Halloween Kills Director Reveals Why It’s Difficult to Film Michael Myers’ Mask

Halloween Kills is less than two weeks away from being released, which means horror fans are being treated to more and more content from the upcoming movie. We recently saw a sweet “Return to Haddonfield” featurette, which focused on the returning cast members from the original Halloween. Last night, Halloween Kills had its U.S. premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles, and director David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum took the stage after the film for a Q&A. They talked about everything from including easter eggs from previous movies to the challenges of rebooting such an iconic franchise. Green shared one surprising challenge while making Halloween Kills, and that’s getting the lighting right on Michael Myers’ mask. 

“In terms of the challenges, I feel like I’m usually very prepared for either the technical or the performance. And there’s always a curveball in one of the other of them, on every scene. So when you’re trying to juggle the reality of a kill scene, or making sure that the effect looks real, sometimes I get so caught up in that, that I neglect to give the actress attention, and performance attention. Or sometimes I come in so rehearsed that then the… How to shoot the gag so that the lighting is just right, or it’s hard to… The Michael Myers mask, it only works in certain angles and certain lighting environments. So sometimes you’ll get so caught up in dialogue that you’ll think, ‘Oh wait. But then the mask is not getting the love it needs by the lighting department.’ And so it’s just kind of juggling all of those technical… I mean, there’s no scene in this movie that’s just two people talking in a room. So it gets very challenging trying to figure out where to prioritize. Is it in the atmosphere, is it in the technical, is it in the emotional?,” Green shared.

During the conversation, Green also talked about what it was like working with Curtis on the new trilogy. 

“It’s amazing. I mean, a title like this is obviously very intimidating. And as, before the show, that provocative letter was exposed. But it was like a physical feeling because of what the original film meant to me in my childhood. And it disturbed the f*ck out of me. And I wanted to make sure that I did something that was appreciative of that heritage, but also had my own signature because I want that as well. And then having a collaboration of Jamie Lee, which is amazing, and a wonderful… As you saw on screen, and on stage, compelling force of nature. Charming, fun, motivational, brave. And John Carpenter who’s very challenging, and supportive, and inspiring in so many ways. And so having those legacy realities, with their voices in the mix, just made it a pleasure.”

Halloween Kills hits theaters and Peacock on October 15th.