Universal Pictures will release Trancas International Films, Blumhouse Productions and Miramax’s Halloween on Friday, October 19, 2018. Master of horror John Carpenter executive produces and serves as creative consultant on the film, joining forces with Jason Blum (Get Out, Split, The Purge, Paranormal Activity). Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner and Nick Castle also star.Curtis got serious early in the panel, tying the film and Strode to the real world of 2018 where many victims of abuse are finally finding their voice. “She’s taking back her narrative. … She has carried the trauma and PTSD of someone who was attacked,” Curtis said of Laurie Strode. “And there comes a point where you say, I am not a victim. And this is a person who has been waiting 40 years [for the chance].”
But then to lighten things up a bit, she shouted out “Freaky Friday.” Reference!
Green recalled seeing Halloween at a sleepover party as a kid and having to call his mom to come and get him. He also spoke about getting the blessing of the original film’s director, the legendary John Carpenter. Carpenter also serves as a producer and is doing music for the film (just like he did for the first film).Producer Malek Akkad, whose family has shepherded the franchise for decades, talked about being at Comic-Con in the 1970s when there were hundreds of fans rather than thousands. He also spoke about Michael Myers, “It’s that face and you can put anything of your imagination into that blank canvas,” he said. “And maybe that’s over-intellectualizing because he’s just coolest and the baddest killer in movie history.”
Producer Jason Blum recalled Green and McBride coming up with the idea of just making a sequel to the original classic film, and all he could say in response was, “I love it.”The team unveiled an extended scene -- one complete shot with no cuts, actually -- that hearkens back to the beginning of Halloween 2, where Michael is walking around the neighborhood of Haddonfield once again. He enters a house, goes into the kitchen and murders a woman in bloody fashion with a hammer, and then picks up the butcher’s knife that he finds next to the ham she was carving. Then, still all in the same shot, he heads back outside, and walks among the trick or treating kids while Carpenter’s iconic theme music plays. He doesn’t seem to mind the kids, but he approaches a couple in their Halloween costumes, though fortunately for them they drive away before he gets to them. Myers then walks up to another house and stares inside the front window, his reflection eerily reflecting back at the camera. Then he’s gone, and we see the woman inside the house come over to the window to close the shades. Suddenly, Myers is behind her inside the house, and the butcher knife is put to awful use. From there the scene ended and a sizzle reel/trailer of footage from the film, much of which we’ve seen in the previous trailer, played out.
To close out the panel, Curtis shared a tender moment with a fan during the audience Q&A. He talked about how he found himself in a stalker situation years ago, and his memories of Laurie Strode and what she would do in similar circumstances saved him. Curtis left the stage and walked into the audience to talk to the man and give him a hug. Classy. Talk to Executive Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura, or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do both!