David Gordon Green’s upcoming Halloween sees the return of several familiar elements from the classic 1978 original. For one thing, Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode for the first time since 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection. On top of that, director John Carpenter is also involved once more in the franchise, albeit on composing duties, and the original Michael Myers, Nick Castle, is back playing the old killer, if only in a quick cameo.
But while a lot from the first Halloween has been carried over to this forthcoming release, Castle can also single out one thing that was new on the set, and ironically enough, it was the pressure felt to live up to the original.
“The one thing that was absolutely, totally different, but so sweet, was how, not referential they were of doing something that was so important to so many people, but they understood the stakes involved, that they were mad fans of the original one. They loved not only my performance but they … which I loved … they loved my films. That made it very different and special.”
Indeed, Green has already gone on record stating his intentions to honor Carpenter’s 40-year-old series-starter. Plus, with Carpenter himself involved in the project, the legendary filmmaker was even able to provide a few pointers, with the completed picture ultimately earning his approval.
But beyond this reverence for the original, Castle stressed that the atmosphere on set for the new movie wasn’t all that different from what he experienced all those decades ago.
“Very much the same. First of all, the writers and the director and his crew seemed like the same age we were when we were doing it, early 30s. They were a family like [director John Carpenter’s] family, in terms of the movie crews that he was putting together by that time.”
Another element of the 1978 original that has seen a return to the franchise with this latest installment is good reviews, ensuring that anticipation is high for the upcoming Blumhouse picture. We’ll see if the new Halloween can live up to the hype and earn its place in this decades-spanning series when it hits theaters on October 19th.