Another Halloween film without the involvement of John Carpenter would almost certainly have been dismissed by critics and audiences.
As the creator, co-writer, director and composer behind the iconic 1978 original, Carpenter is rightfully regarded as the godfather to the franchise.
So when producer Jason Blum and co-writer and director David Gordon Green were assembling their cinematic troops for their sequel they immediately wanted both Carpenter’s approval and his involvement.
Carpenter gave them both, returning as the composer for “Halloween.” But during my discussion with the David Gordon Green I was keen to ask the filmmaker just how involved Carpenter actually was in production.
“He was great. Very supportive,” responded Green. “He is the godfather of what we are trying achieve. So I wanted to make sure that he approved of our narrative and our approach stylistically.”
“He would come to set and it was just amazing to sit there and talk through shots with him. He had some ideas on what to change in the script.”
Green then explained that Carpenter actually convinced him to “lift a scene that he was confident we didn’t need,” even though he “was very hesitant.”
Having done so, Green admitted, “I look at the end of the film and think, ‘It is so much better without that.’”
“We would have weekly Skype sessions when he was working on the music and I would show him cuts of the film,” Green continued. “It was a thrill as you can imagine.”
“Because I grew up with his films, watched them with my father, and he was there on set the day my dad came to say hey. It was a very surreal and gratifying moment for me.”
Andi Matichak, who stars in “Halloween” as Allyson Strode, also admitted that it was a thrill to have Carpenter back, before explaining why he made the original film just so special.
“We were so lucky to have John come back and do the soundtrack again. You look at how he directed the original, too. He built tension in such an incredible way.”
“He would draw out scenes and make you heart pound and belly sick he would do it in such a slow-burn way. The sequence of Michael as a 6-year-old just makes me sick thinking about it now.”
You can see if David Gordon Green succeeds in trying to replicate that approach now, as “Halloween” is finally in cinemas.
