The news today reflects my interests as a 13 year old, which is sort of exciting. It’s a time warp to the days when masked slashers stalked our cinema screens.
First up: Halloween. This weekend I was honored to attend the Thirty Years of Terror Halloween convention in Pasadena and host a panel that reunited cast and crew from John Carpenter’s original classic. I moderated PJ Soles!
Anyway, the folks on the panel were at best circumspect about Rob Zombie’s remake – most claimed to have not even seen it – but there were plenty of folks from that film in attendance, including producer Malek Akkad, who told Dread Central that the sequel is happening and it will directly pick up from the first film. Tyler Mane will return as Michael Myers, but no director is yet firm, despite word that Inside splattermeisters Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury would be behind the camera. Expect word on that soon, though – Halloween 2 starts filming in March.
Meanwhile, fans were treated to the news that the ‘Producer’s Cut’ of Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers may be coming out on official DVD thanks to Anchor Bay. You have to be a real fan to know this movie, but it features Donald Pleasance’s last screen role and one of Paul Rudd’s first (he plays a grown up Tommy Doyle). The ‘Producer’s Cut’ includes almost 45 minutes of new footage, which changes the fates of some characters. Most notable is the fact that the ending is massively different in the ‘Producer’s Cut’ – it ends with Michael escaped and Loomis marked with the Curse of Thorn, the Druidic cult that’s behind Michael Myer’s powers. Yeah, the Halloween series really went there. The theatrical cut ends with Loomis presumably killed.
Next, Friday the 13th. I’m still working on my set visit report (I’m slow and have been busy. Give me a break!), but in the meantime savor the fact that the release of the new movie means that Paramount is triple dipping the original films. The first movie will be finally getting an uncut release in the US, as well as a Blu-Ray version. We’ll be getting much gorier kills after decades of just seeing outtakes. Part II and Part III in 3D will also be coming out in Special Editions, although nobody knows if they’ll be on BD. But here’s to hoping that Part III finally comes with 3D glasses. It just seems like a fucking no-brainer.
Thanks to Phil for alerting me to the Digital Bits story on F13.