PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Rob Zombie’s Halloween turns 15 in 2022, and to celebrate, we are sharing our top ten fun facts we learned about the film.
Synopsis:
After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution and immediately returns to Haddonfield to find his baby sister, Laurie. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif, and Sheri Moon Zombie.
I wasn’t allowed to watch Rob Zombie’s Halloween when it dropped in theatres on August 31, 2007. However, a few years later when I was old enough to watch it, I really enjoyed it. Then I had this weird thing when I was about eighteen where I was obsessed with it and watched all the time. I still really enjoy the film.
I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine who also loves horror and about why he disliked Rob Zombie’s Halloween. Now, don’t get me wrong, the original Halloween (1978) is amazing. However, I do think Rob Zombie did a fairly good job here. My friend said, ” He showed to much of Michael’s childhood and made it too cliché… His mom is a stripper with a heart of gold; his stepfather is abusive and drunk.” He finished off by saying, ” That’s what makes John Carpenter’s Halloween so great. He was a normal, healthy child with a normal home life.” Basically, he’s saying that Rob Zombie humanized him too much. But I digress.
Top Ten Fun Facts About Rob Zombie’s Halloween
1. Malcolm McDowell ruined a great number of takes by hysterically laughing at the other actors.
2. The film was mostly shot in South Pasadena, California, the same area where John Carpenter’s original film was filmed. When Laurie notices Michael watching her and the girls at the library (at around 54 mins), Michael is actually standing in front of Laurie’s house from the original film. Also, Laurie’s house is located on the same street that Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, and P.J. Soles walk down in the original film when Michael drives past them in the station wagon.
3. Emma Stone auditioned for the role of Laurie Strode. Danielle Panabaker also auditioned for the role of Laurie. Scout Taylor-Compton was cast instead. Two years later, Panabaker was cast as the female lead in Friday the 13th (2009), another horror remake. Compton had also auditioned for that role, but lost the role against Panabaker.
4. Before reinventing the legendary Halloween (1978), Rob Zombie made the wise choice to inform John Carpenter about it. In response, Carpenter encouraged Zombie to “make it [his] own.” At that point, Carpenter had given up on the franchise long before. He originally wanted it to be a series of separate Halloween-themed stories with the first one being a standalone film featuring Myers. But he was forced to make Halloween 2 after the first one was a surprise success. So, he killed off Myers and Loomis in that one to end it. Then he produced Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch, but when it made a lot less money than the previous two, he dropped it and sold the rights years later to a company that has been rehashing the same story in every film.
5. The actor who sells the guns to Malcolm McDowell’s character (at around 1h 4 mins) is none other than The Monkees’ drummer/singer Micky Dolenz.
6. At 121 minutes, this is the longest Halloween film to date.
7. The inclusion of the plotline about Michael Myers’ early days at the mental asylum under the care of Sam Loomis is a nod to a plotline added in by John Carpenter for the television viewing of the original Halloween (1978). As told by Carpenter, when the original film was first sold to television, they demanded added scenes to replace the edited portions of the murder scenes. So Carpenter recalled Donald Pleasence, the original Sam Loomis, to film scenes of him at the hospital taking care of Michael.
8. The film underwent reshoots as a result of poor test screenings. These included a new escape for Michael from the hospital as well as an alternate ending.
9. Tyler Mane’s real name is Daryl Karolat and was a wrestler for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and wrestled under the name Big Sky.
10. Deleted scenes include: a scene where Ismael Cruz fended off a reporter pestering Deborah Myers; a subplot about Deborah and Loomis working to get Michael on a furlough; extended scenes with Deborah and Lou Martini showing him as sympathetic to her problems; Deborah giving Loomis a Christmas present; a scene with Morgan Walker and Larry Redgrave attending a hearing for Michael Myers where Loomis sends a written testimony advising that Michael be kept locked up but then Koplenson saying he is no longer violent and wanting him transferred to a minimum security hospital; Steve performing badly during his intercourse with Judith; an alternative scene where Morgan Walker calls Loomis to inform him of Michael’s escape; a scene where Loomis tries to convince a receptionist, played by Adrienne Barbeau, to tell him who adopted Michael’s baby sister so he can protect her from Michael; an alternative scene where Loomis and Bracket meet for the first time; and a scene where Michael steals Judith’s tombstone.
