‘Halloween’: How The John Carpenter Film Almost Never Was
By Joey Click
Two of the most iconic directors in the history of horror almost made a picture together. The results: it may have lead to a movie you’ve probably have heard of never being made.
Talk about one of existence’s all-time great cases of “something good can come from something bad!”
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According to ihorror, one of the fastest growing horror site (and one that I love), John Carpenter, who would famously go on the direct the genre classics Escape from New York (1981), The Fog (1980), and the underrated Prince of Darkness (1987), once wrote a script in 1971 titled Hillbillies from Hell that he wanted Tobe Hooper, who’s best known for making the immortal The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974, to helm upon seeing the director’s most iconic film.
In the pages of Jason Zinoman’s book Shock Value- required reading for any serious horror fan, the author shared this bit of info sure to make any classic horror fan vomit in excitement like Brundle Fly:
"By their second and third movies, directors were expanding their artistic reach, but they were also becoming more defined by the conventions of the genre, in part because they had helped create them. Craven and Romero made their first movies on instinct and passion, but now they were engaged in a much more conscious dialogue with the expectations of a horror fan. That’s not to say they approached those expectations the same way. Craven, for instance, loved the grittiness and authenticity of Chain Saw while John Carpenter, never as interested in the realism of horror, responded to its comedy, ignored by most audiences, who were too terrified to laugh.Carpenter, who marveled not at the reality but at the shameless artifice of the dinner scene, understood that Hooper was mixing horror and slapstick, because that was what he and Dan O’Bannon had done with Dark Star. He was so impressed that he contacted Hooper, told him he admired the film, and asked if he would be interested in directing a screenplay he had first written in a few quick sittings in 1971. Called “Hillbillies from Hell,” it followed a group of city girls driving out to the country . They take a detour and meet up with a family of cannibals, one of whom is a huge, unstoppable madman in a mask who chases girls around with a knife. After a few discussions, the collaboration fell apart. “There were complications,” Hooper said. “The deal didn’t work. [It was] about money. I regret not doing that,” Hooper said. But he didn’t really understand the extent of what he missed out on until two years later in 1978, when he went to see John Carpenter’s new movie, Halloween. As soon as the adult Michael Myers appeared on-screen, Hooper thought to himself: There he is!Man this is beyond awesome. While it would’ve been amazing to see two of the greatest names in horror collaborate in the 70s, which they would eventually do with the1993 Showtime movie Body Bags, I’m glad things fell through. Had it not, it’s likely that we would’ve never gotten a Halloween. And sorry not sorry Horror Heads, but that’s not a reality that I want to be a part of; I’m sure I’m not the only Creature of the Night who feels the same way.Next: Skeet Ulrich Returning to Horror in ‘Escape Room’Love Carpenter’s Halloween? Would’ve watched Hillbillies from Hell? Let us know what you think of this in the comment section below and let’s treat each other to a few tricks. Published on 05/15/2016 at 9:28 PM ESTLast updated on 12/28/2016 at 12:27 AM EST By their second and third movies, directors were expanding their artistic reach, but they were also becoming more defined by the conventions of the genre, in part because they had helped create them. Craven and Romero made their first movies on instinct and passion, but now they were engaged in a much more conscious dialogue with the expectations of a horror fan. That’s not to say they approached those expectations the same way. Craven, for instance, loved the grittiness and authenticity of Chain Saw while John Carpenter, never as interested in the realism of horror, responded to its comedy, ignored by most audiences, who were too terrified to laugh.Carpenter, who marveled not at the reality but at the shameless artifice of the dinner scene, understood that Hooper was mixing horror and slapstick, because that was what he and Dan O’Bannon had done with Dark Star. He was so impressed that he contacted Hooper, told him he admired the film, and asked if he would be interested in directing a screenplay he had first written in a few quick sittings in 1971. Called “Hillbillies from Hell,” it followed a group of city girls driving out to the country . They take a detour and meet up with a family of cannibals, one of whom is a huge, unstoppable madman in a mask who chases girls around with a knife. After a few discussions, the collaboration fell apart. “There were complications,” Hooper said. “The deal didn’t work. [It was] about money. I regret not doing that,” Hooper said. But he didn’t really understand the extent of what he missed out on until two years later in 1978, when he went to see John Carpenter’s new movie, Halloween. As soon as the adult Michael Myers appeared on-screen, Hooper thought to himself: There he is!"