HADDONFIELD: The HALLOWEEN TV Series That Needs to Happen ASAP
As we are all more than aware at this point, Blumhouse has a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s classic Halloween headed our way this, you know, Halloween. We’re all excited about the new film here at Dread Central and so we have been trying to think of all the fun Halloween-related articles we could conjure. And one of my personal favorite ideas was how the powers that be could form a riveting TV series out of Carpenter’s original film!
The series would be called Haddonfield and would revolve around the town years before Michael Myers initially killed his sister Judith that one Halloween night. Think of it as Gotham or Smallville but, you know, with little Michael Myers and Haddonfield. This aspect of John Carpenter’s Halloween has been left vastly untold.
Sure, Rob Zombie’s Halloween also covered this topic, but let’s forget that happened. I don’t think a series based around a crazy, pet rat-killing white trash kid who grows up to be a killer is very interesting. However, a series based around the suspense of “How did the cute little blonde boy in the clown costume go crazy and kill his sister on such a bright, tree-lined lane?” is MUCH more my cup of tea. That’s the horror of John Carpenter’s Halloween, and that would be the underlining fear of this series. When will the Gilmore Girls-style settings turn into sinister shadows?
So if the series isn’t Michael Myers stalking and slashing, what is the day to day plot? The family. However, what do they face? The series would be about Haddonfield itself and how there have always been legends of an evil that stalks over the town. Moreover, the series would center around the Myers family and their relationship to the town of Haddonfield. Michael’s parents would also play a significant role in this series – and of course, Michael would too – but the show’s main character is Judith. It’s more of an ensemble with the parents and Judith being the main draw (think of it like the first season of FOX’s The Exorcist), but at least the first season’s main focus would be on Judith.
In the first season, we would follow Judith’s struggle with the darkness that eventually overtakes Michael. I think keeping the supernatural aspects extremely low-key would be the best way for this potential series to go. Basically, when we open with the Myer’s clan at the beginning of the series, they are the picture-perfect version of an all-American family – just like the Strodes were in John Carpenter’s Halloween. Judith Myers is a meek all-American girl with homework and secret crushes – just like Laurie Strode from Carpenter’s original film. You see where I’m going with this.
It all has to do with fate. Remember in the original film Laurie sits in class debating fate with her teacher as Michael watches her from across the street? That’s what we’re going for here; fate like history repeats itself. When we first meet Judith Myers she is like Laurie from the original movie. But with a little brother. All is going well for Judith until a masked killer breezes into town…
But before we get into that, let’s not forget about the show’s most important aspect, Michael Myers. In this take on the material, Michael would be nothing more than an innocent kid in the first – if not the first couple – seasons. Sam Loomis would eventually figure into the series but would enter into the happenings as, get this, Judith’s therapist. Loomis and Michael could meet. Loomis could say things like, he has the brightest light behind his eyes. As Judith’s darkness starts to subside, Loomis’ focus would start to shift towards Michael.
Now back to the masked killer. The first season would be this masked killer stalking Haddonfield, and it would be a murder-mystery of sorts. It all ties back to Judith and the Myers family, as once the killer enters the town and starts his (or her) reign of terror, Judith starts getting sicker, and crazier. However, over the course of the season, the killer is unmasked and arrested resulting slowly in Judith’s miraculous recovery. She starts to get better and it seems like everything is finally going well for her – until the season finale. In the season finale, the masked killer escapes Smith’s Grove and heads back to Haddonfield, you guessed it, on Halloween night. Thankfully, Loomis is there to kill the maniac and all is right in the world. But not quite. In a horrific turn of events, once that killer is dead, young Michael stops trick or treating and heads back home – where he knows Judith is all alone.
End of season one.
Season two could then be the town and the parents dealing with the fact that Michael “randomly” killed his sister. And speaking of sisters, we would keep the Laurie is Michael sister bit from Halloween 2, but when this tale begins momma Myers is not pregnant – even though that violates the timeline, it’s worth it. This new development would make for a killer ending to an episode. Imagine, the Myers parents are having friends over for dinner. Mama Myers isn’t feeling well and excuses herself. She goes to the bathroom and realizes she’s pregnant. She comes out and tells her husband and their guests – who are then revealed to be the Strodes.
To keep things interesting the series would be set in modern-day. After all, John Carpenter’s original film was set in modern day (at the time), and I think that preserving aspect is vital in keeping the dread and fear of the situation. Some people might think, Michael Myers could never be created nowadays with all the therapy and sessions we have at our disposal. However, therein lies the horror, no matter what decade Michael Myers was born in, he was always destined to become The Shape. But like we mentioned above, we would put this off. Michael’s transition into The Shape would be gradual over the course of the series.
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And there you have it. That’s our pitch on how to successfully turn John Carpenter’s Halloween into a TV series. What did you think of this article? Make sure to hit us up and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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