank-faced mannequins all around them in the dark. The girl starts to realize that there is someone in the room with them, and eventually Michael bursts out from among the mannequins and kills them both. It is, frankly, amazing that such a specific beat happens in both a ‘90s teen tie-in book and a massively successful franchise revival. It’s incredible. 

I do not think that David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley or anyone else involved in creating the 2018 movie or its sequel read these books for inspiration—though I can’t stress enough how fantastic it would be if they did. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had happened, either. Elements from the Halloween novelization by Richard Curtis made it into Halloween II (Michael and Judith’s middle names, Samhain, and the “You don’t know what death is” exchange between Loomis and the Wallace’s neighbor), the plot of a 1990 Puppet Master comic formed the basis for Puppet Master III , and the tie-in novels The Crow: The Lazarus Heart and The Crow: Wicked Prayer received full-blown adaptations as direct-to-video sequels, the former as The Crow: Salvation. But I emphatically do not think that is what happened here. 

In that respect, it is even more amazing that all of these connections are there unintentionally and that these parallels are purely happenstance. This is the happiest kind of happy accident. I wouldn’t exactly call these new Halloween movies adaptations, especially since they center so much on the older returning characters, but they do keep the spirit of those books intact. It’s felt in the films’ approach to the teenage characters and their relationships as well as the over-the-top and often very mean-spirited gore. I know how ridiculous that will sound to anyone who hasn’t read these books, but it’s true. The gore is another connection that can’t be overlooked. There’s a scene in The Mad House in which Michael hooks a character up to an electroshock machine as the rest of the group struggle to turn the power on, so that when they do flip the switch, they are the ones who wind up electrocuting her to death. That absolutely matches the cynical energy of anything in Halloween Kills.

I will always recommend tracking these books down, but I’m aware that it’s nearly impossible. More than anything, I just want people to know about them, because they’re already a forgotten corner of Halloween lore, despite the fact that their influence—be it intentional or otherwise—remains as strong as ever.

The post How the ‘Halloween’ Young Adult Novels from the ’90s Surprisingly Parallel the Current Films appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“Similar to Dr. Loomis, Murtha became obsessed with Myers,” says the press release of the promotion’s winner. “At the age of 9, he made Halloween-inspired videos with his friends. As Murtha explains in his submission video, ‘I watch Halloween on the best days of my life and it gets me through my worst days.’ ”

The Pickerington, Ohio native was flown to Los Angeles after winning the contest, where he was treated to an early screening of the film and later came face to face with Michael Myers (played by Jamie Avera) on a Hollywood set located on the Universal Studios backlot. He also met Halloween Kills stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer!

Overall, the contest drew hundreds of submissions on TikTok and Instagram. All of them can be viewed by following the hashtag #FaceTheShapeContest.

Halloween Kills is, of course, now in theaters and on Peacock.

The post ‘Halloween Kills’: Watch the Winner of the “Face the Shape” Contest Get Brutally Murdered by Michael Myers! [Video] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Indeed it does. The Halloweenies have returned to the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois, where the heat is on, and not in a Glenn Frey sort of way. No, there is rage in the air, fuming from the souls of this Midwestern town who have just been notified of Michael Myers’ Halloween homecoming. To paraphrase the late Doctor Samuel Loomis, “We must be ready for them.”

Join co-hosts Justin Gerber, Dan Caffrey, McKenzie Gerber, Mike Vanderbilt, and Michael Roffman as they carve out the year-old pumpkin that is David Gordon Green‘s Halloween Kills. Together, they weigh in on the film’s polarizing press tour, the tonal inconsistencies between this and 2018’s Halloween, and whether next year’s Ends will double down on the insanity.

Stream the epic four-hour episode below or via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. ‘Tis the season to catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and this year’s Scream. You can also become a member of their Patreon for hilarious commentaries and one-off episodes.

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It’s 9am EST on Friday, October 15 at the time of writing this article, and the marathon is currently underway with a showing of one of the franchise’s most maligned films.

Here’s the full schedule for the day…

• 9am EST – Halloween Resurrection
• 11am – Halloween (2007)
• 1:30pm – Halloween II (2009)
• 4pm – Halloween (1978)
• 6pm – Halloween II (1981)
• 8pm – Halloween H20
• 10pm – Eli Roth’s History of Horror – Psychics
• 11pm – The Walking Dead – Season 11, Episode 8

Needless to say, it’s not a complete franchise marathon today, but Michael Myers will be there waiting for you on AMC FearFest if you’re looking for something to watch today!

As for the new movie, you’ll find it exclusively on Peacock.

The post Michael Kills: AMC FearFest is Hosting an All-Day ‘Halloween’ Franchise Marathon Today appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

But what becomes of the franchise beyond that?

On hand to discuss the future of Halloween is producer and franchise godfather Malek Akkad, who joins us today to chat about the film series’ twisty canon, anthology possibilities, Michael’s potential forays into other media, and the difficult decision to delay Kills’ release.

(from left) Karen (Judy Greer), Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Allyson (Andi Matichak) in Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green.

Bloody Disgusting: Speaking as a longtime fan, part of the appeal of the franchise is that it continues to change with the times and adapt to current audiences. There are now multiple continuities, so viewers can choose which storyline they’d prefer to follow without having to stick to one unending, forty-year old stretch of canon.

With the Blumhouse films, there is a solid trilogy acting as a sequel to the original ’78 film. Once that trilogy wraps up, are there any plans in place to continue on with Blumhouse storyline, or reboot once again?

Malek Akkad: Well the thing is, this franchise has been going for over four decades now. I never would’ve guessed when I started as a PA on [Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers] that somehow this thing would take over my life and I’d be talking about it over thirty years later. I’m humbled and honored to have that opportunity, but no one’s more shocked about its longevity and where it’s gone more than me, I’d say.

You know, there were always disjointed parts of the timeline. I would say where it took the biggest turn was after Resurrection. That was the last film, as you probably know, that my father was involved in [Moustapha Akkad, Malek’s father and original Halloween series producer, passed away in the 2005 Amman terrorist bombings in Jordan alongside his daughter Rima]. After that tragedy, I really felt that was the time to seal those first eight off and come back with something different, and really kind of reestablish ourselves.

So that was when I said, “I think it’s time to reboot, and let’s get someone exciting,” and that’s how we got in with Rob Zombie. Fortunately, at the time the studio was really supportive. I’m still very proud of that film. Now, even previous to that there were some jumps, and fans know some of these timelines better than me, to be very honest. But you know, even H20 was a similar situation in some ways, and the reaction was similar with the fans. “Hey, what’s the timeline here?” So after taking that hard turn into Rob Zombie’s chapter, let’s just say I was less concerned or precious about timelines as I was about doing something that was really quality.

I wanted to make sure that we were setting the bar really high. At the previous studio, I spent about seven years trying to get the next film set up, and you probably know about some of those iterations. But I really was holding back, because they didn’t see the vision of this being the global hit it could be. So once I got out from that situation, I finally was able to get some partners – meaning Universal, Blumhouse, the new Miramax – that saw the same vision and really got behind it.

So I was thrilled. I’d been waiting for someone to say, “Hey, Halloween is not a ‘Let’s just do a quickie low budget [flick].’” Believe it or not, [the previous studio] asked me to shoot it in Bulgaria, and I refused. It’s the most Americana film of all time. Then they wanted me to go to Serbia, and I refused. So a lot of that period was just me saying “No” to that previous studio, and thank God I did because it all worked out.

Getting back to your question, when Jason Blum … and I always give him credit, he was the one who suggested David Gordon Green. I’d always been a huge fan, but never really thought we could get a filmmaker of his ilk. But that’s going back to that thinking, “This could really be bigger.” So I credit Jason for that. And when David Gordon Green and Danny McBride came in to pitch me on this vision, it wasn’t that it was so totally outside the parameters of what we had done, because H20 had Jamie returning. We’d sort of touched on it. But their vision was different, very exciting, and timely. It took me a little bit. Not much, maybe a day or two, but just to really trust in their abilities as filmmakers and lean into that.

Having said all that, I don’t know if I answered your question about the future. I mean, the thing is, I like to quote my dad, who was quoting Donald Pleasence. They asked him, “Donald, how many of these are going to make?” Donald Pleasance laughed and said, “I’m going to stop at 22.”

My Dad always liked to use that quote. I guess [Halloween Kills] is twelve, and if we go by that quote, we’ve got ten more. Or other versions, other iterations, other fun things that we can do. But really, right now, the focus truly is … we haven’t thought past the David Gordon Green trilogy. We are so excited about this new one, but in the back of everybody’s mind is, “Hey, as soon as this one comes out, we’ve got to get back together and do a third one that’s on the same level.”

So we really haven’t thought much beyond that.

BD: A lot of fans have been wondering if Halloween might ever attempt the anthology route again, as was once tried with Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Is that a possibility, or something that’s been mulled over, or is the Halloween franchise now inextricably linked with Michael Myers, would you say?

Akkad: I would never say “Never” to anything, and there could be some form of that. It all depends on the filmmaker who could take on that role. But for me, really, the star of Halloween is Michael Myers. I look to Season of the Witch, which is a very liked film, but that really was the film that almost stopped the franchise.

Then my father, when he came back with Halloween 4, everyone thought he was crazy. And here we are, decades later. So I don’t rule anything out. I’m open. But in terms of the main iconic driving force of this series, I’m always saying, “Hey, guys, it’s Michael Myers.” And yes, of course, Jamie Lee and John Carpenter and David Gordon Green, and our fantastic cast..

But yes, in my mind, the two of them are forever linked.

BD: Aside from the films, are there any plans to move Michael into other media? We’ve gotten video game appearances, comic books, and novels in the past – is it possible that we’ll get more of him in those arenas in the future?

Akkad: I think so. Watch this space. We are developing some fun things. We just did the pinball machine, so there’s one iteration. We’re doing fun, different projects. At least, we’re discussing them.

I think the key to me is always trying to achieve something worthy of the bar that John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Jamie, that they all did on the first one. That’s always a struggle, and we’ve had various degrees of success, but that’s really always the goal. So if it meets that standard, we’re open to it and we’re living in an era when these other media platforms are taking off.

I’m sure we will see something soon.

Speaking of the comics and novels – the original film novelizations, the Kelly O’Rourke young adult novels from the 90s, and the Devil’s Due comics are all out of print, highly sought after, and wildly expensive on the secondary market. Will we ever see reprints of any of those, and is that even possible or something that you’d like to pursue?

Akkad: We’ve discussed it. I know that they are collectors’ items, but to be honest, I don’t know if that’s the path to explore. I think one of the issues that I have with novelizations is that they have to fill out a canon that is not so true to the films. But I know that there’s a lot of good stuff in them, and that fans like them.

So we might look into doing reissues of some. Certainly, there are novelizations on the new films. Again, never say “Never.”

Michael Myers (aka The Shape, left) in Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon green.

BD: With Halloween Kills nearly upon us, what do you want fans to know about this particular installment?

Akkad: Well, I mean, Halloween with David Gordon Green in 2018 … for me, it was like catching lightning in a bottle. I had gotten out of the previous situation and slowly put the team together to get a fantastic producer like Jason Blum, going to John Carpenter, getting Jamie Lee, and then a filmmaker like David Gordon Green. It was just one thing after another. I always say that that film was really catching lightning in a bottle, and all the stars aligned.

And so now, with Halloween Kills, we want to smash a bottle and have lightning strike twice, and I think it will. I think what David has done on this one will not only fulfill the diehards, but also the average fans, even new fans. He’s done a film that hits on every level, and is in some ways bigger, more exciting, more terrifying than the last one.

No one could be more excited than myself to see this finally come to light. I am so thrilled. I cannot wait for this to be unleashed. And I believe fans are gonna just love it. Now it’s up to us to follow up two great movies with Halloween Ends.

BD: What final thoughts would you like to leave readers with on the eve of Halloween Kills’ release about the future of Halloween, and that of Michael Myers?

Akkad: Personally, I’m so excited about this new film. It was difficult to hold it back. You know, we finished shooting right before Thanksgiving 2019, before all of this. And we all agreed that we would hold it back last year. That was a tough, tough decision for us, because no one more than the cast and crew wanted to release it to the fans.

I really do think that this film was worth the wait. It’s so exciting, the die-hards are gonna love it. I still believe that the theater is the place to see it, even though times are changing and it’s going to be streaming as well, but there’s nothing like that collective feeling of seeing it at a movie theater.

Then the immediate future is all about Halloween Ends. That’s what we’re all focusing on. So that’s sort of the immediate future. And after that, we might have to have another chat!

Special Thanks to Malek Akkad for his time and insights.

The post [Interview] Malek Akkad Talks With Bloody Disgusting About ‘Halloween Kills’ and the Future of Michael Myers appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Not that we expected such things, mind you, but Universal indeed made the once-in-a-lifetime mashup happen with a killer TV spot you may have seen while watching “Chucky” last night.

The spot advertises the theatrical/Peacock release of Halloween Kills, beginning with Chucky carving up a pumpkin with his trusty kitchen knife. What does he carve into that pumpkin, you ask? The iconic mask of Michael Myers, of course. The TV spot then reveals that Michael himself is standing close by, and he smashes his own trusty kitchen knife into the pumpkin.

“What, you don’t like it?” Chucky asks Michael Myers, the very first time the two horror icons have appeared on screen together. It’s only a TV spot, but we’ll take what we can get!

Watch the mashup Chucky/Halloween Kills ad below…

The post Chucky Meets Michael Myers in Killer Cross-Promotion for ‘Child’s Play’ Series and ‘Halloween Kills’ [Video] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Working from a script he co-wrote with Scott Teems and Danny McBride, Director David Gordon Green recreates that fateful 1978 Halloween night to expand Haddonfield’s collective trauma from Michael Myers’ initial bloodbath. That means the callbacks, references, and homages to John Carpenter’s masterwork are on overdrive here, matching Michael Myers in zealous energy. Sitting at the forefront of this entry is a now grown Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), who’ve long befriended Dr. Loomis’s former assistance Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens). Tommy’s even made amends with childhood bully Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet). This group picks up the mantle left behind by an injured and hospitalized Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

(from left) Cameron Elam (Dylan Arnold), Marion (Nancy Stephens, background), Allyson (Andi Matichak) and Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet) in Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green.

Those hoping for the midway point in the trilogy to drive the Strode saga forward in a meaningful way will likely come away disappointed. Laurie is forced to take a passive role here, with Curtis not given much to do. Granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) demonstrates she’s far more like her grandmother here, seeking revenge for her father. At the same time, mom Karen (Judy Greer) becomes the sole voice of reason in the increasing insanity.

Green ups the ante on the kill count and the grisly nature of the kills. It’s clear that he and special makeup effects designer Christopher Nelson had a blast coming up with creative and gnarly deaths for many of its characters, and Halloween Kills might be Michael Myers at his most brutal yet. Green leaves no stone unturned in franchise fanservice, too, both new and old alike. Whether through painstaking measures in tying Halloween Kills to the original timeline or even tying up loose ends from 2018’s Halloween, this sequel tackles it all.

Halloween Kills is so caught up in the past and ripping open old wounds, though, that it forgets to move the narrative forward. Character arcs remain stagnant; the sole objective is to kill or be killed. As the penultimate entry before what’s intended to be this trilogy’s finale, Gordon Green doesn’t do much to create momentum outside of Myers’ higher aggression. Save for, that is, one final bold swing guaranteed to polarize.

From purely a slasher standpoint, Halloween Kills delivers numerous satisfying moments. The deaths hurt in more ways than one; the upside to knowing Haddonfield’s residents is that it’s easy to invest in these characters. There’s no motivation or method to Michael Myers, making for a somewhat unpredictable warpath as he rampages across the town to kill and kill and kill again. It’s fun to watch, even though it often forces the Strodes to take a backseat.

It’s complete chaos in Haddonfield across the board, making for a wild ride that brings no shortage of memorable moments of suspense and visceral carnage. As part of an overarching narrative, Halloween Kills makes for a sloppy and uneven entry without much to say. Even still, the cast fully commits to this lean, mean, and downright savage entry, carving up an effective and engaging old-school slasher.

Halloween Kills releases in theaters and on Peacock on October 15, 2021.

The post [Review] ‘Halloween Kills’ Carves Up a Gruesome Old School Slasher… for Better and Worse appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Today, I’d like to talk about a certain film that was at the vanguard of this Arthouse Horror revival but was released a few years too soon and missed out on the trend. That film is Rob Zombie‘s unfairly maligned Halloween II, an underrated subversion of Slasher sequels that uses horror tropes to tell an introspective story about trauma and family legacies.

Zombie’s 2007 remake of Halloween was an admirable attempt at re-imagining the original’s vague mythology, but the experience kind of falls apart during the latter half of the film when the director is forced to recreate entire sequences from John Carpenter’s classic. While I still really enjoy the movie and think that it features the franchise’s most terrifying incarnation of Michael Myers, the lackluster second half makes it quite clear that Zombie is at his best when he’s allowed to experiment outside the confinement of an already-established story.

That’s why I view his Halloween II as a marked improvement over the first one. While it still begins with a lengthy homage to Rick Rosenthal’s 1981 sequel, placing a wounded Laurie in a spooky hospital as Myers attempts to finish what he started, the movie quickly subverts audience expectations by turning into a somber character piece. By focusing on the psychological consequences of surviving a mass murder spree, Zombie adds depth to characters that were once disposable archetypes. This results in a unique sequel that explores the tragic aftermath of a Slasher flick instead of simply recreating the events of the first film.

Few things are scarier than family.

After the nightmarish prologue, Halloween II follows a deeply disturbed Laurie Strode struggling to overcome the Haddonfield murders and her personal connection to the killer. Meanwhile, Michael Myers is somehow still on the loose, living as a vagrant plagued by visions of his mother instructing him to reunite with his long-lost sister. While the details vary depending on which version you’re watching, both the theatrical and director’s cuts tell similar stories about a young woman coming to terms with the legacy of the Myers family as evil once again approaches Haddonfield.

Other than the increased brutality now that Michael is depicted as a nightmarish brute, the main draw of the film is its development of Laurie as a fully-fledged character, seeing an evolution from the playful schoolgirl of the first film into a broken mess of a person. Haunted by both literal and metaphorical scars, she lashes out at those closest to her (especially in the director’s cut), with the audience slowly realizing that Laurie has more in common with her big brother than she cares to admit. In fact, I personally love the theory that Michael truly died at the end of the first film and his appearances in the sequel are all a part of Laurie’s psychosis.

Of course, this extra nuance in the script means that Scout Taylor-Compton has a lot more to do this time around, and she absolutely nails her portrayal of Laurie as a tragic figure driven mad by circumstances outside her control. Regardless of which version of the movie you watch, she delivers a fascinating performance, leading to a genuinely heartbreaking finale. She also works really well alongside genre favorites like Danielle Harris, Brad Dourif and Malcom McDowell‘s reinvention of Dr. Loomis.

It was actually McDowell’s idea to turn Loomis into an attention-hungry media vulture attempting to cash in on the Myers tragedy, with the actor claiming that he’d only return for a sequel if he was allowed to deliver a different performance. Ironically, the character’s overall lack of empathy when exposing the lives of victims for his own personal gain was inspired by the real-world Dr. Phil, though Loomis ultimately redeems himself by the end of the picture. While this dramatic change in personality rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, I think it’s an interesting and realistic take on how the character might react after being exposed to evil for so many years, especially after miraculously surviving his own close encounter with Myers in the previous film.

This could have been a great music video.

Unfortunately, not all of Zombie’s ideas contributed to the story, with the film suffering from a series of clumsy visual metaphors involving Sheri Moon Zombie and a literal white horse, not to mention the bloated runtime. Zombie’s characteristic use of classic songs to punctuate emotional moments also gets a little out of hand at times, though I really love the film’s eerie use of Nights in White Satin and Nan Vernon’s cover of Love Hurts.

The most obvious flaw here is the film’s messy pacing and structure, though it makes more sense when you realize that this is the result of both a troubled production and heavy studio interference by the Weinsteins. With constant setbacks like unexpected rainstorms, airport security accidentally destroying footage, forced reshoots and even crew members allegedly stealing from the budget, it’s a miracle that Halloween II turned out as well as it did. Even without these issues, I find it easy to forgive most of the film’s shortcomings when you consider that, for better or worse, it was made by a genuine auteur fighting the studio every step of the way.

Even then, Halloween II‘s nihilistic suggestion that madness can be an inherited trait, dooming some of us to repeat the mistakes of our families, is a truly terrifying and undeniably unique take on the franchise. It’s a real shame that the movie was rejected by critics and audiences back when it first came out, though I’m glad that it’s seen some reappraisal in recent years as fans realize how it paved the way for future subversive takes on horror, even leading to Zombie’s own Lords of Salem, his most serious film to date.

Had Zombie’s vision been supported by the studio and had the film come out just a few years later, when audiences were more used to established horror franchises reinventing themselves and playing with more serious ideas, I’m thoroughly convinced that Halloween II would have been a massive hit. Either way, now that the spookiest season is finally upon us, I’d say that this often-overlooked sequel is still worth revisiting as an exploration of the horrifying consequences of a Slasher flick.

Hobo Myers is somehow even scarier.

The post How Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween II’ Paved the Way for a New Kind of Horror appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Available for pre-order now from Trick or Treat Studios, “this mask comes directly from the movie master and is an exact replica of the mask worn by Michael Myers in Halloween Kills.”

Sculpted by Christopher Nelson & Vincent Van Dyke & Justin Mabry, the mask is significantly burn-damaged, of course the end result of Halloween 2018’s fiery near-death climax.

You can pre-order yours for $69.99, and the masks will be shipping out beginning August 13. That means you should have yours in time for the release of Halloween Kills on October 15.

Check out Michael’s new look below…

The post Official ‘Halloween Kills’ Michael Myers Mask Now Available from Trick or Treat Studios! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.