‘Halloween’: 40 years of the Boogeyman

Halloween II (2009)

Rob Zombie originally didn’t want to do a sequel. He had, reportedly, expended himself, creatively and mentally, on his 2007 remake. Executive producer Malek Akkad confirmed a sequel was in the works, and in November 2008, french filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (2007’s Inside) were slotted to helm the new film. At the time, Akkad was eyeing a more traditional follow-up and sought out various writers to pen the script.

But by December 2008, Zombie and changed his mind and signed on to return to the franchise. With his version for Halloween II, he steered far away from conventions, feeling unchained by John Carpenter’s playbook and ventured into predominantly uncharted territory. Tyler Mane returned as the raging, blood-thirsty Michael Myers, with Scout Taylor-Compton reprising Laurie Strode, who finds herself lost in PTSD and growing psychosis, an element further explored through Myers’ visions of his mother and younger self.

“I was excited to get more comfortable in the emotions of it all and see how far I could go. I had a director that could allow me to push myself and trust what I was doing. It was cool to trust myself, too, in what I saw in my voice,” says Taylor-Compton, whose work in Halloween II is a tragic illustration of what real-life trauma victims must endure, even after the abuse is far behind them. “Working with all the iconic people was also a blessing. I was able to realize how my craft was on the caliber of these people, and they’re so awesome. I was able to learn from them, too.”

The cast featured such heavy-weights as Margot Kidder (as Laurie’s psychiatrist, Dr. Barbara Collier), Caroline Williams (most known for playing Stretch in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series) as Dr. Maple and Octavia Spencer (The Help, Gifted, Hidden Figures) as Nurse Daniels. Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Loomis), Danielle Harris (Annie Brackett) and Brad Dourif (Sheriff Brackett) returned and were joined by newcomers Brea Grant (Mya Rockwell), Harley David (Angela Trimbur) and Mary Birdsong (Nancy McDonald, Loomis’ publicist). Chris Hardwick (of The Talking Dead) and satire pop artist Weird Al Yankovic appeared in brief cameos.

While Sheri Moon Zombie made a return as Michael Myers’ mother, appearing in reality-bending fantasies, Daeg Faerch’s young Michael Myers was recast with Chase Wright Vanek. “I guess the few inches I had gained were not suitable for that role,” says Faerch. “It’s all good, because I’m more than thrilled for the part I delivered in the first one. I’m the young Michael Myers that showed you why you should feel bad for him. I did my part, so that’s totally fine.”

Halloween II began filming in February 2009 and saw the production shift to outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The change in location allowed Zombie to explore what he called an “ultra gritty, ultra intense and very real” atmosphere and story. “I truly believe Rob is a gutsy revolutionary. My fave Zombie offering is ‘Lords of Salem,’ but his reimagining of the ‘Halloween’ franchise took a lot of chances and delivered. He’s completely unafraid to let his imagination take him wherever it wants to go,” says Williams. “Despite the brevity of my role, I got to improvise with Octavia Spencer, one of the more notable experiences of my career. Rob trusted us to construct our own scene and chose the bits and pieces that he wanted to use. That’s confidence.”

She continues, “[The film] is gritty realism. The first ‘Halloween’ remake that Rob created was like Bedford Falls (the small town from ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’) being invaded by a monster. The second was a look at what Pottersville would have looked like through the same lens.”

Grant, known for her work on Heroes, Dexter and Best Friends Forever, takes a second to catch her breath on her legacy in horror and passage of time since her work in Halloween II. “All at once, it feels like it’s been 10 years, and other times, it feels like it was yesterday. It’s that weird thing where time doesn’t exist,” she says. “There’s a part of me that wants people to look back and think of me as the Barbara Crampton. When I choose what I’m wanting to do, I definitely lean into this genre. I’m not looking to be the #1 Scream Queen, but I want to be associated with horror and science fiction. That’s what I like to watch and am interested in. I can’t imagine doing anything else as a passion.”

With credits including The Descendents, Scream Queens and The Knick, Birdsong admits to not being much of a “horror aficionado because I’m too much of a baby,” she says, with a laugh. “I’m so impressionable that it freaks me out. I’m grateful that I got to work with Malcolm McDowell. I have now worked with him a total of three or four times. He was so delightful. It’s such a treat whenever I find out I’m playing opposite him. Rob was such a love.”

She continues, “I bought myself a pair of patriotic glasses once at some rest stop. Malcolm and I were shooting in the back of a limo while it was driving. Rob was in there with us, off camera. Rob bought me a confederate flag license plate. [laughs] I’m not sure what made him think I’d appreciate that, but I still have it somewhere. He was very warm and let us improv a lot. If I remember correctly, Malcolm wasn’t really expecting that. He was a little timid at first, but he was just like a kid in a candy store. He loved it.”

Halloween II opened August 28, 2009 and grossed $16.3 million opening weekend. Its total rose to $33 million, domestically. The film’s current Rotten Tomatoes score is 20%.

Below, Scout Taylor-Compton muses on PTSD and digging her teeth into such darker territory, alongside insight from horror icon Dee Wallace. Caroline Williams, Brea Grant and Mary Birdsong discuss their roles and the gritty nature of Zombie’s twisted reality.

The Audition

Grant: It was just me and the casting director. Rob was already on location. What is weird about horror movies is sometimes when you audition, they make you do the scares. I remember watching a lot of Rob’s stuff before I went in and thinking that it was much more subtle. My character in ‘Heroes’ was very broad, and she was very animated. I’m a very animated person.

So, I went in with that in mind and knowing I had to play much more realistic. I did that, but I wasn’t sure how it went. My manager at the time relentlessly followed up trying to get me the role. [laughs] I really do credit him with calling them so much that I eventually got it.

Birdsong: It was one of those things where I’m not sure if they already had an A-list actress or what the case was, but it could have just been a case where they were auditioning the supporting parts late into the game and into production. I just went to a casting director’s office, and they put me on tape. I feel like a couple months or so had passed, and I had totally forgotten about it. It had been that long. It just wasn’t on my radar.

Usually, after an audition, if I thought it would be something I’d like to really do, I might for a few days think, “Oh, I wonder if they’ve heard anything yet…” But as an actress, in general, you try to forget as soon as you leave the room about the possibility of being cast in something. Otherwise, you’ll just spend your life miserable and disappointed. [laughs] You show up, do it and let it go, so if it does happen, it’s a wonderful surprise. When I was told I was cast, it was really last minute. It could have just been scheduling, too, like when they were shooting what scenes and how the movie was boarded.

It was shot in Georgia, and it was a really tough time to get to do it. I flew with my niece from the east coast to California, so that she could go to the premiere of a movie I did called ‘Adventureland.’ She was obsessed with ‘Twilight’ and Kristen Stewart, who was in that movie. It was this big deal. I had to figure out a way to be able to do the movie and yet not just abandon my niece. [laughs]

As luck would have it, her father happened to be in Los Angeles for a medical conference, so he was able to step in and go to the premiere with her. It’s tough when you’ve got family. Luckily, I have a really great family and sisters who have come to realize my career and that something might come up. It’s so feast or famine. So, when the roles do come along, it’s hard to say no.

First Day Onset

Grant: I think my first day onset was in the coffee shop and the scene when we’re all dancing around. They brought us out early, and we did rehearsals. I had fake tattoos in that moment, and you don’t ever see them because I’m wearing long sleeves the whole time.

It ended up being really cold when we were shooting. There was a freak snow storm, so I’m wearing sleeves the entire movie. But I had tattoos across my knuckles. One of them said “Vegan,” I remember. I was vegan at the time. My death scene was one of my last days.

The bookstore scene, which takes place on Halloween day, is a minor plot point but one which drives home the exact state of mind of Dr. Loomis, now writing books about Michael Myers’ 2007 murders, and his relationship with his publicist. Lynda van der Klok’s father approaches Loomis as he’s signing books, and his anger is palpable. He then whips out a gun on Loomis, hoping to make him pay for his role in the previous events.

Birdsong: The scene in the bookstore might have been one of the first, if not the first, scenes I shot. That was one of those scenes where it involved a lot of people. I remember the street corner where the bookstore was. If memory serves, the holding area they had for us was really dingy. [laughs] It was some dark closet in a back room. I remember feeling nervous. Nobody really knows who you are yet. You haven’t been there bonding with the core cast. So, it kind of feels like you’re the new kid in school, and you’re in the cafeteria wearing the wrong jeans.

You’re just looking for somebody to say, “Hey, you can sit here.” When I’m in that situation, where everybody else has been shooting for a couple months already and then you’re added to the mix, and you feel like it’s all private jokes you’re not in on (not because anybody is being rude). It’s always a tricky thing. On those first few days on a set, you want to be friendly and sociable, but I try to keep my head down and listen a lot.

I try to be more business minded and want to do, technically, what the director or DP wants, especially when a lot is happening. They have to direct the extras, as well, and timing is really important ⏤ of when you duck behind this bookshelf. You have to do it so you don’t have your shoe showing in this shot. It’s all of those weird things they don’t teach you in acting school. They may now, but back then, all my training was theatre. Still to this day, I remain very ignorant of all the continuity and technical stuff. I still feel like I’m performing at some summer stock. It forces me to really focus and pay attention.

After a couple days, you get the flow and vibe of the place. Every set has a personality. It’s usually from the director on down, and I just love Rob. He’s so smart and creative and takes what he does really seriously, but he’s also under no illusions that we’re curing cancer, which I find so refreshing in this business. He has a sense of humor about it. He’s very chill in his demeanor. He’s relaxed, so you relax.

The Rural South

Birdsong: We were in a very small town in Georgia. Some of the time, we were in Atlanta. If memory serves, we were in a small town called [Decatur]. Literally, the whole town was like, “Hey, ya’ll, we got a Japanese restaurant. Go check ‘er out!” [laughs] I remember I was trying to go somewhere and wound up in somebody’s backyard with a couple of goats just staring at me. They were very nice people, but it had a bit of a ‘Deliverance’ vibe.

It was one of those situations where I may have only shot for three or four days, but it was spread out over a couple weeks. There’d be long stretches where we were in Atlanta and wasn’t needed on a couple days. So, it was like, “I guess I’ll go…to Target…” [laughs] A lot of actors can relate to this, I’m sure, where you’re in the middle of someplace and don’t know anybody, and you don’t know the town. I enjoy that, though.

Breathing Life into the Role

Throughout the film, Nancy McDonald wrestles with her integrity and supporting Dr. Loomis’ career. Her character taps into the struggle she’s experienced in the many years of her career in the entertainment industry.

Birdsong: I wanted to bring a sense of feeling compromised and “can I look myself in the mirror tomorrow morning?” I think she had an OK time, like a little bit of a struggle with some of the sleazier gigs she’s had to do and some of the ass she’s had to kiss. Based on the backstory of it all and how people were so destroyed, she really just reaches a tipping point where she’s like, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t feel OK with this…” Even her, who has had to do some smarmy showbiz things in promoting him, she’s done.

I think that’s something so many of us can relate to. I was just saying to a friend, even in the acting world, auditioning for parts and all the hoops you have to jump through and how different it is now for me. I’m now 50 years old. When I was 25, I used to think, “I’m really going for it. I’m not going to let anything hold me back. Do whatever it takes.” Now, I’m like, “That feels humiliating, so…” [laughs] It’s just a different experience in the business when you’ve been doing it for awhile.

Improvisation

It’s a well-known fact that Rob Zombie gives his actors plenty of breathing room onset to play around with their characters and flesh out their personality traits, backstory and motivations.

Grant: I had come up with a backstory, and Rob was really into it ⏤ that Mya wanted to go to art school and had all this ambition to get out of Haddonfield. I had a lot to rely on. There are all these scenes at this giant party, and we’re all talking to each other. That was all improvisation, and then, you have someone like Angela Trimbur, who is a comedic genius. She’d always walk in with something really funny and really ridiculous. She was super great at improv and really opened us up to try even more.

Birdsong: The script was already great, as far as the relationship of Nancy and Loomis goes. But it just went to another level when they let us play a little bit. Malcolm was just mean, browbeating me. I liked that his character was a diva in that way, just using his publicist as a punching bag. He was wonderful…and a shameless flirt, I might add. [laughs]

The Hospital

The first 15 minutes or so stand predominantly alone as a nightmare sequence of Laurie Strode. Set in a hospital, it condenses the plot of the original Halloween II (1981) into a far bloodier rampage. We see a very injured Laurie Strode wheeled into the hospital, and she’s quickly stitched up and bandaged. Octavia Spencer and Caroline Williams anchor the staff of nurses and paramedics, but their brief stay in the franchise is a memorable one, indeed.

Williams: Rob sent us into a room with a videographer, and we simply had the opportunity to play. Such fun for an actor and so rewarding given what was to come for Octavia. Very quick, smart, funny, giving. A terrific experience.

We are both Southern girls. She grew up in Alabama, and I spent part of my childhood in Mississippi. We both drew on that common thread to come up with our inspirations and the rhythms of our speech.

Taylor-Compton: It took a couple hours to do that makeup [for my injuries]. You have the makeup person Douglas [Noe] and the special effects guy named Wayne [Toth]. They were very detailed. Honestly, it takes double the time to take off. So, it was a pretty long day when you have things like that to do.

Broken from the Inside Out

Laurie Strode has been through unimaginable tragedy. Now, she must make an attempt at a happy existence as best she can. Throughout the film, she begins to unravel completely, and eventually, there’s no turning back.

Taylor-Compton: Rob just trusts you. When we were doing some of the emotional scenes, he’d let you know things he’d want to add on or continue in the scene. We didn’t really prep. It was more of feeling things out. The only thing that got to me is when I saw the finished product, a lot of the stuff was added on and out of sequence.

When things were edited in and put in a different spot, it felt so up and down. I guess I do understand that when someone is dealing with something like that, it is up and down constantly. I know they were trying to show that.

As an actor, you always wish you would have known how things would be pieced together. This movie was a lot more exhausting for me than the first one, for sure. In dealing with trauma, you have to put yourself in her shoes. You have to think that if that were to happen, I don’t know anyone that would be content and OK. Everyone in her life is gone, except for two people. I couldn’t even imagine going through something like that.

I think people are always wondering, “Well, why was she so angry?” It’s like, “How would you be?!” I can’t even relate to what Laurie has gone through, but even talking about that as a real person, I would lose my mind and myself. She didn’t know who she was anymore or had any idea who she was her entire life. It’s so overwhelming. That’s what Rob wanted the audience to feel.

Laurie & Annie’s Recovery: A Volatile Mix

Having both endured a night of true terror in Rob Zombie’s Halloween, both characters display drastically different ways of coping with their brokenness. Their relationship together has seen a monumental shift, and they may never be the same again. Annie is seemingly holding everything together, but Laurie is a time bomb that goes off more and more frequently as the film wears on.

Taylor-Compton: You think that some person after trauma might connect with that person and want to hold on to them. But sometimes, that’s not the case. If you feel like you’re at fault with someone getting hurt, you blame yourself constantly. So, being in the presence of that would be a reminder. Literally, every time she looks at Annie’s face, it’s a reminder of it all. It’s hard for someone not to blame themselves.

Evolution of Trauma

What Zombie’s Halloween II does so brilliantly is explore PTSD and trauma survivors. But Laurie’s story has evolved into something far bigger than just her own. In the current condition of the world, we, as a society, try to process, cope and move forward in sometimes polarizing ways. Williams, Wallace, Grant, Birdsong and Taylor-Compton consider the implications of the film’s themes to today’s climate.

Williams: I think it’s such an open rhetorical gambit in society today, one cannot escape it!

Wallace: A lot of horror films don’t hit you in the face with it. But what they’re really allowing the audience to do is experience worse traumas than anyone else in the audience. We all live in our victim hoods, and it’s freedom to see people on screen getting through being able to survive worse things than we have. They’ve done a lot of studies about the fact that young children want to watch the scary parts in Disney movies, because they practice handling their fear with mommy and daddy in a safe place. We’re doing the same thing as adults when we go in to see a horror film.

Grant: I think I was still on ‘Heros’ when I got the script. I remember I went to visit my mother, and I was sitting in her house reading a Rob Zombie script. Talk about an actor’s dream. I remember thinking, “What a crazy, interesting take on the truth.” If something like this happened, where would you be years later? You would have a lot of trauma.

I loved Scout’s performance and character exploration, and it’s a really interesting take on what would have really happened with Laurie. It’s not what you expect from a horror movie, but it was such a cool way to explore the franchise. Even 10 years later, we know so much more about PTSD than we did then. If you see your friends killed, you’d have a lot of mental health issues.

Taylor-Compton: We’re all different, but I’m definitely the kind of person that hides things. I hide and don’t like to show very much, so when it builds up, it’s a freaking tornado. I’m standing out here in the courtyard and watching everyone, and they’re all on their phones. Everyone is dealing with things. Everyone is dealing with an issue right now ⏤ that everyone could scream at the top of their lungs.

As humans, we’ve been designed to shelter ourselves and build these hard armors around ourselves to what we show strangers. I just got back from Burning Man, and there was such a sense of community and love. And there was no insecurity of anything, and it all melted away for me from the first night I was there. I wish everyone in the world was like, “This is how we could be. We could just be so loving and supportive of each other, whether I know you or not…” It was so powerful. I think we wouldn’t be so angry and sad all the time.

Birdsong: Now more than ever, we are all in Laurie’s shoes. Whether we are a vet returning home from a battlefield off in the Middle East that has PTSD or we are a parent who had a child that was injured or killed by guns, we’re all walking around in a state of various levels of PTSD. It’s not eventful that someone has PTSD anymore. It’s like, “Where are you on the dial?” They talk about autism or asperger’s ⏤ “Oh, is he on the spectrum?” ⏤ and I think there is a spectrum of trauma that chips away at us in little bits.

We can’t stop and scream our heads off and run through a field to save our lives. It’s not like that sort of live or die, or fight or flight situation. It’s all teeny tiny bits, and we, unlike her, don’t get to release our feelings like that. We feel like that in moments. But we have to keep pushing it down because we have to go to the grocery story and go to our jobs. It’s a chance for us to get to scream and heal through her.

In a good horror film, it’s going to resonate with us in that way. I’m sure very few of us have been victims of a serial killer or a stalker, and yet, we still relate so much. We do feel vulnerable and unprotected and that the cops don’t have our backs ⏤ and that’s not a political statement against cops. There are good cops. But it just feels like we are helpless. It’s not a horror film anymore. It’s real life.

Escaping the Pain

In many ways, new friends Mya and Harley serve as an escape for Laurie. She’s able to avoid seeing Annie and hide from the truth. But it eventually finds her in the end, of course.

Grant: Some friendships are healthy; some friendships are less healthy. Of the friends, I played the more supportive friend, who may not have understood what was going on. I always thought of Mya of the girl living in a small town who really did want to escape and go to art school. She wanted to do something bigger with her life.

Young female friendships are really fascinating. One way, you do bond by escaping ⏤ it’s going out dancing, partying, so you don’t have to think about your bad breakup or your parents getting a divorce. That’s what we were trying to do.

Press Conference

Dr. Loomis is hocking books and exploiting the tragedy of Laurie Strode and her friends for a quick buck. The old Myers as the backdrop, Loomis stages a press conference with a slew of press to continue pushing his new novel, The Devil Walks Among Us. Before the cameras start rolling, Loomis breates Nancy about tea.

Birdsong: I think that was a pretty heavily scripted take. Whether it wound up in the final version or not, there were definitely a few takes where Malcolm just ripped into me. He was basically like, “You’re nothing, and you work for me. Go get me a cup of tea, and stop your bitching! I don’t care!” It was just lovely to work with somebody who is not only a great seasoned actor but so willing to go with the flow and play and make shit up. We just cracked each other up all the time in between takes. He got a kick out of me.

He had some sort of print interview much later, and he did the sweetest thing. He was like, “I worked with this wonderful young ⏤ I guess she wasn’t that young ⏤ actor but she was lovely! She was improvising and just wonderful.” He was so tickled. I take it for granted that I come from improv and sketch comedy, so in a way, it’s hard for me to not improvise and adlib. I have to really watch it sometimes. It’s not always welcome. I think Malcolm found it very refreshing, at least refreshing enough that he didn’t say the next few times that we had to work together, “I’ll never work with that girl again!” [laughs]

This is what’s so great. Rob would make fun of me, as Malcolm would. I remember this quite clearly. It was the day we should up for this scene. I had on these pink clogs, and I was just wearing them on set for my own comfort, so that if they had me in high heels, my feet wouldn’t hurt. Rob looked down and saw them. He just goes, “What the…? What are those? Those are the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen…”  [laughs]

He was so sweet and funny about it. I just laughed and said, “Shut up!” Rob created this brother-sister thing. If he said that to the wrong person, it would be off-putting, but he knew exactly how to talk to people.

Remembering Margot Kidder

Kidder plays Laurie’s psychiatrist, and while they share only a couple scenes together, which were shot all in one day, the impact was unmistakable, not only on Laurie’s arc but Taylor-Compton’s journey in life. Kidder, known for roles in Superman, Black Christmas and The Amityville Horror, among countless other feature films, passed away earlier this year.

Taylor-Compton: She was such an amazing person. She reminded me a lot of my grandma. That’s why I connected with her so well. She was so soft spoken and supportive in and out of the scene. It was such a blessing to have gotten to work with her. To spend that day with her was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a fellow actor. She was such a gentle soul. The day I found out she passed was one of the hardest days for me. She had such an impact on me. She was such a talent.

Blood is Thicker Than Water

Unlike the original Halloween II (1981), the reveal of the sibling connection between Laurie and Michael is delivered with several emotional punches. Laurie discovers her heritage from reading Dr. Loomis’ latest novel, but it’s in a later scene with Mya and Harley that the truth becomes even more tangible for her. She shows the novel, which includes photos of herself, to her friends before heading out on a night of emotion-numbing boozing.

Grant: I remember I answered the door eating candy corn. At first, I thought that was a genius idea to answer the door with my mouth full of candy corn. By take three, I was like, “Oh, no, what did I do?” I kept having to spit the candy corn into a bucket. I don’t really eat candy corn anymore. [laughs] It was a pretty short night to shoot that scene. Rob shoots so loosely, so nothing is overshot ever. It was pretty heavy for Scout, and I think she handles it very beautifully.

The older I get, the more exhausting it is to play those kinds of heavy emotions. Then, I was able to rebound a lot quicker. Now, I bring a lot more of my personal thoughts into it. What is really hard for me onset is to watch other people get very upset and cry. I know they’re probably drawing on something that’s really emotional for them. It’s much harder to watch someone else go through that than it is to go through it myself. That movie had so many night shoots, so it was a bit exhausting to go shoot all those nights. We were already being pushed. Night shoots are exhausting no matter how many times you do them.

Carved

Entering the third act, Laurie and Mya return to the Brackett residence after an epic Halloween party. The two share a moment downstairs having tea and cookies, but their happiness is fleeting. They make their way up the stairs to discover Annie’s near-lifeless body in an ocean of blood. Mya runs to the phone and dials 9-1-1. Not knowing the exact address, she attempts to read it on the front door but Myers yanks her back inside. He fillets her up on the dining room table for one of the film’s most unsettling deaths.

Grant: We just did it on the day. It was very safe. Tyler is very safe, because he’s done so many things like this. He’s a wrestler, too. I had a stunt double for some bits of that scene. There’s stuff cut where he drags me down the hallway by my hair, so there’s a lot of violence there for sure. They’re always so safe. Any horror movie that isn’t safe, that director should just be fired. As horrific as it looks, your actors should be safe. I never felt unsafe.

Was it scary? Oh, yeah. You’re moving in fast motion and being thrown around. I’m wearing a back brace and knee pads. It’s still scary in the moment. I will say the part where I’m thrown on the table was a stunt girl. That was not me. That’s a very scary thing to do, and I’m not trained as a stunt person. I’ve done some minor stunts because of being in the industry. I’ve done so many genre movies, but for the most part, I’m a very clumsy person. I always try to avoid doing anything in which I could fall into a fire or something.

When we started dating, my fiance tried to watch the movie. I think he got that far and said it was too disturbing to watch that scene.

I just act on that stuff. When you’re running and your adrenaline is up, your body just sort of acts in a way that shows fear. It’s not physical to look or feel scared for me. I’m definitely not thinking of things that scare me. Maybe some actors do.

I’ve had such a weird career. I started acting with such little experience and was very quickly on a TV show. This was one of the first movies that I had done. I had done a couple little indies. So, anyone who knows me has watched me learn to act on everything I’ve done. I’m still learning things all the time. But especially early in my career, I feel like with some choices I made, I go “Wow, what was I thinking?” Someone still hired me, if you can believe that.

Shacked Up

The climax of the film takes place in an abandoned shack on the outskirts of Haddonfield. In a moment of redemption, Dr. Loomis arrives to save the day, but Laure is being held down, literally and metaphorically, by the chains of her past. It’s true to Zombie’s reimagining of the Laurie character, and she falls further and further into an abyss of mental collapse.

Taylor-Compton: Once I had the understanding of what was going on throughout the entire film, I thought, “Of course, it makes sense!” She’s so far gone at that point that she’s thinking she’s this monster. She is Michael Myers. That’s what she was feeling at the end.

“I’m no different than who he is.” This is who I’m destined to be. When she’s fighting it so much, I feel for her. That was so hard, especially when we had to do it twice. We did it where Chase [Wright Vanek] is holding me and then where he isn’t. That was such a trippy scene to shoot and feel.

Two Different Endings

In the producer’s cut, Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis struggle inside the the shack and crash through the side wall. Myers utters a single word (“Die!”) as he plunges a knife into Loomis’ stomach. Laurie walks through the broken wall, removes the knife from Loomis and stands over his body. The cops proceed to shoot several rounds into her, and she tumbles to the ground. In the theatrical version, Laurie instead exits the shack wearing the Myers mask and falls to her knees. The searchlight lands on her, as she holds the mask in her hands, and the scene slowly cross fades to her dressed all in white, now committed to a mental asylum.

Taylor-Compton: I like the mask ending. I had put the mask on for the very first time, and it was a last minute thing. Rob was like, “Holy shit. That looks crazy…” It gives the ending a whole new thing. Is she just…gone? Brad delivers that so well. No one is saying anything. They’re just staring. Even thinking back on it, god, it’s so nuts.

Looking Back

Taylor-Compton: I’ve learned to respect what I’ve done in the past. I honestly probably wouldn’t have done anything different. I think what I felt in that time of my life and with Laurie was perfect. If I were to do Laurie now, she’d still have that because it is me. I’ve also looked at my craft of being in this business for 20 years.

When I was younger, I always played these victims. Now, I don’t really play victims anymore. I play very strong women, but they still have that “I came from somewhere, but here I am now.” It’s cool to think how acting has been therapy for me my entire life, and I had no idea.

First Reaction to the Movie

Williams: I was very proud of it. The sound design jumped out at me. Knife on bone is one of the creepiest sounds ever. It was tough to take.

Birdsong: When I went to the premiere, I remember watching it through my hands. I was so grateful I didn’t get killed.

Mementos from Set

Taylor-Compton: I kept a lot of the clothing, actually. They were very strict on letting us keep things. I know Tyler got to keep the mask and the knife. I was like, “Dude, you got to keep that?!” I couldn’t even keep shoes. [laughs]

Birdsong: The only thing I remember keeping from the set is the confederate flag license plate Rob gave me and the same pair of sunglasses I bought at the rest stop one day. For some reason, I might have a placemat from a diner. I still have the pink clogs, too!

Negative Reviews

Along with Zombie’s Halloween remake, Halloween II has gotten an equal amount of negative reviews hurled its way over the years.

Grant: Strangers in airports will walk up and tell you what they think of your work. It’s one of my very few public works. I write a lot, and no one ever comes up to me and talks to me about my writing. They don’t recognize me for that. They recognize me for stuff like this. It is really polarizing, but the people who really like Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween II’ love that movie. They’ll come up to me and want to talk all about it. They’re obsessed with it. That’s really exciting for me. I think it’s a really fascinating bizarro movie, especially within the world of ‘Halloween.’

Halloween 3D

Initial plans were to do a direct sequel to Rob Zombie’s Halloween II but take a far more conventional route.

Taylor-Compton: I do remember when we were approached to do the third one. It was not really organized, and it was like, “You and Tyler are doing it. And we don’t have a script, and we don’t have a director. Rob’s not going to be a part of it.” I thought, “Whoa. What’s going on?!?” Obviously, something wasn’t right there. I think Dimension was just trying to get anything made at that point.

I think it would have been really cool to play in that world of Laurie being gone, mentally. It would have turned into whole new outlook on Laurie Strode and who she could have become later. They could have gotten really creative with it.