Knives ‘n’ masks ‘n’ Jamie Lee Curtis, oh Myers!
HALLOWEEN KILLS I Michael Myers faces mob justice in a rage-fuelled Halloween sequel
Director David Gordon Green knows a thing or two about crafting a successful Halloween sequel. After all, 2018’s Halloween – the 40-years-later follow-up to John Carpenter’s ’78 slasher classic – was embraced by fans, and broke box-office records. But in continuing the story of Laurie Strode and the unknowable Shape for upcoming sequel Halloween Kills, Green and returning screenwriter Danny McBride faced a problem as intimidating as Michael Myers with a kitchen knife.
“How do you continue what makes Halloween interesting, and not be repetitive?” Green says over the phone from South Carolina. The answer, according to the eclectic filmmaker, is that Halloween is about to get a whole lot angrier. “If the first film was somewhat retelling the origin of Myers and getting us up to speed with where Laurie had been all those years, then part two is about the outrage of Haddonfield,” Green reveals. “Mob Rules was our working title for the film. It’s about a community that is united by outrage, and divided in how to deal with evil.”
To that end, Kills is dialling down the divisive humour of 2018’s Halloween and expanding its ensemble cast, with returning characters from the ’78 original – including Tommy Doyle (played here by Anthony Michael Hall) – new characters, and “even some strange ones that we got a glimpse of in the 2018 film”. But the rock remains Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie who, as in 1981’s Halloween II, spends the bulk of the film in hospital recovering from her injuries.
“She’s a voice of both insight and reason that is trying to give a volatile community some sense of purpose in this film,” explains Green, who confirms that while Laurie isn’t the main character in Kills, she remains the “emotional core”. Instead,
Andi Matichak’s Allyson, last seen brandishing a bloody knife in a pickup truck, becomes Haddonfield’s pitchfork-wielding ringleader.
“When we met [Allyson], she was a very relatable, lovely girl-nextdoor type of character,” Green says. “Allyson here, just hours later... she is ignited. She is, in some ways, leading the charge, and is one of the more bloodthirsty of the group. Whereas Karen, who has dealt psychologically with her mother more intimately, is trying to resist those temptations.”
With work practically complete on Halloween Kills before Covid struck, lockdown has granted Green and McBride extra time to finish the script for trilogy-capper Halloween Ends. “We’re going to film this fall, hopefully!” Green chuckles. “It’s a very different movie than Kills, and both Halloweens. The script feels very fun. For me, it was essential to say, ‘Here’s a conclusive episode to my trilogy.’ I’m trying to bring closure to my ‘Laurie Strode versus Michael Myers’ storytelling.” JF
ETA | 15 OCT 2021 / HALLOWEEN KILLS OPENS NEXT YEAR.