Last year, horror fans showed up in droves to see Michael Myers return in David Gordon Green’s Halloween. The slasher flick’s success, marked by critical praise and a staggering box office intake, renewed interest in the franchise in general, with many people diving back into the fascinating and troubled production history faced by many of the films.
The official website Halloween Movies have recently directed their attention toward the numerous scenes excised from Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Notorious for its behind the scenes issues, the fifth Halloween movie had many sequences cut or even completely reshot to appease producers and censors, including an alternate opening featuring the supernatural revival of a deceased Michael Myers.
Following his defeat in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, the fifth film opens one year later, with the unconscious Shape being nursed back to health by a mysterious hermit who lives in the woods outside of Haddonfield, Il. When Michael awakens, he murders the hermit and starts on a new blood-laden journey to finally kill his niece Jamie Lloyd. Rumor had it that the original opening to the movie was even darker, featuring an occult ritual and an appearance by a “Dr. Death.”
Earlier this month, Halloween Movies hinted that they’d finally found this original footage, and Don Shanks, who portrayed the Shape in Halloween 5, revealed the following about it in an interview with the website:
“(I was) placed on this stone alter, and all around (the set) were things that the production had gotten from witches, and people that sell you the occult,” Shanks recalls of the scene. “And there were scrolls and different chants and this and that. And (suspended from) the altar, right above me, was this rock that looked like a stalactite – it was on a string and it would circle. And Dr. Death was doing an incantation on me, and then he tattoos on me the Thorn rune, which is the sign of eternal life. And so he does all these incantations, and on Halloween Eve (one year later) I come back to life.
So I put the mask on and I grab Dr. Death by the throat and pick him up over my head and break his back, and then put him on the altar, and take the stalactite and I go through his chest with it. I thought it was one of my better kills. But Moustapha [Akkad] thought it was too much of the occult type thing. So they decided to shoot it differently.”
Halloween Movies also shared a photo suggesting that even more deleted footage, including death scenes deemed too violent for an R-rated film, and the original script, had been discovered. If this found footage is indeed the slashed opening, it would be huge news for Halloween fans that have waited decades to see it and we’ll be sure to keep you posted as and when we hear more.