The Dehumanization of Michael Myers

Why Michael's humanity is the scariest part of the Halloween franchise

Thumbnail by Skyla

There’s something about Michael Myers.

Maybe it’s just that he’s the face of Halloween. We see him every year, wielding his oversized kitchen knife, stalking prey with a calculated stare.

Maybe it’s just that he’s one of smarter slashers. Michael may be silent, but he’s certainly not dumb. Michael is smart, clever, and knows how to use his environment to his advantage.

Maybe it’s just that he’s a classic. The beginning of the golden age of horror, birthing the creation of the 80s slasher boom.

Maybe it’s just that he has a funky little theme song that gets stuck in our silly little heads.

There’s something about Michael Myers.

The Original is Now a Copy

We often forget that Michael is a human. Possibly because in recent films, they’ve turned Michael into another Jason Voorhees. What once was copied is now the copier, with Michael basically surviving every single thing you can throw at him.

It’s a tragedy in itself. Michael was a character that started the craze of the “slasher” trope, a trope that’s still being utilized in horror today. He was unique, and Halloween (1978) actually offered a backstory that reeled audiences in. Friday the 13th was created in light of Michael’s success on screen, copying the idea of a silent masked killer.

“‘Halloween is making a lot of money. Let’s rip it off.’ That’s a direct quote. So, I went to see Halloween and I figured out the format.” - Victor Miller, The Movies That Made Us: Friday the 13th

That’s not to say Friday the 13th is a direct copycat. It stole a formula, but it certainly didn’t steal the overall idea of what makes Halloween so special. (Not that Friday the 13th isn’t special, of course.)

But with so many films turning Michael into a killing machine, the character has become generic in recent years. A cruel reality for the franchise, really, with the most recent Halloween trilogy falling flat with most audiences. Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends were reduced to laughing stocks, with memes tearing the movies to shreds for their poor writing.

And, like, who can blame them? Seriously, I watched Halloween Ends in theaters and laughed the entire time because of how ridiculous it was! At least it was able to do that effectively.

But what happened to the original Michael Myers? Why makes us forget he’s a human in the first place?

Suffering for the Sins of Others

Michael’s origins have always been cloudy, but they’ve also have always had a looming sense of trauma that is never spoken about. The fact of the matter is: Michael Myers was only 6-years-old when he killed his big sister.

On one hand, there’s the argument that there can’t possibly be any kind of trauma for a character like Myers. After all, his therapist described him as having “the devil’s eyes.” There is no human soul in the human body, and therefore, there can’t possibly be any trauma to be had.

On the other hand, the movie only gives us so much in terms of why Michael became the Shape. In the film franchise, the audience is led to believe that Michael just suddenly snapped. There is no reason for his turning of the Shape, rather he simply became the embodiment of evil with no explanation. Scary, sure, but the novelization of the 1978 film offers a different tale.

In the novelization of the film, Curtis Richards writes a prologue that introduces a reason for Michael’s bloodlust. It details the festival of Samhain, a celebration the people held to please their deity. It follows a deformed character named Enda, who gets denied by the woman he loves. Deirdre, the denier in question, is already to be married off to a man named Cullain.

Perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if Deirdre didn’t call Enda a monster. But she did. And the rage and embarrassment she put Enda through causes his soul to turn black on Samhain. He murders the couple and is then killed by the tribe.

A curse is put on Enda’s soul after his death.

“Thy soul shall roam the earth till the end of time, reliving thy foul deed and thy foul punishment, and may the god Muck Olla visit every affliction upon thy spirit forevermore...” (Curtis)

And thus, Michael Myers was cursed. More specifically, the Myers family was cursed.

But Michael was a normal boy before that fateful year of being six. He was angelic, sweet and warm, and was overall a good kid. As presented in the novel, Michael was just like any other kid his age:

He stood before them, an angel in red and green nylon, elastic ankle and wrist-bands making the costume cling at the extremities and bag out everywhere else. A ruff around the neck and the little droopy pompom cap completed the charming picture.

“Grandma's baby!” she laughed, clasping the boy to her bosom. “Edith, please fetch me some cold cream and lipstick from the tray in my bedroom. Might as well complete the picture.”

“I don't want makeup,” Michael protested.

“Of course you do. You don't want anyone to guess who you are when you go around playing pranks.”

“I'm not going to play pranks. I'm just going to ask for candy.”

“You do that, child. You just have an innocent, Woolworth kind of Halloween.” (Curtis)

And, before this, his mother and father were aware of the changes in their child. He was having nightmares, suddenly wetting the bed again, and hearing voices. They considered getting a therapist. Of course, there was worry in the fact that his great-grandfather had acted the same way.

So Michael was once a normal child, a child that didn’t just randomly snap, but rather was cursed. Essentially, Michael was punished for the sins he didn’t commit.

In this regard, it’s interesting to theorize about Michael’s psyche. Is the child still somewhere inside Michael? Do the Shape and Michael share the same head? Well… I think that might be true.

Family Ties

In remembering the humanizing aspects of Michael, we first have to remember that he has a family.

A mother, a father, a grandmother, two sisters…

A mother and father that obviously cared enough for him to consider putting him in therapy before the incident, and a mother and father who were seeking custody again after his treatment with Loomis.

Unlike the Rob Zombie version, the original Michael Myers was loved and cared for.

But then there’s Laurie Strode. A weakness, in some regards, because by the time Michael escapes Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, she’s the only family he has left. The Shape is strong, but there’s moments of Michael that manage to break through.

The unmasking of Michael in the original 1978 film, for one. A scared young man, frozen and uncertain of what to do.

Laurie calling out Michael’s named in Halloween II, which causes him to stop and react if only for a second.

And, my personal favorite, when his niece calls him “Uncle Boogeyman.” While I know Halloween 5 isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, I think it shows an interesting look into what the Shape is, and how Michael isn’t fully in control.

There’s something special about this scene in particular. A terrified Jamie, whose last resort is to reach out for her uncle. There’s no guarantee her uncle is even there, but she tries anyway. And… it works, with Jamie being the only person for Michael to ever unmask himself for.

“You’re just like me,” she says. With the film being the only time Michael has ever shed a tear. A tear from being trapped, imprisoned, and unable to control his own body in the fight with the Shape.

It was an attempt to humanize the character again, and an attempt to introduce another form of horror into the franchise.

What Could Have Been

I think the 2018 trilogy could’ve been a million times better if they had went down this route. Instead, he was turned into another Jason copycat.

The idea of Michael fighting for control of his own mind while he watches everything unfold adds a new layer of horror that makes his character different from others. A character who is forced to be the villain despite not wanting to be, with the Shape ultimately being the real evil.

And, as a fun coincidence that I can use to help prove my point, the original film has “Michael Myers” and “The Shape” as two different castings, with the iconic Nick Castle taking up the Shape and Tony Moran as Michael.

So there has always been a separation, at least in some regard.

I suppose we could argue it a tale as old as time, with man vs fate/supernatural taking place. This isn’t really a hero’s journey though, but rather a tragedy told in the medium of a slasher.

Michael’s entire life was stolen from him. He never had the chance to experience anything outside of his first six years. The Shape took over before he even reached double digits.

The newest trilogy had the chance to do something different with the Halloween franchise. It could’ve explored the concept of Michael vs. the Shape more, show horror through the psychological torment Michael is put through rather than the cheap recreation of kills and generic characterization of an iconic villain.

Holy shit, is Michael Myers a victim of flanderization? Huh.

Michael could’ve been more complex, rich with dramatic torture of the psyche. We could’ve finally heard the voices that play in Michael’s head. We could’ve learned about the curse of Enda, how Michael was robbed of a childhood for the sins of the past.

Instead, we got “EVIL DIES TONIGHT” repeated over and over. We got a rehash of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning with a copycat killer. We got an uninspired protagonist and an antagonist all-in-one, with the films lacking any real depth that the originals had.

Do I think every Halloween movie is perfect? No, I definitely don’t like some of them. After Halloween II, people’s opinions vary on each installment anyway (not counting Halloween III, of course, which is a great stand alone). But those films attempted to create more interesting characters, and more importantly, tried to keep the human-side of Michael.

There was something there in trying to show an almost innocence with Michael, even as far back as 1978. Tony Moran was casted because they specifically wanted someone with an angelic face.

Michael was to look exposed and scared as he was using this mask with a blank expression to cover his true emotions and appear emotionless, his true face being able to betray his feelings. (Halloween Wiki)

Considering John Carpenter has described the Shape as pure evil, it’s no surprise that Michael Myers would be scared of it. The Shape is a force, a curse from a supernatural deity, and one that Michael isn’t strong enough to fight.

Final Thoughts

John Carpenter has said that Michael is not a man, but rather a deity of evil. But I think, sometimes, it’s fun to look at these things from a different perspective.

What if Michael is the vessel, the unwilling participate of a curse’s game, forced to do the bidding of the soul of Enda?

Michael is the man and the Shape is the force. They exist at the same time, with one suffering while the other seeks the sadistic taste of murder.

Was Tony Moran casted only to add the whole “charming serial killer” layer to his character? I mean, what charm? He doesn’t talk. Moran might have a nice face, but he doesn’t have any speaking parts. Instead, his expression is one of terror — one I don’t really imagine a hardened killer to have like Myers.

Overall, I think adding that extra layer of horror not only gives us a little spice, but takes Halloween to the next level. If Leatherface is said to kill out of fear because factors he can’t control, who's to say Michael isn’t in the same boat?

Of course, this is all in theory. A fun analysis on one of our favorite slashers. I mean, I named my car after the Shape for a reason… I’m a sucker for the ol’ Shatner mask.

But… next time you watch Halloween, have the curse in the back of your mind. It might be worth your imagination.