It's been 43 years since John Carpenter first terrified movie audiences with Halloween, introducing the iconic slasher villain Michael Myers. Carpenter's masked serial killer, nicknamed the Shape, spawned a multimedia franchise that has endured for decades. Halloween's future continues with the franchise's twelfth theatrical film Halloween Kills, serving as a direct sequel to 2018's successful Halloween film, helmed by David Gordon Green. Longtime franchise producer and Senior Vice President of Trancas International Films Ryan Freimann has worked diligently to keep Halloween well-represented over the years, including serving as an executive producer on the Halloween trilogy that began in 2018.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Freimann discussed the enduring appeal of the Halloween franchise and explained why Halloween Kills will receive a simultaneous streaming release on Peacock alongside its theatrical run. He also detailed the return of the 1978's Halloween, 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and 1989's Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers for a theatrical re-release in partnership with Cinelife Entertainment.
This is a huge year for Halloween, with the original Halloween, along with 4 and 5 being re-released in theaters, Universal Hollywood Horror Nights getting a Halloween 4 attraction and, of course, Halloween Kills debuting in theaters and on Peacock. How do you see this year for the franchise as it hits its 43rd anniversary?
Ryan Freimann: Every year it has become bigger and bigger in the time that I have been involved with this franchise, which is going on a decade now, both domestically and internationally.
I think what's crazy is where we have these confluences. A couple of years ago was the anniversary of the original film. We had the convention in Pasadena and maze at Horror Nights, all of this stuff going on. Come July, my life gets super busy and it's amazing to see the constant growth of the fanbase for this franchise and the ways it's on streaming, in theaters and at amusement parks. It's crazy to see that a film that was made 43 years ago for $300,000 has spawned this kind of fandom so I'm super proud of what we've done to grow it.
Do you remember your own gateway into the franchise as a fan?
Slumber party. VHS. Eleven-years old. That was it and I still remember being with five or six friends and we made it through it. There were a couple you'd see on HBO and that's all we had. We had that little slider box on top of the TV, but they didn't have the depth of things and these movies would constantly play on repeat, like Firestarter. Halloween was the first horror movie where it felt like we were doing something wrong. Coincidentally, to be working with the franchise later and that being my first foray into the horror world is kind of cool.
What is something unique to the franchise that David Gordon Green and Danny McBride have brought to the 2018 Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends?
I think that they really took the time to jump in and delve into each film for its pluses and minuses and they utilize some of things but ultimately they go back to what made the original so successful. It's that sneak-and-creep and the Shape lurking. He could be anywhere. He was the boogeyman. It's bringing that back into the fold and there's still some of the humor, which is nice, but it's not the silliness and as over-the-top as some of the other ones. It's definitely violent but not as gratuitous as the Rob Zombie films are -- that might be your cup of tea -- but I think this harkens back to the original. Aside from Michael killing Judith in the opening scene in that, you don't see blood or murders for the following forty minutes, it's a psychological exploration of the character.
The Shape is my favorite character to use in Dead by Daylight and when you're licensing out this property to Halloween Horror Nights or Dead by Daylight, what are some franchise hallmarks you're keen to ensure stay consistent throughout?
Malek Akkad, the head of the company, is super careful that whatever we do, it's in line with the character.
We're not interested in making a quick buck by slapping it in something silly. We really want to honor the character and what he represents the best we can. That doesn't mean we might slip and take a chance on something that's questionable here or there but I think that speaks to why this character is -- and there's some other great ones -- but he's at the top after 40-something years of doing it. I think we're looking for those things that connect with fans, both old and new, so video games might be for the newer crowd but, at Horror Nights, we see a lot of older people going to those. I think it's working with those partners to make sure that we represent the character, the brand and the franchise as carefully as possible.
In addition to the original, Halloween 4 and 5 are getting theatrical re-releases and 4, in particular, is getting a second life from the fans. How is it to see Halloween 4 get the respect and acclaim it deserves? Something that may be taken for granted now is that film was really successful when it was first released.
It was Malek's dad Moustapha, after Halloween III which almost killed the franchise with people showing up to a Halloween movie and Michael Myers not being in it, there was a hiatus with Moustapha coming back saying he wanted another stab at this; no pun intended. It really was The Return of Michael Myers and it was not a bad movie and a great movie for fans and I'm glad to see that it's both getting its respect and a new lease on life it hadn't had before. It had kind of got pooh-pooh'd on a little bit in the past.
I think part of it was it came out at a time where all these other slasher franchises that were introduced after the original Halloween. How do you think Halloween positions itself proudly and separately from all the other slasher franchises that proliferated since Halloween's success in the '70s?
We always run into that because you always want to have Freddy [Krueger] and Jason [Voorhees] and then Leatherface has kind of crept into there on the Mount Rushmore of those guys. I still like to think that Michael being the first is the best and I think each has their own [appeal]. Freddy definitely has his silliness and is interesting. I've never truly been a Jason fan but I find merit in all of them. We partner with Universal in their horror parks on the Titans of Terror where all four of them are represented but we try to really keep them on their own so I don't think you'll see a Michael vs. Jason or Michael vs. Freddy on the docket for the future.
How is it partnering with Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions for the trilogy of films that began with the 2018 Halloween?
It's been great! Without Blumhouse, we wouldn't have been able to attract the level of talent. With bringing the IP that we've managed so well for all these years along with their expertise and fanbase that they've cultivated, it was really -- obviously based on the success from 2018 -- a great match to have. It's been a great partnership for the David Gordon Green trilogy that we're doing now and they're now working on new things, off to the races with other IPs.
Halloween Kills is getting a simultaneous streaming release on Peacock along with its theatrical release. How has it been working on that with Universal?
This is a whole Wild West between the rise of streaming and COVID. It's been a little bit out of necessity because, even though these theaters are open, there are people that are still hesitant to go out and I completely understand that. Universal is Peacock as well so it behooves them to structure it. We've worked out a deal where it conceptually works out that everybody is not cheated by this deal and that it works out for everybody's best interests. It's taken work to get there and I hope everybody will be happy in the end.
I'm just glad that we held back the film for a year and we did it because -- I still truly think that it's meant to be seen for at least the first time in a theater and especially in IMAX, if you can get to that -- we held it back because that was the way to see for the first time. When it became evident, even a year later now, that we're still not able to put it out to the level that we would like to, giving fans the option to stay at home if they felt more comfortable, I was worried we'd get a little blowback but it was pretty well-embraced.
You've got an ace in whole with not, only Jamie Lee Curtis back but also John Carpenter. How was it been working with them to usher in this new generation of Halloween movies?
On a personal level, totally surreal to work with John Carpenter. He is not day-to-day on set but he is definitely involved. But to work with someone whose films I've idolized for so long, I burned a hole in my copy of Big Trouble in Little China, and even at the time, I didn't put two-and-two together that they're all John Carpenter films but these are the ones that I gravitated towards. John is a no-BS kind of guy who will let us know when something doesn't fly and Jamie is the same way too. For Jamie to be so supportive of the character she portrayed forty-some years ago and really champion this, she's up for anything and willing to try to stuff, it's been great.
It feels like they both have a second wind in believing in the franchise with these films.
I think that they've seen that we really -- back in 2016, 2017 when this was all starting to come together -- saw that between the partners and what was all being putting on the table and backing behind it, we really meant business with this one. This wasn't just an opportunity to throw cash on-screen and see if we can grab something from the fans, that wasn't this. It was very important early on that we had their backing and involvement otherwise it just didn't make much sense.
Halloween Ends is currently in pre-production and what was important about announcing those two films back-to-back and having a clear ending in mind as you prepare to go into production for it?
At first, it was a thought of an economy of filmmaking where we could shoot both at the same time but, remember, that decision was made pre-COVID. We had monkey wrenches thrown at us left and right. Our goal is to still continue with the storyline but, as we've seen -- I'm going to go on record and say I was never a fan of the Sartain twist from 2018, fought that one tooth and nail but sometimes you get outvoted -- but fans react to certain things then it causes us to pivot certain storylines certain ways.
I think it's been good to have time to reflect on what has worked and what hasn't worked and we're definitely hot-and-heavy on production of Halloween Ends. I like keeping the timelines tight on these films. We went from the last [Rob] Zombie film in 2009 and that was the biggest hiatus between Halloween films in forever. To have this close but not on top of each other spacing is the proper way to go.
Directed and co-written by David Gordon Green, Halloween Kills opens in theaters and is available to stream on Peacock starting Oct. 15.
0 Comments