Classic horror movies are most closely associated with their villain, and there are few more terrifying than Halloween's Michael Myers. The boogeyman is large, imposing, and most of all emotionless. Part of what makes Michael so scary is his signature white mask, which has always kept the killer's face hidden throughout the decades of movies. There have been many versions of the mask, and Blumhouse's Halloween had to craft their own version for the upcoming sequel. Because its been 40 years since Michael first attacked the babysitters of Haddonfield, it needed to be aged appropriately. I had the chance to visit the set of Halloween during filming, where FX Makeup Designer Chris Nelson revealed his process for crafting Michael's newest mask.
Well really, I looked at a lot of forty year old masks and the various stages they were in. I actually had a couple of old Don Post masks that were I think from thirty nine years ago, from when I was a kid and a few of my friends had them. So we looked at those masks, see how they aged, see what kind of decomposition they had. The folds and wrinkles, depending on how they were kept. We took to mind in the context of this story how this mask was stored over all these years, and talking to David [Gordon Green]. And just kind of combined all of that, accentuated it a little bit for cinematic purposes because a lot of the wear and tear on a mask probably wouldn't show up unless it was really decomposed. Because in our minds it was kept in a bag, in a box, in an evidence room for quite a long time. Being covered and away from UV light, it was a little more protected than a mask that was just laying out would be, so we took that into account.
It looks like Chris Nelson and everyone involved in the crafting of Michael Myers' new mask really tried to think methodically about what it would look like after decades. Not content with simply aging the face, he also weighed how much natural light it may have been exposed to, as well as the environment it would have been stored in. It's an almost collegiate approach to creating a monster mask, highlighting how much reverence everyone involved in the Halloween reboot has for John Carpenter's original film.
The story of the Michael Myers mask is a funny one, as it was originally a cheap mask of William Shatner in Star Trek, which was then distressed and dyed during the first film's production. Chris Nelson mentions a Don Post mask, which was actually the original one planned for Michael. Eventually a few choices were weighed, and the Shatner one seemed the most emotionless and terrifying.
From Halloween's first trailer, you can also see a few more interesting additions to Michael Myers' mask. There is a puncture in the neck, where Laurie Strode attacked the villain with a knitting needle in the first film. Additionally, there seems to be some extra damage around the eye, where the OG scream queen used a wire hanger to defend herself.
Halloween will arrive in theaters on October 19th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
