I have a 6-disc box set of the various cuts of the film, entitled Halloween 666- The Ultimate Set, which, in addition to a disc of bonus features and the soundtrack, features these additional four versions. There's the well-known "Producer's Cut" (which just had an official release a few years back on DVD/Blu-Ray), the "Producer's Cut- Workprint Version" (with unfinished FX, different dialogue, scenes and music), the "Director's Cut" (an uncensored version of the theatrical edit, also with a few minor additional scenes) and the "TV Version" (the edited-for-TV version, which features some integrated deleted scenes put back in to pad the running time).
For the purposes of this review, I will be focusing on the uncensored version of the theatrical cut, aka the "Director's Cut," and the "Producer's Cut," which, as most fans know, is the version that is truest to the screenwriter's initial script. Thus, this is the version that has the clearest plot-line, unlike the "Director's Cut," which plays so fast and loose with the material, it's often muddled and incoherent. If you hated the original version, I highly recommend checking this one out, as it is a different beast altogether.
With all that said, let's get started!
After the modest success of Halloween 4 & 5, executive producer Moustapha Akkad had every intention of launching right into a sixth entry, as evidenced by the cliffhanger ending of part five. However, the reception to that film wasn't entirely positive, which was reflected in the diminishing box office returns, so he decided to take his time with the follow-up, instead of rushing things as he did with H5.
In 1990, producer Ramsey Thomas hired screenwriter Daniel Farrands, an obsessive fan of the series, who took the job quite seriously, compiling journals in which he laid out the time-line of the series to date, along with a list of characters and relevant information. He even researched the runic symbol- aka the "Thorn" insignia- shown in H5 on both Michael and the Man in Black's forearm.
Farrands then hammered out a script, which was presented to Akkad, who didn't dislike what he saw, but had already sifted through multiple scripts at that point and wasn't entirely convinced of Farrands' planned direction for the series, which was far more involved than other entries. As you'll recall, Akkad's modus operandi for the series was to keep it simple, which Farrands' ideas were decidedly not.
Nonetheless, Farrands wanted to bridge the gap between the original two films and the fourth and fifth entries but, much to his chagrin, the screenwriter of the latter in particular. Michael Jacobs, admitted that they had basically just made things up as they went along, and had no real long-term ideas for what they had set up, particularly in regards to the Man in Black and the Thorn symbol.
As such, nothing if not ambitious, Farrands created an elaborate mythology that explained both of those things, and went so far as to tie it into the original films, via the Smith's Grove Sanitarium (which apparently acquired a basement cult altar room at some point, lol), where Michael had been interred in the first film, and employee Dr. Wynn (Mitchell Ryan in H6), a minor character from the first film, both of which became vitally important to his script, as Wynn became the Man in Black.
Farrands even, to a lesser extent, tied things into the novelization of the first film, by author Curtis Richards, which, as die-hard fans know, featured an extended prologue which delved into the origins of Halloween and how Michael came to be the personification of evil, much more so than any other film did until this one.
This latter part made its way into the finished film via the dialogue of Mrs. Blankenship (memorably played by Janice Knickrehm) with young Danny, with a little more cropping up in Tommy's monologue with Kara involving the rune symbols website. Incidentally, Mrs. Blankenship is a nod to the much-derided Halloween III, as it was a name mentioned in passing by Ellie, the main female character, as the last person to reportedly to meet with her father before his death.
This makes H6 also the first film to directly connect H3 to the series in such an overt way, the ad for the original Halloween in the movie notwithstanding, which was more of an in-joke. Indeed, Farrands said that they had planned to show H3 playing on TV at one point, as a sort of meta nod to the way that film treated the original Halloween. Obviously, it was touches like that which, like Alan B. McElroy before him, showed that Farrands was the man for the job and a true fan.
The problem with this was that the Weinstein brothers, particularly Harvey, who ran Miramax, was somewhat notorious for taking possession of the films he obtained and completely re-cutting them from the ground up if he was dissatisfied with them for any reason.
While technically it was his brother Bob who ran Dimension, the leg of Miramax dedicated to genre-oriented films and which was releasing H6, the final results have Harvey written all over them, and research bears this out.
First of all, the Weinsteins hired director Joe Chappelle for the project, who was pretty vocal about his derision for the Halloween series, and admitted to many of the cast and crew that he only took on the film as it was part of a three-picture deal he had in place with Miramax/Dimension. As his next two films, Phantoms and Takedown were indeed made with those studios, this seems to be verified- but it's hardly the only evidence.
In addition, Chappelle played fast and loose with the script, changing dialogue, rewriting scenes on the fly, and completely changing the ending at the last minute. The chaos was to such an extent that the cast and crew hardly knew what was going on at any given moment, helping to make the resulting film the mess it was in the end.
None of this was done with Farrands' input, and indeed, to this day he can't stress enough how different the final film was from his initial script, even with the revisions he did make at Akkad's behest, ten drafts of the script in all. Reportedly, Farrands' script was dark and moody and much more psychologically disturbing, so much so that it caused producer Thomas to have nightmares, which is why he hired Farrands in the first place.
In addition, it was this script that resulted in actor Donald Pleasence committing to the film in the first place. When Pleasence objected to all the changes Chappelle was making, Chappelle reacted by cutting his part down significantly, calling Loomis a "boring character."
As if this all weren't bad enough, actress Danielle Harris, who originated the Jamie character, but was only seventeen at the time of filming, was told to get legal emancipation at her own expense in order to secure the role (so that she could work longer hours and not have to break for on-set schooling). After doing so, she was then told by the filmmakers who had suggested it that they would not be paying her a fee comparable to what she had spent in order to do the film in the first place!
That said, it wasn't just the financial situation that caused Harris to ultimately turn down the role- it was the nature of what they did with it in the first place. In the film, the main conceit is that Jamie was kidnapped at the jail at the end of H5, then held hostage by the so-called "Cult of Thorn," who later on, have Michael Myers impregnate Jamie!
Among the many issues with this, beyond the obvious- Michael as a rapist, impregnating his own niece- not helping matters was the age issue. In H5, Loomis clearly states that Jamie is nine years old, in the exchange with her about the stolen child's coffin. That was 1989. The sixth film takes place in 1995, which would make Jamie all of 15 or 16, depending on her birth date, which is never stated in the series, beyond her being born in 1980.
As such, this would make Michael not only a rapist of a family member, which is bad enough, but a pedophile as well. Talk about piling on! Not that serial killers should be moralistic, necessarily- it kind of comes with the territory of being evil, obviously- but this was a bridge too far for most fans, who were horrified with the development. It also sealed the non-deal for Harris, who likewise was appalled by the plot twist and turned the filmmakers down flat, between that and the pay issues.
Even after all that, showing what a class act she was and is, Harris went out of her way to befriend actress J.C. Brandy, who took over Jamie role in her wake, after she heard that Brandy was treated shabbily by some of the crew. Apparently, they understandably resented the fact that Harris had been replaced in such an unseemly way, through no fault of Brandy's own.
The issues hardly ended there. Actress Marianne Hagen (who would go on to co-star with Danielle Harris in Stake Land) said she nearly wasn't cast because the executives at Miramax- including Harvey Weinstein, no doubt- weren't keen on her physical appearance, calling her too thin and her chin too pointy! (Weinstein's certainly one to talk about physical appearances.)
Farrands liked her, though, and fought for her and Hagen eventually nabbed the role. The end result is easily one of the franchise's strongest heroines- a fierce mom that fights for her child's safety, even if it means facing down Michael Myers himself, all the while dealing with an actively unpleasant home life that includes an abusive father that hits her to the point of drawing blood.
Worth a mention is that, on the other hand, actress Denise Richards, who tried out for the Beth role, was rejected for being "all boobs." On the bonus features in the box set I have, you can literally hear the casting directors snickering and saying mean things behind her back, just as soon as she walks out the door, so this is not just an unverified IMDB factoid.
Instead, it plays more like a combination of one of those skeezy porn audition videos and evidence of a #metoo incident in action. At one point, someone says something to Richards to the effect of: "All acts between a man and a woman, whether it's a boyfriend and girlfriend or a father and daughter... are acts of seduction." Ick. All this, and Richards still had Charlie Sheen waiting around the corner. Poor girl can't catch a break!
The role went instead went to Mariah O'Brien (The Mod Squad). Fun fact: O'Brien was the cover model for several album covers, including Alice in Chains' classic Dirt (see above for an alt. take) and a satirical one from faux metal band Spinal Tap called Bitch School (you'll have to Google that one, as it's questionable, lol). Given the end results of this film, maybe Richards dodged a bullet, as it didn't lead to much for O'Brien- although she did end up marrying actor Giovanni Ribisi for a while.
Finally, so antagonistic was the relationship between the director and the producers and Miramax in general, in fact, that many of the crew members, some of whom had been working on the franchise for years, vowed to never do so again. It was the studio who insisted on extensive re-shoots after the original cut of the film tested poorly. (That would be the later-lauded "Producer's Cut.")
This is why the ending was completely re-written from the ground up, without Farrands' input, by Chappelle and one of the producers, Paul Freeman, who did so literally on-set as they were shooting it, leaving most everyone confused as to what was going on. Oftentimes, Chappelle would send them home if they complained too much about what they were supposed to be doing and do it himself.
To make matters worse, actor Pleasence had died in the interim, meaning that they had to "shoot around him," rendering the final result all but incomprehensible, getting rid of a lot of the cult stuff in favor of some weird science, would-be Cronenbergian-style nonsense that just confused audiences even more. To add insult to injury, a good twenty minutes of the main film was heavily edited out as well.
This version didn't fare any better than the "Producer's Cut," eliciting boos at the screening Danielle Harris' mother attended, when Harris refused to go herself, but was curious about the final result. Mom assured her she was better off turning down this one. Most fans hate it with a fiery passion, though even the fans of the "Producer's Cut" allow it's a heavily-flawed film.
Halloween 6 ended up grossing about $15 million on a $5 million budget- not a bad return investment, but it was pummeled by critics and fans alike as the worst entry in the series to date. To this day, it only holds a 6% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is, for the record, far and away the lowest in the series, and that's including Rob Zombie's divisive two movies, the dreaded Halloween: Resurrection and the much-ballyhooed Halloween III, which doesn't even feature Michael Myers!
To be fair, the "Producer's Cut" is indeed the far superior cut of the film and a marked improvement on the atrocity unleashed in theaters back in 1995. It makes more sense, for better or worse, and features more of Donald Pleasence- and is just plain a better movie.
This is why test screenings are a flawed way to deal with movies studios are unsure of- it's too limited a swath of people to be a fair process. In this case, lead actress Hagen says it consisted primarily of 14-year-old boys- hardly the best judges of anything.
That said, the original cut does have a few things going for it. The score by composer Alan Howarth is a marked improvement over his last two, featuring a radical departure from previous efforts, even incorporating live guitar, drums, and radical percussion. The score's version of the theme is a particularly cool rendition. Of all of his scores sans Carpenter (which would eliminate H2 & 3), it's far and away the best and most inventive, and well-worth seeking out. (You can listen to it here.)
In addition, the film marks the motion picture debut of, of all people, comedic actor Paul Rudd, who would hit the big time with Clueless that same year, followed by much success in his efforts with writer/producer Judd Apatow, such as The Forty-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and This is Forty. Granted, he doesn't get much of a showcase here, but it's still fun to see him looking so young, fresh-faced and oh-so-serious in his big movie break.
I also like writer Farrands' many allusions to the prior entries in the series. Rudd plays Tommy Doyle, who was one of the kids that Laurie babysat in the original that also survived Michael's wrath. Hagen plays Kara Strode, the daughter of John (Bradford English, Wolf), who is the brother of Laurie's adoptive father in the original. John moves his family into the infamous Myers house after his brother is unable to sell it- unbeknownst to his kids, who find out the hard way.
The house itself is slightly better-looking than the one in the previous entry, in terms of its looking more like the original, but still no great shakes. John and his wife, Debra (Kim Darby, Better Off Dead) are, of course, named after John Carpenter and Debra Hill. When Kara's son, Danny (Devin Gardner) first runs into Tommy, he drops his pumpkin, just as Tommy himself did in the original. And so on. You get the idea.
I'd be lying if I said the theatrical cut didn't pale in comparison to the "Producer's Cut," but it is worth seeing both at least once, if only to determine which you prefer- if either. To me, the theatrical cut is oft-hard to follow; the quick-cut, MTV-style editing is annoying AF, and to cut Pleasence out of the film as much as Chappelle did is pretty unforgivable, especially as it was his last turn in the role- to say nothing of his calling Loomis "boring."
As such, on the rare occasions I do watch it, it's the "Producer's Cut" all the way for me. It has the famous old-school music all throughout (though, as I said, I do enjoy Howarth's new score for it in the director's cut, as well as the solid rock tunes from Alabama's own Brother Cane), Pleasence's presence is much more prominent and it's just plain easier to follow. It's just a better movie all around, such as it is, even if Farrands himself says neither of the films bear much resemblance to his original script. Oh well.
On the plus side, Farrands went on to write and produce some fantastic horror and horror-adjacent projects that I can highly recommend, unlike this film. They include 2 episodes of History's Mysteries- one about the Amityville murders and the other about the famous haunting (or lack thereof) and his co-writing the script for the film version of Jack Ketchum's classic horror novel, The Girl Next Door.
He also wrote, produced and directed the excellent horror franchise docs, Never Sleep Again (about Nightmare on Elm Street) and His Name is Jason and Crystal Lake Memories (about Friday the 13th), as well as made many other featurettes about various horror flicks, typically featured on their respective DVDs/Blu-Rays.
Although I'm no huge fan of director Chappelle, I did moderately enjoy his Dean Koontz adaptation, Phantoms (though I can't think of it without remembering the immortal Jason Mewes line: "Affleck! You the bomb in Phantoms, yo!" from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) and he produced and directed several shows I was a big fan of, including The Wire, CSI: Miami and Fringe, so credit where credit's due, I guess. Maybe he's become less of an ass in recent years. One can only hope.
As ever, a lot comes down to the effectiveness of the Michael Myers character. Here, the mask edges ever-closer to the feel of the original, but it's still a good bit off, alas. To make matters worse, the actor playing The Shape, George P. Wilbur, was replaced for the re-shoots by A. Michael Lerner, after the former was deemed too "bulky." As such, Michael's weight fluctuates throughout the film, making for some unintentional humor for those paying attention. Needless to say, this does not help matters.
On the plus side, there are some solid kills, especially if you can get a hold of the uncensored "Director's Cut." Almost worth the price of admission are a trio of gore-tastic scenes, including a much-gorier demise for Jamie, who is impaled on a tractor or something like that early on in the film (in the "Producer's Cut," she survives Michael's attack, only to be killed in the hospital by the Man in Black).
The death of John Strode is pretty awe-inspiring, as, after Michael pushes him into the electrical grid in the basement, Strode's head explodes! But the most spectacular of them all is a scene near the end, where Michael slaughters a group of doctors doing something or the other, and one gets away, running down a tunnel, only to be trapped by Tommy, when he closes the jail cell-like gate behind him, as he, Kara and Danny also flee Myers.
Myers then pushes the doctor's face THROUGH the bars of the jail cell, where it sifts to the ground in pieces, almost like one of those Play-Doh grinder things- but this ain't Play-Doh that comes through! It's phenomenal, and taken together, they almost justify re-watching the entire film again. Almost. (Sorry, I couldn't find the last one on YouTube.)
Still, as many have complained, the original Halloween didn't need graphic deaths to be scary, so one can rightfully complain that this entry joins Rob Zombie's in being the most needlessly violent and disgusting, especially in terms of the rape/incest/pedophilia subplot, which even Zombie's can't top, in terms of offending any sane viewer.
Incidentally, in Farrands' original script, it was the Man in Black, Dr. Wynn, who impregnated Jamie, not Michael, as even Farrands saw that as too far-fetched, to say nothing of gross. He also wanted the cult to be mundane, a la Rosemary's Baby, not full-on "Temple of Doom," as he dismissively called the final result.
Also, though not made clear in the film, the idea was for Michael to kill his last relation- Jamie's baby- and then for his evil to be passed on to another family in a cult incantation. Once all his bloodline was dead, then Michael himself could die.
In this case, the plan was to transfer the evil to Danny, Kara's daughter, which is why he hears voices telling him to "kill" throughout the film. In the original script, the film ended with Danny attacking his own mother, a la Jamie at the end of H4.
Dr. Loomis would then be charged with looking after this new incarnation of evil (Danny) and keeping him in line- hence his getting the "mark of Thorn" on his wrist at the end of the film, which indicates he's the new cult leader. I assume that all of this succeeding would have led to Michael's death, but Jamie's baby lives, so Michael is never vulnerable to death himself, hence his remaining "immortal."
Dr. Wynn wanted to do all of this to free himself from being the cult leader, and to do so, he needed to transfer the evil to another family, but he needed Michael present to do so, hence using the baby as a lure. I think.
Of course, this doesn't entirely explain why Jamie needed to have a baby in the first place- after all, killing her would have ended the bloodline, right? And transferring Michael's evil into the baby would have kept it in his own family tree, so that doesn't make sense, either. Who knows.
I think maybe it had something to do with spilling the blood of the innocent (aka the baby) in order for the transfer to work.
Needless to say, all of this led to some much confusion, made even worse by the multiple cuts of the film, so producer Akkad eventually decided the plot-line should be dropped altogether for the next film, and who can blame him?
Besides, as it turns out, with the loss of series mainstay Pleasence, there would be a gain in the next entry with the triumphant return of none other than OG Final Girl Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween: H20, which certainly warranted a reboot that was back to basics. So, bid a fond adieu to the whole "Cult of Thorn" thing- for some, it will be good riddance.
So, as most of you know, I will be back-tracking in the series next, in anticipation of the new installment of the franchise, another back-to-basics move on the part of the producers, which now includes Moustapha Akkad's son Malek, Jamie Lee Curtis and the return to the franchise of none other than the man himself, John Carpenter.
Given that the new one ignores all the sequels and takes place directly after the first one, it seems appropriate to take things back to the beginning before proceeding onward with the others we haven't tackled in the series.
I'll be doing the original Halloween next, followed by an all-new review of the new one, then it's back to the series, with the original Halloween II, then H2O and Resurrection, before I bring it all home with Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
So, join me later this week for the original, the classic Halloween!
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