{"id":4018,"date":"2022-10-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=4018"},"modified":"2022-03-11T13:47:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T18:47:38","slug":"happy-birthday-michael-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2022\/10\/25\/happy-birthday-michael-myers\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday, Michael Myers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The original Halloween<\/em> movie was released on October 25, 1978. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve enjoyed some of the additions to this franchise, or parts of them, at least, but nothing beats the original. It\u2019s the most simple of all of the Halloween movies, right from the opening with the flickering jack o\u2019lantern and tense, repeated piano line. All of those point of view shots. And the sense of humor \u2013 the scene with Myers standing in the doorway wearing a sheet (what is it with this guy and sheets, anyway?) manages to be downright goofy without ever losing its menace. I mean, he remembers to put the glasses on over the sheet. Michael is a different breed of cat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also don\u2019t get any explanation for why Myers is who he is. That\u2019s better. It\u2019s more frightening if there\u2019s no explanation, or at least not one the audience has access to. Once you know why a beast is what it is, you can start to gain some control over it. Or, as one of my favorite songwriters, Beaver Nelson, puts it, \u201cif you name a thing it dies.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest film in the franchise, Halloween Ends<\/em>, just hit theaters. And as much as I\u2019d love to see a truly great new Halloween movie, I hope this is where Myers ends his cinematic run. I\u2019ll always think of him, somewhere out there, lurking in the linen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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