You didn’t expect Halloween to come rolling round without me somehow mentioning the infamous ‘Michael Myers’ did you? Well for you that did then shame on you! Last year I did a “Halloween” franchise review (Which you can read HERE).
So this year I’d thought I’d share with you why Michael Myers is one of my all-time favourites. I hope you enjoy it and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
In 1978 John Carpenter gave birth to one of the horror genre’s most beloved and iconic characters, Michael Myers a.k.a ‘The Shape’. Who’d of thought that over 30 years later we’d not only still be talking about a low budget slasher film, but still raving about it. The silent killer of Haddonfield would change the horror genre as we know it, gone were the theatrics of old Horror and in came the gore and hacking.
The first film also features one of my all time favourite lines, in any film ever made. It was a line only Donald Pleasance could sound so much darker and eerie than it already was, he delivers it so perfectly that I find his performance hair-raising. It maybe a-lot for just one line but it’s so effective and best describes Myers’ characteristics. No matter how many times I see it, it still gives me the chills, it cemented my love for the Dr. Loomis character which I still have to this day. Just watch it and revel in it’s glory.
Talking of Dr. Loomis, I’ve always felt his character was just as important as Myers himself, you can’t have evil without good and Myers and Dr. Loomis are the perfect yin-yang. He’s such a strong character and his determination to stop Myers from hurting anybody and as much as we love to see Myers up his body count, we also love to see if Loomis can stop him and in some way we also want him to.
I could talk about Dr. Loomis all day but lets get back to our infamous villain. Everytime I see a picture of Myers I never fail to get THAT theme music stuck in my head, it’s funny how as a child it scared me, I mean really terrified me. Nowadays I love it and never bore of it but I find it still has the ability to give you that feeling of dread, a perfect theme for the Myers character. Just listen to it yourself and see.
The one thing that always terrified me about Myers was his blank, expressionless face and his silence. You could walk into a dark room and never know he’s there, I should know I had fears and dreams of it as a child (I really should stop embarrassing myself with these facts). Even with that blank mask you could still sense his thoughts, mainly because they were usually about slaughtering people, but one scene that springs to mind from the first film. It’s known as the ‘head tilt scene’ where he lifts Bob and stabs him and as he slowly dies Michael tilts his head in deep thought.
Also the fact that he doesn’t just kill he makes his victims suffer horribly in the process, well he is a mentally unstable human being on a rampage. You can’t forget the fact that he has so much determination in him, they don’t say “No matter how fast you run, Michael Myers can walk faster” for nothing, which brings me to another thought. You never see the guy run, you can be Usain Bolt running at world record speed and he’d still catch you up, in simpler terms… YOU CAN’T GET AWAY!!! If that isn’t frightening then I don’t know what is!
Hell not even death will prevent Michael from finding you and killing you, we found that out as the franchise went on. So just remember, the next time you get that awful feeling someone’s watching, or you hear a bump in the night, or see a door half open that you’re sure you shut, I suggest you try to keep some bladder control, curl up in a ball and just prepare to be slaughtered because you can’t kill the boogeyman!
It’s all that together that makes Michael Myers my Horror icon, to me he is the ultimate villain and the fact he still scares people after nearly 40 years since he burst on screen and that’s no feat to turn your nose up at, it’s a testament to his disturbing ways.
Oh and before I go I’d like to leave you all with a little gift, from me to you for the Halloween season. Enjoy ;)
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