It’s Halloween … or well, it was Halloween! Whenever you’re reading this, either before or after All Hallows Eve, it really doesn’t matter. This tale of the cursed “Halloween” film that could have been will send chills down your spine at any time.
This terrible tale begins like most terrible tales do, with an interview on a podcast. The screenwriter of the pretty universally reviled “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” shared a horrendous pitch he had made for a then-hypothetical eighth installment to the franchise. The title to this sequel that never came was called “Halloween 8: Lord of the Dead.”
It’s a sick title, that’s for certain. And you know what, I’ll give props to “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” for at least admitting that Michael Myers is a supernatural being. I’m sorry, but you can’t just quote that one Loomis line about Myers being pure evil and then have him get shot, stabbed, and set on fire and then have the evil S.O.B. keep magically chugging along killing people. It’s just lazy writing is all. But, you know what, there are certainly worse alternatives.
One thing that would have set this canned “Halloween” apart from others was that this one would end on a twist. It seemed “The Sixth Sense” rubbed off on Curse of Mikey writer Daniel Farrands, as he explained in an interview with Bloody Disgusting, “The twist of my pitch was that, once the hell breaks loose and the murders began and we see all of this mayhem going on, with Tommy sort of taking on the role of Loomis, the big finale when they’re going to finally unmask Michael Myers reveals that the killer is actually Laurie Strode.” Dun-Dun-Duuuuuunnn!!! It’s Jamie Lee Curtis that’s been killing everyone! If only there was some sort of huge difference in height, weight, and gender between her and Michael Myers that could have clued us in.
I will admit, that would have been a twist, that is for certain. Would it have been a good twist? No … but depending on the execution, it could have maybe worked.
Would they have been able to pull it off? Judging by the quality of the “Halloween” films at the time, I’d also say … no, to that as well. It’s probably for the better that “Halloween: Lord of the Dead” never came to be. I would however keep that name around for the next round of reboots though.
