Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Exclusive Series)
- Matt Palmer
- Oct 14, 2022
- 4 min read
Initial release date: September 29, 1995
Studios: Dimension-Miramax
Tagline: Terror Never Rests In Peace!
Plot: This installment marks the return of the seemingly indestructible masked killer Michael Myers, who is targeting Tommy Doyle, a young man tied into the legacy of the killer and his connections with the Strode family. As the supernatural elements of Michael's macabre abilities are explored, his longtime adversary, Dr. Sam Loomis, is also back in yet another attempt to stop the psychopath's brutal rampages.
Cast
Donald Pleasance - Dr. Loomis
Paul Rudd - Tommy Doyle
Marianne Hagen - Kara Strode
Mitchell Ryan Dr. Wynn
Kim Darby - Debra Strode
Bradford English - John Strode
Keith Bogart - Tim Strode
Mariah O' Brien - Beth
Leo Geter - Barry Simms
J.C. Brady - Jamie Lloyd
Devin Gardner - Danny Strode
Janice Knickrehm - Mrs. Blankenship
George Wilbur - The Shape
Writer: David Farrands
Director: Joe Chappelle
Rated R for strong horror violence, and some sexuality (original cut - 87 min) (Producer's Cut - 96 min)
After the fifth movie was released in 1985 (Halloween: The Revenge of Michael Myers) and opened to very mixed reactions (might give it another watch for next year), Michael Myers and the series took a little break. A six year break.
When I first watched 'Curse of Michael Myers,' I watched the original theatrical cut. And, despite a few cool moments, the sixth movie was all over the place. So, for this year's Halloween marathon, I went to my Blu-ray copy of the Producer's Cut.
'Curse of Michael Myers' does have a few eerie, scary moments. It's definitely not as good as the original 1978 movie or the other sequels (the fifth wasn't good and part four was really good).
The Producer's Cut has some changes and the complete third act is different in the Producers Cut. The plot is a little all over the place and does lack some suspense. But, adding a cult angle to the origins of Myers isn't exactly the best way to give him an origin story. In fact, Michael Myers is more suspenseful and scarier without an origin.
You can rent 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' on Google Play, Vudu and YouTube. And, don't forget there are two different cuts of the movie.
Next on my list of installments that heavily divided fans - 'Halloween: Resurrection' (a.k.a. the bad one with Busta Rhymes).
Here are some interesting tidbits for 'Curse of Michael Myers':
The producers of the movie wanted Brian Andrews to reprise his role as Tommy Doyle from the 1978 original. However, Andrews didn't have an agent, so they couldn't get in contact with him. He's stated since that he regrets missing the opportunity.
Paul Rudd's film debut. It was filmed before 'Clueless,' his first big screen appearance.
Most of the cast and crew disowned this movie. On the 'Halloween: 25 Years of Terror' DVD, they stated that the studio, producers and director interfered and argued to the point of ridiculousness which resulted in a very poorly edited and directed film.
It was Daniel Farrands who suggested that the film be called 'The Curse of Michael Myers' due to the troubled production.
Original title was 'Halloween 666: The Origin of Michael Myers.' There are even ad prints and early trailers with that title.
Farrands' original script was for more moody and psychological than the final draft. After reading the script, one of the Dimension Films execs couldn't sleep at night and told him that they wanted to go forward with it. Pleasance himself supported the original script and immediately signed up to make it only to find out the script was being rewritten.
Although Farrands thinks both versions of the movie are poor, he considers the Producer's Cut to be the superior version.
After the less than enthusiastic response to 'Halloween 5,' which came out a year after 'Halloween 4,' producer Moustapha Akkad put the series on hold to re-evaluate its potential. Akkad felt part five had strayed too far from the fourth movie and the box office response was much lower than expected.
According to Farrands, there were around ten different drafts of his script between June 1994 and the October 1994 film shoot and much of the finale that appears in the theatrical version wasn't written by him, and had been written and shot in post-production under the supervision of Dimension Films.
Producer Paul Freeman and director Chappelle reportedly rewrote the ending on-set, even from shot-to-shot as production deadlines loomed.
In addition to the re-shoots prompted by poor test screenings, the movie also underwent significant editing in post-production, resulting in brisker pacing and a "flashier' cinematic style that favored "blood and guts," but, according to Farrands, ultimately resulted in a "more confusing" movie.
The movie's troubled production resulted in two cuts of the film, which prompted a legal battle between the production company, Nightfall, who wanted to release the original cut, and its distributor, Dimension Films, who had incorporated re-shoots and additional material.
'Curse of Michael Myers' was released on September 29, 1995 in the US, and brought in a $7.3 million opening weekend gross, coming in second to serial killer killer 'Seven.' It went on to gross a total of $15.1 million at the domestic box office, from an estimated $5 million budget.
The sixth movie is notorious among fans for having multiple versions. The Producer's Cut is the best known; however, a Director's Cut also exists with footage cut by the MPAA.
The original cut of the movie that screened for test audiences prior to the re-shoots became known colloquially as "The Producer's Cut," and bootlegged copies of it surfaced among film collectors. This cut features numerous differences, ranging from different scores and musical cues to substantial shifts in plot, particularly regarding the conclusion.
"The Producer's Cut" remained officially unreleased for twenty years. It had its first public exhibition on October 27, 2013 and Anchor Bay Media and Scream Factory gave it an official release on Blu-ray in September 2014.
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