John Carpenter Once Called This Horror Sequel “An Abomination and a Horrible Movie”
Ask any Halloween fan their franchise ranking and you’re liable to get thousands of different answers. Billions, really, if my middle school math was correct. While most franchise fans put John Carpenter’s original at the top of their rankings, how the remaining twelve movies fall is anyone’s guess. Some love the autumnal flair of Joe Chapelle’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers while others love David Gordon Green’s 2018 effort to modernize the franchise. The series is royalty among horror fans, even accounting for a fervent and passionate fan film base. Still, series creator John Carpenter has a ranking of his own. While he was most recently involved as both composer and Executive Producer for Green’s trilogy, he hasn’t been a fan of everything the series has done, especially in the case of Rick Rosenthal’s Halloween II. In fact, he kind of hates it.
Franchise fans likely know that, in its earliest stages, John Carpenter wanted nothing to do with a sequel to his slasher classic. He describes the writing process as “a lot of beer, sitting in front of a typewriter saying ‘What the fuck am I doing? I don’t know.” He wanted the franchise to end, and despite an early high-rise idea cooked up by him and writer Debra Hill, the Halloween II fans received looked nothing like what Carpenter had envisioned. He didn’t think there was much of a story left to tell, even less after Halloween II was released. Carpenter shared in an interview, “The Shape is dead. Pleasence’s character is dead, too, unfortunately.”
But that’s not all…
In a 1984 Cinema Showcase to promote Starman, John Carpenter had some harsh words for Halloween II. While remarking on how his producer’s side took over with Halloween II—he broadly gestures toward wanting to give younger directors opportunities, but really he wanted a check—he called the Myers sequel “an abomination and a horrible movie.” He would later add how director Rick Rosenthal didn’t have a feeling for the material, sharing, “I think that’s the problem, he didn’t have a feeling for what was going on.”
You can check out a clip of the interview below:
Rosenthal, for his part, would return to the franchise with Halloween: Resurrection, which probably doesn’t help his case since it’s widely considered the worst sequel in the franchise. Still, despite Carpenter’s objections, I really like Halloween II. It’s silly, and, yeah, the sibling angle remains one of the franchise’s worst decisions. But over time, it feels more like the organic extension of the original it was intended to be.
What do you think? Do you agree with John Carpenter? Where does Halloween II land on your personal ranking? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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