Introduction
Michael Myers is the main character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in 1978 in John Carpenter’s Halloween as a young boy who murders his elder sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he returns home to Haddonfield, Illinois, to murder more teenagers.
In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film and substituted by Tony Moran in the final scene where Michael’s face is revealed. The character was created by John Carpenter and has appeared in eleven films, as well as novels, multiple video games, and several comic books.
Biography
The character is the primary antagonist in the Halloween film series, except Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is not connected in continuity to the rest of the films. Since Castle, Moran, and Wallace put on the mask in the original film, six people have stepped into the same role. Castle, George P. Wilbur, Tyler Mane, and James Jude Courtney are the only actors to have portrayed Michael Myers more than once, with Mane and Courtney being the only actors to do so in consecutive films.
Michael Myers is characterized as pure evil, both directly in the films, by the filmmakers who created and developed the character over nine films, and by random participants in a survey. In the first two films, Michael wears a Captain Kirk mask that is painted white. The mask, which was made from a cast of William Shatner’s face, was originally used in the 1975 horror film The Devil’s Rain.
He is a remorseless, depraved and sadistic serial killer whose only goal is to cause chaos, pain and death upon innocent people whether they be men, woman, children of even his own family. He always makes sure to kill his victims in the most brutal and painful ways imaginable rarely ever giving his victims a quick death or showing them mercy.
Michael not only likes to physically harm his victims but will even mentally and physiologically torment them as well in multiple ways, like killing their loved ones in front of them or playing dark and disturbing pranks, a perfect example of this is when Michael puts on a ghost costume and glasses, making Lynda believe it’s her boyfriend, Bob. When her back is turned to make a phone call, he strangles her to death with the telephone line.
He has a absolute refusal to speak and his murders, which all happen on Halloween night, suggest that the night itself, or the sinister aspects of the holiday, play a part in his motivation. His murderous tendencies could be his own sick idea of how to celebrate Halloween. This indicates a somewhat childish mindset or, at the very least, an attempt to come across as even scarier to his victims. This ghost-like desire to haunt his victims and leave an impression on others on Halloween night indicates that his true obsession is with Halloween, itself.
Michael likes displaying his victims’ corpses in ritual-like presentations showing he has a sick sense of art like placing his sister’s tombstone over the recently killed Annie and after nailing Bob Simmons corpse on the wall with a knife as if his body were a poster he tilts his head admiring the gruesomeness of his murder.
Despite many believing that he has the mindset of an animal, Michael is in fact highly intelligent being able to outsmart and manipulate several people to his advantage for example he typically bides his time to stalk and sneak up on victims before killing them, and he leaves his victims on display for other potential victims to find before killing them as well.
Popular Culture
Michael Myers is heavily regarded as horror’s most iconic figure. He is notorious for igniting the slasher genre and inspiring many other killers most notably Jason Voorhees. Even now, he remains among if not the most popular fictional serial killer in horror history.
Another attribute to Michael’s popularity is that unlike other villains in real life and pop culture he has no tragic backstory that defines his character and makes him what he is today. He is aware of the difference between right and wrong, but he does not acknowledge it nor care. He simply kills for no other reason than to put an end to peace and this makes him purely the embodiment of evil.
Michael is one of the most intelligent horror movie villains as he tricks his victims as well as faces his adversaries pragmatically. He even showcases the ability to drive despite being locked up since he was six, although it’s left unclear how he gained this ability. Dr. Loomis believed that another inmate gave him lessons.
In the documentary “Halloween” Unmasked 2000 it is revealed that Michael almost had an entirely different face. The first mask considered was an Emmett Kelly clown mask that the crew had put frizzy red hair on. Ultimately, it was decided that the mask did not have the “creepy and unsettling atmosphere” they were looking for with Michael. The second mask considered was a modified James T. Kirk mask that had the eyes opened up and the skin painted white. After modification, this mask captured the blank and emotionless look they wanted.
15 Michael Myers Facts
For Fanboys and Fangirls who want to know all they can about this killing machine. We’ve put together a list of 15 facts fans probably don’t know about Michael Myers.
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