If you have watched Halloween (1978), or haven’t and just seen the trailer or the poster, you know things don’t get more bizarre than Michael Myers’s face. Imagine that pale, leathery face looking at you through those vacant, barren eyes in the dead of the night; you would know what I mean.Unlike most masks, cinematic or otherwise, this one’s power lies in its emptiness. It’s unimaginably scary, not because it looks that way, but because it offers zero cues. Yes, there is not a trace of humanity in it, but it’s not even your regular evil face. Is it a person underneath? You wouldn’t know. It’s just a shape, and it’s just there.And that’s why it’s quite unbelievable when someone tells you that no serious creative process or brainstorming sessions went into the creation of this mask. On top of that, it was a cheap, mass-produced mask of a well-known sci-fi hero that anyone could buy from a novelty store.The Michael Myers mask is a story of last-minute improvisation and creativity born out of necessity. And it’s quite an interesting one.Halloween: The Production Halloween was a low-budget independent project. The producers knew from the beginning they would have to be close-fisted about spending the money. And that’s why being innovative and resourceful was at the core of the production.The Shoestring BudgetSmall-time indie filmmakers Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad approached director John Carpenter, then a young filmmaker who had only two films to his credit. The production budget that was finalized...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today