John Carpenter Says Halloween Kills Is “Brilliant”

Filmmaker John Carpenter co-created the original Halloween with the late Debra Hill, so when it comes to new entries into the franchise, he’s a tough audience to impress, with Carpenter recently confirming that he thinks the upcoming Halloween Kills is “brilliant.” While this is a promising seal of approval for the new sequel, Carpenter isn’t entirely an impartial observer, as he served as a producer on the new film and also crafted its score, but with the number of years he spent away from the franchise after its earliest installments, hearing his praise for a new installment will surely excite fans. Halloween Kills is slated to hit theaters on October 15th.

“It’s brilliant. It’s the ultimate slasher,” Carpenter confirmed with Entertainment Weekly. “I mean, there’s nothing more than this one. Wow! Man.”

Halloween Kills was originally slated to hit theaters last October, only for the coronavirus pandemic to see it delayed by a year. Based on these more recent comments, and other teases that Carpenter has made about the new film, it sounds as though the film will be worth the wait.

“It’s the quintessential slasher film,” Carpenter shared with the Fantasia Film Festival last summer. “It is so intense … oh, my God … it even stuns me how incredible it is. [Director] David [Gordon Green] just did a great job. Can’t wait to have you see it.”

Understandably, some fans might be apprehensive about Carpenter’s praise, given that he was involved in bringing it to life. However, he’s been quite vocal over the years about his disinterest in the overall concept and what happened in the wake of his original 1978 film.

Originally conceived under the title “The Babysitter Murders,” Carpenter co-wrote the film with Hill, yet the focal point of the franchise was never meant to be the masked Michael Myers. While the murderer is identified early and often in Halloween, the masked figure is even listed in the credits as “The Shape,” with the filmmakers leaning into the idea of the murderer being devoid of personality or identity.

When the film was a major success, the studio wanted to move forward with a sequel, as Carpenter and Hill reluctantly returned to craft the script, if only to kill off Michael Myers once and for all. With the next sequel, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, being devoid of Myers and being considered a financial failure, each subsequent film featured Myers and lacked any involvement from the franchise creators.

The 2018 Halloween marked Carpenter’s first return to the franchise since composing the score for Halloween III in 1982.

Halloween Kills hits theaters on October 15th.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!