Today is Halloween. That means there will be a lot of people binge watching scary movies, including the epic worldwide phenomenon of the same name started by horror master John Carpenter almost 40 years ago (a true cinematic hallmark). There is barely a movie buff or fanboy with a pulse that doesn’t know the name Michael Myers or The Shape.
But, four decades and 11 movies later, there are still some lingering mysteries and plot holes so big Michael (remember, he can drive despite being in an asylum for years) could drive a bus through them. Some are the subject of furious debate and others fans may overlook. What follows is five of the most glaring.
5. What happened to Laurie’s son from H20?
Josh Hartnett rose to fame as the son of Laurie Strode in Halloween H20 then disappeared. Photo/That Was A Bit Mental!
Portrayed by one-time heartthrob and horror leading man Josh Hartnett, John Tate was the son of penultimate Final Girl Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in the seventh installment. Long story short, she was on the run and wound up in a mental institution in the follow-up, Halloween: Resurrection. John shows up in a photo but no mention of him is made after that. Sure, Michael got what he wanted (spoiler) and eliminated his sister, but don’t you think he would have a vested interest in severing the rest of his bloodline? He went to great lengths to track Laurie and go after his niece before that. Then there is John Boy himself: not so much as a letter to your committed mom? Nice one, kid!
4. Speaking of kids, who was Jamie’s dad?
She thinks mommy’s dead and daddy is MIA. You’d be upset too. Photo/Hi-Def Digest
Halloween 4 picked up with Laurie’s daughter, Jamie (Danielle Harris), who was living with adoptive parents since mom was presumed dead. But, uh, what about her dad? Well, the fact is we don’t really know who he was. The producers never explicitly stated his identity. While it has been postulated Jamie’s father was Jimmy the paramedic from part 2 (played by Lance Guest), this is only a fan theory. And depending on which cut you watch, his survival at the end is in question.
3. What was all that Thorn business?
Halloween 6 gave Michael a reason for his nonstop killing: apparently it has to do with some ancient Irish curse, and Paul Rudd of all people figures it out. There’s talk of runes, family lineage, cults and ritual sacrifice; it’s all a bit much but interesting. The problem is there are two cuts of the film and depending on which one you watch you get a more thorough explanation of Thorn and more use of it as a twist. The version most audiences saw totally forgets about it at the climax. What’s more, before he died Moustapha Akkad swore he would never revisit the Thorn storyline. A satisfactory exploration of the idea still isn’t in the works… Say what you want, it’s better than a white horse…Rob!
This guy figured out the mystery behind Michael Myers…this guy! Photo/Screenrant
2. How do films 4-6 fit into the canon?
Thorn, orphan daughter, then came the H20 to wash it all away. Halloween H20 came out on the 20th anniversary of the original and started fresh, dovetailing directly with the second one. Script writer Kevin Williamson planned to connect all the dots but his ideas were cut from the final draft, making the three previous sequels a kind of spinoff (or just a very bad dream). Were they that bad? You would think they’d know that was a confusing move, regardless. Incidentally, it is an idea producers had in the mid-eighties, which leads us to number one.
1. What the heck is up with Halloween III?
“Where’s my pizza?!” Tom Atkins invoking his 30-minute guarantee in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. Photo/IMDb
None other, right? The most polarizing entry in the series at the time, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was intended as the beginning of a Myers-less new direction for the films as an anthology. Lukewarm reception put a stop to that and Michael was back for part 4. A misstep, but the film found acclaim in recent years, thanks in no small part to strong lead performances by Tom Atkins and John O’Herlihy and the very catchy Silver Shamrock jingle. But for all its merits it still left audiences with a lot of questions: what happened at the end? Was one broadcast enough to initiate Cochran’s (O’Herlihy) evil plan? Did Atkins stop him? What is the gain in turning the heads of trick-or-treaters into exploding masses of creepy crawlies? Why was that being done in the first place? What does it have to do with Stonehenge (and on and on)? You can understand why fans missed ol’ Mikey.
Those are our picks. Think we missed any? Leave a comment below, be sure to share, and happy Halloween.
