Laurie Strode and Michael Myers are two iconic characters in the history of the horror film genre. This unstoppable force that kills whatever is in its path, cloaked in coveralls and a white mask, balanced by the young high school babysitter who is able to counter and avert his evil rage. 40 years later, these two characters will once again face off and how the characters are presented today is important to the new film’s director.
Director David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the upcoming Halloween with Danny McBride, explained to the Los Angeles Times the steps he took in presenting these legendary characters. One step he took was referring to the original film for certain iconic moments, especially in the Strode character, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. “She has a line in the original film when she’s talking to young Tommy Doyle at the climax of the movie,” Green said of Laurie. “She says, ‘Do as I say.’ And she says this line with a command that she hasn’t had for the entire film. ‘Do as I say.’”
Green explains how that line plays in the upcoming sequel:
“We took that to be her mantra for our film. She’s taken that pivotal moment in her life, and her recognition of facing her fears, and now has been chanting that in meditations for 40 years. She’s reached a point of a perceived almost psychosis of authority and built from this ambitious, kind of romanticized academic school girl into a woman that you don’t want to [mess] with.”
Green went on to explain how he wanted to show a great respect for the classic film, keeping the essence in what John Carpenter and Debra Hill created, while also adding his own personal vision for the story.
“To approach it with both honor and audacity was really important to me. To service the characters that Carpenter created, the performance that Jamie Lee Curtis established, the music that is so genetically embedded in me to give me nightmares and keep me awake at night as a child … to try to do that to a new generation of children is very important. At the same time I don’t want to lose sight of my personal vision as a filmmaker… I feel like every movie I’ve made up to this point adds up to be ‘Halloween’ in some strange way, and that’s really important to me. To have the ownership of a film that’s following in some extraordinarily significant footsteps.”
Related – New Halloween Set Photo Of Jamie Lee Curtis
Green’s focus on detail and capturing the characters correctly was then turned to the film’s “force of nature”, Michael Myers. He is still the essence of evil. An uncontrollable rage that has not skipped a beat since his rampage in 1978.
“Michael Myers hasn’t evolved as a character in any way, shape or form [since 1978]; he’s the essence of evil… He has no character. He has no personality. He has no interests. He never has. He’s someone that is moving forward and reacting to the world around him, but not with any sort of conscious objective. And how the world around him reacts to his behavior is where our story comes to life.”
If you’ve read my previous stories on this film, you are fully aware of my love for the franchise and excitement for this upcoming sequel. These statements by Green only adds fuel to the flame. Green has made it a purpose to show how the character of Laurie Strode has adapted to the events that occurred 40 years ago. She is counting down the days until she is able to take bloody vengeance against the sociopath that killed her friends and forever altered her life. Meanwhile, Michael is the same inexplainable being that only looks to inflict bloody horrors upon whatever is in his path. He is counting down the days until he can finish the job he started in 1978. And I am counting down the days until I can watch it all happen on the big screen.
Halloween opens nationwide on October 19th.
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Source: Los Angeles Times.