Before we can delve into the horrors of Michael Myers, it is important to first go back to where he came from. Haddonfield, Illinois. Or is it...Haddonfield, New Jersey? New Jersey?? As in Jersey Shore??!
Yes, friends. Haddonfield, New Jersey is the birthplace of Debra Hill, co-writer of the film that would eventually go on to become legend. Along with John Carpenter, Hill wrote Halloween and filled it with details from her own personal life. Breathing life into the world of Haddonfield, Illinois. The fictional hometown of Michael Myers. The street names from Haddonfield came from the town where Carpenter himself grew up...Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Production began in the Spring of 1978 and filming took place in various locations of southern California. The budget was tiny and the filmmakers were forced to reuse dry autumn leaves that were artificially made as well as track down pumpkins from other locations.
It's really an extraordinary feat when you watch the film and realize that it was filmed far away from the the Midwestern America it was depicting. Especially given the fact that the film feels like a Midwestern horror film. Michael's family grew up in a two-story home on 45 Lampkin Street. It might as well have been any street in any suburb in the Midwest.
Carpenter and company nail the look and feel of Halloween with its details and atmosphere. It's no wonder why this film has gone on to become a landmark in the genre and inspire generations of slasher films. Halloween has a certain "anytown" charm that appeals to just about anyone who's grown up in a small town in America. The film transcends its limited budgetary constraints and becomes something much more significant than just an independent horror film. It becomes Americana and plants itself within the psyche of genre fans everywhere.
Haddonfield isn't just a fictional town in some horror movie. It represents the horrors that lurk in small towns everywhere. Does it exist. Well, technically, it does exist somewhere in New Jersey. But, the Haddonfield in Halloween exists within us all.
SEE YOU TOMORROW!
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