How would you characterize the Halloween series?
04-11-2011, 04:14 AM
When you think about it, it's not like most other franchises in the way its sequels flow, and not just because of "Season of the Witch."
What really separates it is that unlike F13, NOES or countless franchises which have descended into DTV installments, nearly every installment ends on a definite cliffhanger, and yet unlike Saw, a "new Halloween" is no "tradition," and is thus more "episodic" and less "serial."
In a way, new installments aren't really "expected," because unlike franchises wherein the killers usually end up (temporarily) dead or wherein the killers find some way to escape, the Halloween franchise seems less about the mortality of the killer and more about the fact that the boogeyman is always gonna get back up. It's as though Michael's rampages are just a fact of life, and what was witnessed during the rising action/climax of each film was something that simply has to be overcome at a certain "time of the year."
Take it as a metaphor for war perhaps, hell, tribulation of any kind. H20 played with that concept, I believe, having Laurie visibly tired of it and finally defeating it (until the much more "formulaic sequel" Resurrection).
To analyze
H1: The shape lives; could be taken as a sequel hook, but bear in mind sequels were not yet "all the rage". I find it more symbolic, and in fact, meaningful.
H2: The shape dies; John Carpenter wanted to end the storyline at this point, having Michael end up a force to be definitively overcome, or possibly just a madman in the end
Season of the Witch: One-off
H4: We see that Michael has survived despite what appeared to be mortal wounds; it seems in itself to rewrite the "meaning" of the films, shifting it more towards the tone of the first film. In the end, Michael seems to die, but his spirit lives on in his niece; hardly a traditional "sequel hook," but nonetheless open to limitless possibility
H5: Michael survives despite insane wounds in part 4, and is actually captured by the police in the end. Yet, he is set free, by arcane forces (conspiracy or something even more sinister? Audiences didn't know at the time); a clear cliffhanger, but far from what one would expect from a horror series
H6: The cult who controlled Michael are dead, and yet he survives, and is even more driven to kill than they apparently made him to be! Another cross between cliffhanger and definitive end, ala parts 1 and 4.
H20: A return to the tone of the first two films, and arguably a successful retcon, something not often occurring in horror franchises (sadly so, considering the complaints many fans have with Saw 3D, Freddy's Dead, Jason Takes Manhattan and many more). This idea adds to the Halloween series installments' episodic yet still stand-alone nature. The ending this time proves to be somewhat definitive, and to many represents a "turning point" in which Halloween went from it's unique flavor to a more generic final installment.
Resurrection: This is more akin to the Saw series (beginning) in which events clearly and directly lead to other events, and the F13 series (end), in which a killer's survival is less symbolic and more a "sequel hook"
This is less a debate this time around, and more just a casual discussion people can toss their ideas into... unless of course, someone really has a reason to disagree. In which case, fire away!
What really separates it is that unlike F13, NOES or countless franchises which have descended into DTV installments, nearly every installment ends on a definite cliffhanger, and yet unlike Saw, a "new Halloween" is no "tradition," and is thus more "episodic" and less "serial."
In a way, new installments aren't really "expected," because unlike franchises wherein the killers usually end up (temporarily) dead or wherein the killers find some way to escape, the Halloween franchise seems less about the mortality of the killer and more about the fact that the boogeyman is always gonna get back up. It's as though Michael's rampages are just a fact of life, and what was witnessed during the rising action/climax of each film was something that simply has to be overcome at a certain "time of the year."
Take it as a metaphor for war perhaps, hell, tribulation of any kind. H20 played with that concept, I believe, having Laurie visibly tired of it and finally defeating it (until the much more "formulaic sequel" Resurrection).
To analyze
H1: The shape lives; could be taken as a sequel hook, but bear in mind sequels were not yet "all the rage". I find it more symbolic, and in fact, meaningful.
H2: The shape dies; John Carpenter wanted to end the storyline at this point, having Michael end up a force to be definitively overcome, or possibly just a madman in the end
Season of the Witch: One-off
H4: We see that Michael has survived despite what appeared to be mortal wounds; it seems in itself to rewrite the "meaning" of the films, shifting it more towards the tone of the first film. In the end, Michael seems to die, but his spirit lives on in his niece; hardly a traditional "sequel hook," but nonetheless open to limitless possibility
H5: Michael survives despite insane wounds in part 4, and is actually captured by the police in the end. Yet, he is set free, by arcane forces (conspiracy or something even more sinister? Audiences didn't know at the time); a clear cliffhanger, but far from what one would expect from a horror series
H6: The cult who controlled Michael are dead, and yet he survives, and is even more driven to kill than they apparently made him to be! Another cross between cliffhanger and definitive end, ala parts 1 and 4.
H20: A return to the tone of the first two films, and arguably a successful retcon, something not often occurring in horror franchises (sadly so, considering the complaints many fans have with Saw 3D, Freddy's Dead, Jason Takes Manhattan and many more). This idea adds to the Halloween series installments' episodic yet still stand-alone nature. The ending this time proves to be somewhat definitive, and to many represents a "turning point" in which Halloween went from it's unique flavor to a more generic final installment.
Resurrection: This is more akin to the Saw series (beginning) in which events clearly and directly lead to other events, and the F13 series (end), in which a killer's survival is less symbolic and more a "sequel hook"
This is less a debate this time around, and more just a casual discussion people can toss their ideas into... unless of course, someone really has a reason to disagree. In which case, fire away!
âThe Fright Night remake is a film which taps into the audienceâs deepest rooted fears, such as those of vampires throwing motorcycles at them. I dread the thought of a vampire throwing a refrigerator or a deskjet printer or... Iâd better stop before I give myself nightmaresâ
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once again you have given me food for thought at a time my need for "sustinance" was reaching the critical point!