Miramax’s ‘Halloween’ TV Show Has A Chance To Bring Back The Film Series’ Most Divisive Element And Do It Right
Despite the not-so-subtle implication of the title Halloween Ends, Miramax announced not too long ago they are moving forward with a TV series set once again in the home of Michael Myers, Haddonfield, Illinois. It doesn’t have a creative team behind it yet, but the producers are enthusiastic about building a Halloween shared universe.
Nonetheless, they intend to respect the “definitive end” of the 2022 film, at least for now, which means for the new series, they are going back to the beginning, “It’s a creative reset completely and going back to the original film, as opposed to spinning out of any of the more recent film adaptations,” said Miramax’s Head of Worldwide Television Marc Helwig courtesy of Giant Freakin Robot.
That opens up a world of possibilities, and not just for the new kinds of developments, twists, and turns David Gordon Green foisted upon us. In a fresh take unconnected to anything but the first one (yet again), everything should be fair game – even plot points most fans feel are better left forgotten.
The Halloween franchise is full of them and they didn’t begin with Corey Cunningham. From Michael and Laurie being siblings to Rob Zombie’s apocryphal “white horse” psychobabble, there are things without much thought behind them we’ve seen over the years that either lasted a long while or failed to launch entirely.
Perhaps none of those ideas is more infamous than the Cult of Thorn introduced in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Thorn, although used to tie together a whole timeline of roughly five movies (except for part 3 – Season of the Witch), was dropped entirely by producer Moustapha Akkad almost instantaneously.
Fans weren’t losing sleep over this as the cult aspect didn’t appeal to them for the most part. Even defenders of Curse’s Producer’s Cut were ready to move on, but arguably the problem with Thorn was its execution and not the concept.
The whole thing was mishandled from the beginning when its seeds were planted in Halloween 5. The Thorn tattoo and The Man In Black were introduced per marching orders passed down to director Dominique Othenin-Girard, but with no plan in place to pay any of it off down the line.
In the end, that was up to Curse writer Daniel Farrands whose explanations took half a decade to reach screens. It was a miracle anyone cared by that point, but that was hardly the worst thing Farrands had to worry about with the meddling of the Weinsteins causing so much drama behind the scenes.
Another problem arose narratively when it became abundantly clear the Cult of Thorn turns Michael into a lackey with no agency of his own. Gone were the mystery and Myers being an unpredictable personification of evil without cause, and in were runes, constellations, and a cursed bloodline.
Add to that a questionable incest subplot and you can sympathetically see why this convolution was cast aside. But as the old saying goes: that was then, this is now. Horror is full of new blood who grew up fans of Halloween and all its sequels. You know they marathon and study them, appreciating the touches that were panned in their time.
The untitled TV series doesn’t have writers and if Miramax is smart enough, they can take a chance and select someone or a team who sees wasted potential in the Thorn concept. They could take a page out of The X-Files, Twin Peaks, or Stranger Things, if Haddonfield is to become a character unto itself in the story, and put the Thorn Cult at the heart of something deeper afoot in the town.
The cult could add some texture and flavor to the plot when Michael isn’t around without minimizing or outshining him. They can be there without pulling his strings or getting in his way – perhaps as worshippers or followers who intercede on his behalf when called for. It could be as if he is their master instead of vice versa.
You’re probably sitting there thinking “Michael doesn’t need servants! This isn’t going to work.” (Believe me, I feel you.) Rest assured the above is just spitballing until modern Hollywood and its tendencies can raise concern. There’s no denying the show could easily wind up in the hands of a diversity hire who, not caring about the lore, massively fumbles things.
However, they won’t need to give the Cult of Thorn any consideration at all for that to happen. In the right hands, a Halloween TV series can be good, and productive use can be made of the Thorn plot. We can have both; it can be done.
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