All language subtitles for Behind.the.Monsters.S01E01.WEBRip.x264-ION10

- What I love
about Michael Myers

is that there's no reason
for him being that way.

- Purely and simply evil.

- He has no personality
and he is just the shape.

There's nothing
there. It's just kill.

- The master stroke is
people being so seduced

by the question
of why is he evil?

- Michael?

- That's the scariest thing,
is when you can't explain it.

- Michael just
wants fucking chaos.

He's going to fucking spill
blood on your streets.

He is a great white shark.

- And that's what's
scary about him.

You can't sit and have a
conversation with Michael Myers.

He's just going to kill you.

So many things went right to
make it the phenomenon it is,

and one of the main
ones is the mask itself.

- It was just something
so different and unique.

It is kind of a blank slate.

- That it looks human,
but that's not human,

and there's a coldness there,
and there's no emotion.

- Well, that gives the audience
the freedom to just run wild

with their imagination.

- Nick Castle, in that mask,
it was the perfect storm.

I mean, they knew
what they were doing,

but they had no idea
what it would become.

- It's just like
lightning in a bottle.

This is going to scare
everybody for the next 40 years.

- "Halloween," in a
sense, is about a cipher.

I mean, the killer is nobody.

He wears a mask, so
he could be any of us.

- Hello?

- And a force of nature, as
opposed to a human being.

- No reason, no conscience.

No understanding,

good or evil,

right or wrong.

- Oh, no, no.

- And I think that's when people

get the most frightened.

If they think somebody in
their family is a killer,

or if I'm a killer,
that's terrifying.

- Who is this?

- 1978, when
"Halloween" comes out,

I don't think people realize
that it was going to kickstart

a whole decade's worth
of horror movies.

But the reason it worked
was because it was simple.

It's ultimately about a
girl babysitting some kids

and a guy who shows
up to kill her.

We don't have any
deeper insight.

It was terrifying.

- Michael Myers,
just one day snapped

and killed his
sister for no reason,

and from that
moment on, is evil.

- Michael.

- Michael just had
this inhuman quality.

There is no rhyme or
reason to his murder spree.

John and Debra
created this killer

that no one had
ever seen before,

where a unknowable, unkillable
evil can just be set loose

on a small town and wreak havoc.

- It was the bogeyman.

- As a matter of fact, it was.

- I wanted the audience not
to know whether he was human

or supernatural and
he had no character.

He was blank.

He was simply evil.

It's what you don't know about,

what you can't see is out there.

He's like the wind,
he's out there,

and he's going to get you.

- He literally was a child
that murdered his sister,

and that's already a
horrifying premise,

that a child could
murder anyone, let
alone a family member.

And so, we have this
kid that grows up

completely emotionless.

- What's unique about Michael
Myers that I related to

and I thought was really
great and it continues

to this day is he's a
blank canvas, so to speak.

He's a blank screen
that you project onto

what your fears are,
or what you think he is

or what you think he looks
like under that mask,

or the motivation behind
why he is who he is,

and why he does what he does.

- He wasn't called
Michael Myers.

He was called the shape.

On the call sheet,
it says, the shape,

which is, right away, kind
of an interesting insight

because there was something
about that as more of an idea,

rather than a specific person.

- Michael Myers, if we
think of him as the shape,

he is not a personality,
he is a killing machine,

this complete and
total psycho killer

who cannot be controlled,
cannot be stopped,

cannot be reasoned with.

It does not matter who you are,
how you are related to him,

he will take you down.

And that was our worst
fear at the time.

- It's interesting to call him
Michael Myers or the shape.

I always kind of
think of Michael Myers

is the person behind the mask.

The shape is the mask.

The shape is the character
that you see in the distance.

He kind of epitomizes Halloween.

He is the bogeyman.

- The shape is kind
of neat, I think,

because it's so enigmatic
like the character.

So I think that's more me.

The shape I think would
be my preferred name.

- Totally.

- I think his power
is really summed up

in that he is the shape
in that first film,

and we know and love
Michael Myers is this icon,

but he's not as scary
as Michael Myers

as he is as the shape,
as just this force

that you can't stop, that
will somehow find a way

to still be alive, even
if you cut his head off.

Burn him alive.

- Goodbye, Michael.

- The emptiness, the
nothingness behind the mask,

there's just an inverted
Shatner for you,

painted pasty white and then
there's a knife in your throat.

- Tommy Wallace, who found
the Shatner mask thought,

yeah, this is good.

I don't know who that is, even.

He didn't know it was Shatner.

And took it to be the
kind of everyman face,

and then he did just
very simple stuff,

get spooked by the thing.

It's really weird.

- None of us were
prepared for the effect

when this innocent looking mask

got just those few
touches done to it.

As I recall, I
did the hair first

and probably didn't use
much in the way of masking.

That is, in fact,

streaks and tips.

Next, peel off these sideburns,
peel off the eyebrows.

- It's so basic and simple,
and that was what was

the most horrifying thing
about it, is it's just white

and there's no facial
features to it whatsoever.

- Back in the
day, did the whole process

from start to finish
in about half an hour

or 45 minutes, tops.

It's starting to get
shape like on us.

The minute those sideburns go
away, you start to see him.

- That mask is terrifying,
and when it's done right,

it can really stick
in your brain.

- It's starting to get that
scare power that I like.

All right, comes next,
a little bit of masking.

Let's put a shower
cap on the dude.

The original was
Krylon appliance white.

- It changes in every single
shot, it's constantly morphing.

And you saw it from
different angles.

You were never lingering
on it long enough

to have it burned into
your brain that well.

So it was always changing
and always shifting,

much like the bogeyman.

- We had four weeks to shoot
and it had to last that long.

We weren't thinking
a minute past that.

Certainly weren't
thinking of the phenomenon

that has grown up over this guy.

Let's see.

Just a couple of little
details I'd like to round

around the hairline
a little bit.

Well, we'll primp
and fuss and mess,

but essentially, we're there.

- What I always found myself
attracted to about Michael

was the poise and the mask.

- If that mask wasn't
captured at that time,

the way they did it, it
would never do that again.

And it's so iconic.

- And it really does embody
what Michael was and became.

- Going back when
you were making it,

there was no way in hell
that you could ever think

we'd be sitting here doing
this horseshit today,

or you having to talk
about it so much.

- My instinct is to kind
of keep at arms length.

But it's amazing how
this can take over.

Everyone wants to know about-

- Michael Myers.
- Michael Myers.

- Michael Myers.
- Michael Myers.

- Michael Myers.
- Michael Myers.

- Michael Myers.

- John and I met at film
school in what was it?

1967, '68 at the University
of Southern California.

So we would work on
each other's movies.

And John was starting
his third film,

which was to be "Halloween,"
and it turned out

that he was shooting
couple miles from my house.

Then I said, you know,
what if I come to the set

and just hang, you know?

I'm going to do, be doing
my own pictures soon.

So, it'd be good just to be
on the set of a real crew.

You know, kind of
demystify the experience.

And he went, okay.

I swear, it was like in
the same breath, he said,

well, we need a
guy for the killer,

and you'd have to put on the
mask and all you have to do

is walk around,
what do you think?

I went, oh, okay.

So it was that offhand.
There was no audition.

I don't know if he
had another idea

for somebody else or what,
but you know, there I was

for the rest of the
shoot, being the shape.

- The thing about Michael Myers,
the way Nick Castle did it,

is that he moves very slowly.

He moves in a way that does
not seem overly threatening,

but at the same time,
is just unnatural enough

where you're kind
of put off by it.

- Be in bed by 9:00, okay?

- He's just kind of
gliding around very evenly.

There's no bounce to his step.

There's no puffing.

There's none of that
sort of overly aggressive

kind of action.

There's just movement in
a very even, strange way.

- It was the first time that
you were going to see me,

kind of head to toe walking.

I went, hey, wait
a minute, John.

You know, this is the first
time you're going to see,

how do you want, well, how
do you want me to do this?

You know?

And he just, just go over
there and walk, for God's sake.

You know, he's getting
questions from about 300 people.

And I come up going,
what's my motivation?

The stupid guy in a mask.

- I said, it was simple, just
be as simple as possible.

Just walk.

He's not acting, the shape
is not acting like a monster.

He's not acting
like a human being,

which is in itself
slightly more creepy to me

than if he came charging
across the room.

- So whatever I did, I did,

and then a lot of
people like it.

So that's good.

- I think that Nick
Castle did a great job

as the first Michael Myers,

because he had no idea
what he was doing.

It's also not easy to scare
the hell out of your coworkers.

And he did it so well because
I think they let themselves

get scared because
they knew he was like,

oh, Nick's such a
nice, funny guy.

And then when it turned, they
were like, truly horrified.

- The thing I love
is that he was able

to actually make it a character.

He's just very effective.

- The reverence
everybody has for Nick,

because he created
this iconic character.

And frankly, it wouldn't
have been the same

if someone else other
than Nick had done it.

- I love the picture-
- And it was perfect.

- Of him off set when
they're not shooting,

where he's got the
Michael Myers mask on top.

I was like, that's exactly
every horror movie shoot

I've either been on or
part of is like that,

where the idea of you
could feel how much fun

they must've all been
having on the set.

I don't know, that must've
been, what a cool spot.

- We didn't treat the
mask as reverently

as it's being treated
now on the set where,

whoa, got to take it off
and put it over here.

And you could see some behind
the scenes shots of me,

just kind of going around,
holding it by the hair.

- The spray paint
that Tommy Wallace

sprayed it with
never really dried,

it always remains tacky
because you're not supposed

to spray rubber
with spray paint.

So it'll never, ever fully dry.

So it collected dirt on
places where you set it down

or where you touched it.

That's why the tip
of the nose is dark.

That's why under
the chin is dark.

That's why the lips gathered
dirt just through the air,

just by laying it down
and it gets soiled.

That's why it has
all those marks.

- The universe of information
the fans have in their head

about who this character is and
why the character does that,

there's a lot for
you not to know,

and so that gives the
audience the freedom

to just run wild with
their imagination.

And I think that's one of
the things that John and Nick

and Debra Hill accomplished
really beautifully in 1978.

- I think what makes Michael
Myers the icon that he is,

well, first of all, he's
got an annual appointment

with all of us.

You know, the name of
the movie is "Halloween."

The name alone is going
to make you say, oh yeah.

- Michael Myers.

Born October 19th, 1957.

Killed his older sister,
October 31st, 1963.

Now he's back.

- There were slashers and
proto-slashers before him,

but he really set the template

and set the rules
for slasher movies.

And he kind of
represented a new era

in terms of horror villains.

- Michael Myers is
the ultimate stalker.

There was no remorse
to his killing path

and it was always vicious.

Whatever he did, whether
it was strangling someone

in the backseat
of a station wagon

to inhumanly, stabbing
someone in the gut

and picking them
up off the floor.

Have you ever tried
that? It's really hard.

He's got a lot of
strength to him.

- Part of what makes
Michael especially effective

is how anonymous he is.

He kind of blends into
the darkness of Halloween.

- Michael Myers bides his time.

He doesn't smash through doors.

He doesn't slam doors
like Leatherface does.

He watches from afar.

If there's something he likes,
he'll keep an eye on it.

He'll check in.

He checks in on Laurie,

and when he's ready
to strike, he does,

and he does so quietly.

- There's no jokes.

There's no fun to be
had with Michael Myers.

- No!

- Just a lot of
scares and murder.

- Please help me!

- We wouldn't be talking
about these figures

if they hadn't become
pop culture icons.

They became pop
culture icons, I think,

because the first
films were truly scary.

- The original
"Halloween" is simply put,

a better film than any "Friday
the 13th," any "Nightmare."

It's the only one where
it's universally agreed

that the original is the best.

- There was a contemporary
story about real people

who were experiencing something

that was just freaking out
of this world of frightening.

I just knew, like it
was a game changer.

- My favorite Halloween
movie is "Halloween."

I know it's very
typical to say that,

but that film is so perfect.

It made me feel something
that I had never felt before.

- I watched the first
"Halloween" when I was 12 or so.

It's just that existing
fear that everyone has,

that somebody may be
around the corner,

and I think what was
so great about him

was his simplicity in that way.

And I think his
appeal was immortal.

- They opened in 200 screens,
then they move to the Midwest,

then they moved
to the West Coast.

It was almost like a
platform kind of release.

There was no internet.

So the only way you would
learn about these films

is opening the Friday paper
and seeing an ad for it.

- When "Halloween"
first came out,

it received terrible reviews
all across the country.

Everybody reviewed it
as being a really awful,

exploitation horror movie.

- Please help me! Oh!

- So I sort of wrote
"Halloween" off

until it was re-reviewed
by "The Village Voice,"

and it kind of, a
new wave of reviews

said it was good again.

- There is a difference
between movies

which are violent
but entertaining

and movies that are
gruesome and despicable.

There is a difference
between a horror movie

and a freak show.

And a good example
of that is the fact

that both of us gave
favorable reviews

to a very scary 1978 horror
film named "Halloween."

- "Halloween" was this
word of mouth sensation.

It was this huge,
independent success story.

They weren't even
thinking sequel.

- The most successful,
independent production
in history.

Give us an idea what that means.

- The movie cost $300,000 to
make, and it made 70 million.

- They had this great
idea for the first one,

and then immediately, John
Carpenter wanted to do

something completely different.

He didn't want to have anything
to do with Michael Myers.

They made him do another
Michael Myers movie.

- I didn't want to direct
it, and I got forced

into writing it, and look,
it was 2:00 in the morning,

I had a six pack of beer.

It was the only idea
I could think of.

- That Strode girl, that's
Michael Myers sister.

She was born two years
before he was committed,

two years after his parents died

and she was adopted
by the Strodes.

- John and Debra created
the kind of sibling thing.

I thought that was interesting
because it was like

oh, not only is
Michael a young killer

who stabbed a sister to death,

but now he's got another sister.

- When you add that
piece of information

coming in part two to part
one, it suddenly changes.

It's a family vendetta.

- There was something
driving him,

and it was like this family
connection to Laurie Strode.

And you're like, why does
he want to kill her so bad?

And what happened
to the parents?

- We're like, you know, what
kind of abusive situation

in his childhood
created this monster

and where does that bleed over

into his family relationships
and then his homicidal future?

- Michael, stop.

- For some reason
he is drawn to kill

his whole existing family.

Now that creates
a new throughline.

So cool.

So it works.

- If the Halloween franchise was
going to keep moving forward,

it was going to be
anthological in nature.

Each subsequent film was
going to just take place

around Halloween or
be a Halloween story.

Thus, "Season of
the Witch" was born.

- Turn that down.

- Michael wasn't in it.

I mean, he is in it.

You see him in a
commercial on TV,

but again, I mean like, I'm
also trying to put myself

in John and Debra's shoes

after Michael was
shot in the face-

and burned alive.

How do you bring
him back for three?

- What's the matter?

Don't you have any
Halloween spirit?

- The fans, when the film
came, completely rejected it.

- Part three is relevant
because it tells us,

unequivocally, that
we, as the audience

are the ones running
this franchise.

We are the ones
who keep them alive

because it is that
passion and disappointment

that people who
rented that film,

including me at
the time, hated it.

- Stop it, stop it, stop it,
stop it, stop it, stop it!

Stop it!

- That backlash cemented Michael

and Michael's place
and the horror canon

and horror history, I think.

Now it's become kind of
like this novelty item,

this cult classic.

- In some ways, like a
horror sequel is a bit

like a cover song.

- It's like, "I Want to Hold
Your Hand" by the Beatles

is "Halloween," "I
Want to Hold Your Hand"

by The Rolling Stones
is "Halloween 2."

And "Halloween 3"
is done by Yoko Ono.

- I've seen enough.

Let's get out of here.

- I can't see anybody taking
that kind of swing today,

where we had this
mega successful movie

with this very cool killer.

Let's drop him entirely
and do something else.

They were like, all right, well,

maybe we'll have an
icon down the road.

- You should find it
quite interesting.

- You have "Halloween 3,"
and then they course correct.

And it's like, this
is about Michael Myers

and Michael Myers
killing people.

- When "Halloween 4" came
out, you remember the fanfare

that came out behind that?

Like Michael's face is
right on the poster.

It's like, Michael's back.

- Now Michael
Myers has come home.

He has returned for one
more night of unholy terror.

- Michael!

- They knew what
they were doing.

They had to get the
fans back into theaters,

and the movie is
literally called

"The Return of Michael Myers,"

just in case you didn't know.

- In the original
"Halloween," we have the shape

and it does not become
Michael Myers technically

until the second one, and as
we move further in the series,

they realize that that's what
everybody identifies with.

That's what everybody loves.

He becomes Michael Myers.

That's when he gets a name.

He stops just being the shape,

and he moves into
Michael Myers territory,

and we identify him as
a name and a backstory

and an ever-evolving mask.

- Help me!

- It was "Halloween 4"
where the studio pushed them

to give more blood.

- No!

- One of the strongest
selling points for me

for the original was Carpenter
not needing any of that

in order to scare the audience.

- And by the time you get
to "Halloween 4 and 5,"

they start creating this
really silly backstory,

and they introduce his niece.

- In "Halloween
5," Danielle Harris returns

as Michael Myers'
young niece, Jamie,

who is still trying
to find a way

to escape from the bogeyman.

- Michael's always going
after the family member

for some reason, I guess he
doesn't like his relatives

for some reason, so he
just gets so far away

from simply a
scary guy in a mask

who kills you for no reason.

There's all this
plot and layers.

So it gets more complicated,
as it goes along.

- Giving him a mythology
kind of negates

what is special and
scary about him.

It made him less
scary to make him

this kind of concrete
product of whatever it was

instead of just the spirit
of Halloween out to get you,

I think really
diluted what was scary

and impactful about him.

- Oh God, Michael,
please don't hurt me.

- I love "Halloween 6."

- For years, I've
been convinced,

there must be some reason,

some method behind
Michael's madness.

- I know that the rules are

that you're not supposed
to explain the monster.

I get it. Lovecraft said
it, Stephen King said it.

I totally get it, I don't care.

I like it.

If the monster is
involved with cults,

when horror can lean into that,

when they can tap into
that, I'm into it, I dig it.

- The "Thorn Trilogy"
of "Halloween" movies

is explained in 6,
that Michael is powered

by an ancient cult, but
this ancient cult worships

this folk magic
and these symbols

and understanding what
these symbols mean.

- The Thorn symbol is actually
a constellation of stars

that appears from time to
time on Halloween night.

Whenever it appears, he appears.

- The curse of Thorn is
inflicted on Michael Myers,

who returns for almost
every Halloween sequel,

except for 3, to do the bidding
of this particular cult.

- When you get to 6, and
then there's this business

about a cult, then
these weird tattoos,

and it just became absurd.

They felt a need to
explain the unexplainable,

and that's what was so
scary about the character

in the first film is
that Michael Myers

is a force of nature.

- Oh God, he's coming.

- It's literally the only
film franchise in history

that has become a choose
your own adventure.

You can choose just to
watch the first movie

and it's a completest film.

You can carry that
adventure into part two,

because it's the same night.

You could go 1, 2, "H20."

- "Halloween H2O"
revitalized the franchise.

It was a box office hit.

Also, it came about during
the teen horror cycle.

So it was like a
perfect fit for that.

But bringing back Jamie Lee
Curtis was perfect, too,

because she got the
closure, I think,

we all want her to get.

- Look, I know that
today is the day,

but I think-
- Oh really?

What day is that, John?

- Halloween.

- I hadn't noticed.

- I think it's actually
a very solid story

in terms of catching
up with Laurie Strode

and what's happened to her
and it kind of continues

stylistically the way the first
two films looked and felt.

- We see our first
big reboot happen

with "Halloween H20,"

which happened when
I was a teenager,

and I remember being so
excited about that one

and holy crap, Jamie Lee
Curtis is in it again.

This is going to be epic!

- Obviously, they did lots
of sequels without her,

which were not
nearly as successful,

and I think what really
sparked people's interest

is this is the original star
of the "Halloween" franchise

who has since gone on
to become a major star

in movies in general now coming
back to where it all began.

I mean, it's no accident
that "Halloween H20"

was the successful of the first
round of Halloween sequels.

And I think that was
really the appeal,

seeing Jamie Lee Curtis
come back to confront him.

- I said, let's make a movie

where she makes a
moment's choice.

I'm willing to fight for my life

because to live
another minute in fear

is no life and I'd rather die.

And let's fricking end it.

- When Jamie Lee comes
back for a Halloween film,

it just raises the bar so much
in terms of our excitement

as fans and the mainstream
world's interest

as far as like
legitimizing the film.

- I think "Halloween
H2O" was actually

a really entertaining movie
and brought back key characters

to that narrative and
brought back what was

the only throughline
they've ever had,

which was between
him and Laurie,

this thing that was
manufactured after the fact,

but is still what
the people want.

- Who was that?

- My brother.

- They're like the horror
genre's Joker and Batman.

They only seem to exist
in front of each other,

which is why watching the two
of them is so fascinating.

- Michael.

- It feels almost
like a Greek Odyssey

where you need to see
the ending of these two.

That head roll at the
end, like that was,

everyone was like, what?

Like, you know,
it was just like,

oh, they have a tender moment.

Holy shit, what happened?

I think a lot of us,
including myself,

were jazzed about that,
like that was just perfect.

It should've just been done,
but they retconned it so bad.

- I think that part of why
the shape is so terrifying

is he's this dark
mirror to Laurie,

who is so desiring to save
herself, to save others,

to protect, to
shelter, to care for.

You know, she is that good
person who you would want

to be the one to face down
this god-awful force of evil.

- I'll see you in hell.

- When Michael Myers has
to fight Busta Rhymes,

the series just went
completely out the windows.

- Hi-ya!

- I didn't think Michael
Myers would be able to recover

from getting Kung Fu
kicked by Busta Rhymes

in "Halloween: Resurrection."

- Yeah, not many people do.

- It had no validity anymore.

- I think the lowest
of the lows for us

was the Zombie remix of
the "Halloween" movies.

- It's definitely Rob Zombie's
"Halloween," for sure.

This is post 9/11.

This is around the time of
"Hostel," if not post-"Hostel."

So people were accustomed
to Rob Zombie being this.

- 15 Cherry-

- Those films are
distinctly Rob Zombie.

The second one more than
the first one, to be honest,

because it's just,
it's Rob unplugged.

- If you like Michael Myers
as a more grittier character,

perfect, but most people don't.

I think most people, again,

are still really precious
about that original concept.

- As a kid, I was so scared
because you could not explain

who this guy was in terms of
why he was doing those things.

With Zombie's thing, it was
kind of like all focused

around an origin story.

So it doesn't feel threatening.

- It's hard for me to kind
of stay along for the ride

because you know, I'm not about
to throw any kind of shade

or judgment on it, but it's
just, there was no continuum.

- Part of the uniqueness of
Rob Zombie's "Halloween" films

is that Michael
Myers actually talks,

mostly as a kid, but you
definitely do hear him speak.

- I like the mask,
'cause it hides my face.

- I don't like you
to hide your face.

Take it off.

- It hides my ugliness.

- I think people were
just sort of like, oh,

there's a new
reiteration of Halloween,

I want to see it, I want
to see what it's all about.

Those "Halloween" remix
were a commercial success,

because people just
love the franchise

and wanted to
revisit it and to see

what else could be done with it.

- When we look at the
first "Halloween,"

it is absolutely terrifying

because we have no
idea what's going on.

We have no idea
what the shape is,

but that's not how
horror icons are made.

All of our horror icons are made

over film after film after film.

And so by the time
we get later on

in the "Halloween"
franchise, we lose a lot

of kind of what made the
original so mysterious.

But at the same time, we
gained this horror personality.

We gained the Michael Meyers
that we know and that we love.

- What the fuck is this mask?

- Austin Powers.

- Doc said Michael Myers.

- This is Mike Myers.

- It should be the
"Halloween" mask.

- This is a Halloween mask.

- No, the killer dude
from "Halloween."

- Oh, you mean Jason.

- No!

- The reason that these
characters become icons

is because we grow up with them

and they become a part of
ourselves and our own psychology

as to how we see the world.

- Look at it this way.

I'm scared of Michael Myers
from the "Halloween" movies.

But if there was
a room of people

that supported Michael Myers?

I'd be way more afraid
of those people.

- A big reason the characters
endure the way they do

is because you do
fall in love with them

as much as you fear them.

- Oh my God.

Did she just say
that George P. Wilbur

was Tom Tucker's stage name?

- Who the hell is
George P. Wilbur?

- That's the guy who played
Michael Myers in "Halloween 4,"

the greatest movie of all time.

- They do, in a
really weird way,

start to feel like family
in a certain sense.

They have become such a
core part of your life,

of your upbringing.

- Absolutely.

I mean, if you think
about nightmares,
you think of Freddie.

You know, you think about going
camping, you think of Jason.

You think of Halloween,
you think of Michael Myers.

- Look at that, huh?

- Fuck you, I'm Kenny Powers.

- You look like Michael Myers.

- Oh.

No, no, no, no.

No, no, no.

- That guy will never
go away from me.

He was there as early
as I have memories,

and he's going to, probably
the last thing I see or think

on my deathbed, it better
be my wife or my cat,

but it's probably going to
be Michael Aubrey Myers.

- Holy shit.

You should've seen the
look on your faces.

- I still get palpitations
when I see Michael

standing behind that hedge,

When I see him
standing behind Annie,

when I see him standing
behind the laundry.

All he has to do is stand there

and it gets me, it terrifies me.

It has the same effect
on my nervous system

year after year after year.

- Now you can see things
like Blumhouse remaking it

in this quality way
with this huge budget,

and they're doing
a good job of it,

that to me, I thought it was
exciting because yeah, okay,

it might make something
that we felt covetous about.

You know, it might take
that and open that up

to more people, but it also
makes the whole thing bigger.

It makes more horror
for us all to enjoy.

- Happy Halloween, Michael.

- Taking a horror icon
like Michael Myers

and rejuvenating
him after 40 years,

there's a lot of challenges
that come with that.

There's a lot of expectations
that come with that as well.

David Gordon Green, when
he first came into us

to talk about
rebooting "Halloween,"

there was a couple of wild
ideas that were thrown around.

David went off and
came back to us

with the idea of throwing
everything out the window

except for that first film,
that really sunk its teeth

into society and film history,
and just laid the groundwork

for who Michael Myers was.

- You don't believe
in a bogeyman?

- I believe in Michael Myers,
a deranged serial killer,

but the bogeyman, no.

- Well, you should.

- When David and Danny were
kind of crafting the story,

I had to kind of keep reminding
and keep them on the track

of Michael doesn't
want anything,

he just wants fucking
chaos, he wants to kill.

That's his only thing.

The fans came to the table
wanting a lot of things

that they picked up
throughout that franchise,

but we had to keep
reminding them, no,

we are living in John
Carpenter's world.

- He only knows how to keep
moving and to keep killing,

and he will kill again
unless he's captured.

- It was taking something that
we have a great nostalgia for

in John Carpenter's film and
taking it very seriously,

having a ton of fun
and figuring out

how to involve Carpenter, how
to involve Jamie Lee Curtis,

and how to utilize the tools
that that original film

taught us to make
the film necessary.

'Cause otherwise, why do it?

Let's go make the
sequel to the first film

that never happened.

- This is tactical.

He waited for this night,
he's waited for me.

I've waited for him.

- And they really
tried to figure out

how do we get back to
what made the shape

so freaking terrifying that
we want to keep seeing it,

that we wanted it to
stay with us for decades?

- That's indicative of how
iconic the character was.

- To me, embodying a
character like this

that has such universal appeal,
there's something grander

than just a physical
experience that happens.

- Say something.

- I breathe into it, I
literally take a deep breath.

Very indiscernible probably
to people around me,

but I breathe it in,
and then it's on.

Like it's alive and it stays
alive until I breathe it out.

I do not and have not
ever put that mask on

other than when I work,
just not going to happen,

because whatever that is
that happens inside of me

when I put that mask
on, it's a sacred place.

When that mask goes on,
something happens to me.

- You feel it,
don't you, Michael?

You feel the mask.

It's a part of you.

- I ran into Ryan
Turk at a function.

He told me that they were
looking like they were possibly

going to be doing
the "Halloween,"

and I said, I have to do that,

because I'm the biggest
"Halloween" fan in the world,

and I dare you to
find somebody else.

Everyone says that.

I got the call and I was the guy

and I hung up the
phone and I was elated.

And then about 10 minutes
later, I went, oh no.

I have to come up
with this mask.

- Chris co-created
this character with me

because he created the mask.

You know, when you're fighting

or doing really
complex movement,

and as disciplined
as I'd try to be,

Chris was always
there to remind me

to maintain that physical
presence in a space

that was complementary to
the mask and to the costume

and to everything around me.

- I really wanted there to
at least be all the landmarks

of the original mask
and the silhouette,

the specific shape
of the hairline,

specific shape of the nose,

the points on the lips,
the chin, you know,

the little jowls here, the
creases within the cheeks,

the angle of the eyes.

All those things are
imperative to Michael.

I drooped the eyes a
little bit to give it

more of a tragic kind of
tragedy face, almost a sadness.

I really wanted to do that,
and David responded to it too.

Can't take out his
eyes altogether,

but you have to see glimpses
of his eyes in there.

And that's a huge point
with Michael Myers.

- There's something about
looking into his dead eyes,

where you really see
the world, don't you?

- I'm frightened-

Just sitting next
to this person.

- What was interesting
in the course

of making "Halloween
2018" was just how much

of a character it
is in its own right.

- The very first time
Chris put the mask on me

and there was a collective
guttural,

like everybody just had
a same guttural sound

that came out of it.

For me, it was like the
connecting of a circuit.

So for me, that's a
part of the energy

of creating the shape.

- It was about satisfying
fans and I'm a fan.

And so, first and foremost,

I approach everything
I do as a fan.

I was terribly nervous
to meet you at first.

- Really?

- When you were
coming in the trailer.

- You thought I was
going to stab you?

- I just thought
you might be a dick.

- Oh, that's true.

- No, I'm kidding.

- We kept saying, God,
I hope we get to inhabit

the same scene, because it'll be

a true passing of the torch.

Like this is going to
be a baton handoff.

- David didn't exactly
know at the time.

He knew he wanted me in it,

but he had me all ready to
go for the closet scene.

- Oh, I didn't even realize.

- I was there with a
thing on and ready to go.

And okay, when are
you putting me in?

And then they went cut, wrap.

And I'm going?

- When we find out
what we're doing,

we're like, oh man,
this is so perfect.

This is just so fricking perfect

that we get to inhabit
the very same scene.

- Which was the one
that we eventually shot.

But it was kind of thematic,
because it was the first time

Laurie sees the
shape in the movie.

- Michael!

- I did go back to the
set of "Halloween Kills,"

which was fantastic.

You know, coming
back in triumph, too,

because 2018 was a big hit.

- It wasn't until
after the film came out

and we kind of had a
larger conversation

about what are we going to do?

David came up with those titles,

you know, like "Halloween
Kills" and "Halloween Ends."

I was just like, I like where
your brain's going, man.

Michael takes on a
whole nother shape

that represents
something very thematic,

which is really cool.

- He kills.

- I love larger than
life characters that
can't be stopped,

that are moved by some other
force that's compelling them

to do horrible or great
things, I just love it.

I love it.

- You know, it's Halloween.

I guess everyone's entitled
to one good scare, huh?

- Anytime you go
back to "Halloween,"

they still have some
capacity to like scare.

And I think if they didn't,

then people wouldn't
want to go back to them.

But I think it's also just like,

you fall in love with
your captor a bit,

and have no choice
in the matter.

- Michael Myers never goes away.

He's always going
to be that thing

you kind of think you see out
of the corner of your eye.

That noise you hear in
the middle of the night.

- Come on out.
- And you think,

what's going on?

- It feels like that ghost tale
that your brother tells you.

- I heard that on
Halloween night,

the bogeyman sneaks out and
attacks kids who don't believe.

- It is something
that we relate to it.

- You know what,
Tommy? It is true.

He likes to eat
little boys like you.

- Michael Myers,
wasn't made in a lab.

It wasn't made in a studio.

It was made in the world
and I think that horror fans

love that and they cherish it.

- There's a new
generation of people

that are into Michael Myers.

Like I see really young kids.

There's a 10 year old
kid I saw recently

with a Michael Myers
mask and his parents

were real supportive of him.

I'm like, where was that
when I was 10 years old?

But the parents were like,
oh, he loves Michael Myers.

Look at his knife.
Isn't it really cool?

- I look at it
and I pinch myself

and I kind of remind
myself of that photo

where it's me opening up the
"Halloween" Criterion LaserDisc

and I'm like, oh my
God, this is amazing.

It's very surreal.

- This is why I do what I do.

That's what inspired me,
and like everybody had

their Halloween story.

Of course, this guy is
the Halloween story.

You know what I mean?

You're the OG.

- It's interesting. I
did the movie in 1978.

Then I had really nothing to do

with any of these
things until 2018.

It's pretty phenomenal
and surprising, really,

to me that the character
has had this longevity

and that it goes from
generation to generation.

- Oh my God.

- It's kismet, you know?

I guess, it's just like
lightning in a bottle.

It's John's ability and a
good script by him and Debra,

now Jamie was just
wonderful in it.

And the mask is just,
how do you dial that in?

How do you dial that up going,

I want this kind of mask
that's going to scare everybody

for the next 40 years?

It just doesn't happen.

You got to be fortunate,
lucky, and talented

at the same time.

- My idea was that we
should never make a sequel

to the original "Halloween."

There's no story left. There
was nothing left to say.

Boy, was I wrong, huh?

I went to three, four.

- Four. So you'll
have the record.

- I'll have the record.

- Which you deserve.

I mean, you deserve it.

You're the OG.

- Unless you kill me
before they shoot.

- Which could happen.

Stranger things have
happened, my friend.

- You know, I saw
a picture recently

of you guys sitting
with all the people

that played the
shape over the years,

and I was really upset
that I wasn't invited

into that picture.
- Oh.

- 'Cause I played the shape
in the shot, two shots.

- Which shots?

- Where he gets
his hand blown off,

and then there
was one other shot

that's the scene where
she's in the car.

I'm a lot doughier
than this guy.

I'm not, I'm like the doughy

Michael Myers.
- The doughy shape.

You're the wrong shape.

- Well, we're always,
the wrong shape.

- Yeah, so you know-

- We're joking that
if they showed me,

then the "Halloween" theme
would be played through a tuba

every time I'm on camera.

- That's hilarious.