Michael Myers in Halloween is a horror movie metaphor for society’s woes

For decades, the filmmakers who took on the stewardship of the Halloween franchise — from Dwight H. Little who directed Halloween 4 to Rob Zombie and his controversial origin-story duology — have grappled with the question of who is Michael Myers and what does he represent? John Carpenter and Debra Hills, franchise creators, never gave any kind of explanation to the public. This allows writers and directors as well as fans and others to wonder about The Shape’s nature.

But, in the latest film in Blumhouse’s Halloween sequel trilogy, director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride make a tantalizing connection between The Shape and the collective trauma that seems to be a part of so much of everyday life in America today. Halloween killsThe audience is invited to speculate as to whether Michael Myers might be supernatural, and what his symbolism means. Is paranoia a problem? Prejudice? What is toxic masculinity? It’s all up for debate in the new movie.

On this week’s Galaxy Brains, Jonah Ray and I are joined by actor, comedian, and Last Podcast on the Left co-host Henry Zebrowski to chat about what makes Michael Myers so scary decades later.

The conversation is edited, as always to be less bizarre

Dave Let’s talk about Michael Myers for a second: Do you think that he is a stand in for toxic masculinity?

Henry He’s called The Shape because of his shape. I think that Michael Myers of the three main classic ’80s monsters — Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers — Michael Myers is the most like general one. He is also known as The Shape. He could be a very important person. I think that there’s a lot that you can apply to him if you just decide to, like, go through the movies and generate an argument about him.

Dave The Shape was his idea for his name. How Spanx make women dress differently.

Henry It’s a great idea. If he could have a huge, juicy, butt I’d be happy to agree.

Jonah: As if Haddonfield had just said the words on his ans.

Dave His jumpsuit doesn’t really show off the goods, if you know what I mean.

Henry It’s the shoulders and he’s tall. He’s tall. He is tall. I think that makes him attractive to many people.

Dave Galaxy Brains’ short-sighted kings are loved by everyone. Jonah and I are both very tall people, but we’re here to support. We’re giving back to the community.

Henry A hurricane punch. That’s what I do to fight back against Michael Myers. That’s what I find as a short man.

Jonah: As a tall man, I’ve learned to apologize when anyone bumps into me.

Henry You know, Ben Cassel, my co-host, he’s six-foot-seven. It’s something he talks about all the time, about how he has the freedom to express his fury in public. But he can’t. I mean, because he’s too big, so he can’t be. He cannot raise his voice but I can. I’m always yelling.

Dave Do you know who I believe is a tall guy? John Carpenter. And John Carpenter, of course, created Halloween with his partner, Debra Hill, but he’s also made other movies about tough guys throughout his career. Escape New York, The Thing, They Live, Assault on Precinct13. You know what? The list continues. Ghosts of Mars, which we’re going to be talking about on the Blank Check podcast very soon.

Henry Ghost of Mars It is often overlooked.

Dave He also directed films that, to my mind, are kinda tweaking the notion of the tough guy such as Little China: Big Trouble

Jonah: Yeah, it’s like a parody of like tough guy action heroes.

Dave Total parody. Memoirs from an Invisible ManPeople often forget that John Carpenter directed the movie starring Chevy Chase, called ‘The Movie That Never Was’.

Henry It’s a great movie. That movie was our obsession as children.

Dave I think it’s super underrated. Yeah, it’s maybe Chevy’s best performance in a movie. Then he did Starman. It’s a romantic and sweet movie. The question I have is: Does John Carpenter make movies about straight white males?

Henry His versatility and ability to see things through many different perspectives makes him a unique director. I think he’s not afraid to question himself, which I guess you could consider woke. He’s very self-conscious about what he is putting into the world, but his stuff also has many themes. I think that’s also what’s beautiful about horror in general. Sci-fi is my favorite genre. If sci-fi or horror is at their best, it can really be used to address a problem in society in a way that’s easy for everyone. My style is not comedy or drama. I watch the genre movies almost every day. It helps me to see what they are doing. It’s like when you put cheese on vegetables. Then, I’ll consume it.

Jonah: It’s the spoonful of sugar idea of, you’re going to come in because there are some kills, but you might learn something along the way.

Henry It’s possible to learn, or you may get something. You see, I’ve always viewed Michael Myers as sort of about the fear of the Christian retribution of having pre-marital sex and the idea that he is this roving punishment system for anybody who dares think they could ever live a life that includes joy, even in a place like Haddonfield, right? You are expected to be a factory worker in a tiny town. Like the notion that life chases down anyone who expresses themselves. Then there’s the never-ending, unending wall of death for everyone.