The 40th anniversary of John Carpenter’s Halloween will be one for the ages.
On the one hand, the film industry will be collectively raising a glass to Carpenter (AKA the Master of Horror), who redefined the parameters of the slasher genre back in 1978 with his undisputed classic. And in what is perhaps one of the best examples of an opportune release window that we can recall, Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green will also be resurrecting Halloween for the modern-day audience – albeit with a new lick of paint – this October.
From the outset, Green has made it immediately clear that he wants to capture the spirit of the original, and that’s an objective that pointed him in the direction of John Carpenter himself, who recalled his journey back to the franchise in a recent interview with Rotten Tomatoes.
Well, they asked me. You know, the rights went back to Miramax and Malek Akkad talked to me and he wanted me to do something. And then Jason Blum, who’s the biggest horror producer in Hollywood, talked to me. He was going to produce it. They were willing to pay me, which is always a good thing, so I said yes.
Once Carpenter and RT laughed off the latter’s gaffe – on January 16th, the Internet’s movie aggregator reported that John Carpenter was dead, despite the fact that he was (and still is!) very much alive – the legendary filmmaker confessed that he’s yet to watch every sequel in the Halloween series. Not that that’s much of an issue, as the 2018 revival plans to double down on the original classic.
I talked about the Halloweens for a long time, the sequels — I haven’t even seen all of them. I don’t even know what really was there — but finally it occurred to me: Well if I’m just flapping my gums here, talking about it, why don’t I try to make it as good as I can? I could offer advice. I could talk to the director. I like the director very much. I like the script. So, you know, stop throwing rocks from the sidelines and get in there and try to do something positive.
And though he’s not directly involved in the film’s creation, John Carpenter still has a hand in the Halloween of 2018 – specifically, he’ll help compose the soundtrack with his two trusted confidants.
They came over to my office, we talked about what they wanted to do with Halloween, and I liked what they had to say. So, off we go. They said they wanted me to do the music, so I said, ‘Well, okay,’ but I’m going to take my son and godson along with me on that one.
The one. The only. The classic….Halloween *cue soundtrack*. Expect David Gordon Green to beckon viewers on a trip down memory lane from October 19th.