John Carpenter | the m0vie blog

363. Halloween Ends – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guests Niall Glynn and Richard Drumm, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends.

In the aftermath of his second brutal massacre, Michael Myers has disappeared. He has retreated into the memory of the suburban town of Haddenfield, leaving only open scars in his wake. The survivors, like Laurie Strode, have done their best to move on with their lives in the wake of unimaginable tragedy, but there is something stirring beneath the surface of Haddenfield, just waiting to bubble up in the right circumstances. Evil is stirring. Evil is growing. Evil is waiting, but not for long.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: corey cunningham, david gordon green, endings, expectations, Folklore, halloween, halloween ends, horror, intellectual property, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, John Carpenter, laurie strode, male anger, michael myers, niall glynn, podcast, richard drumm, sequel, sexuality, slasher, stephen king, The 250, trilogy | Leave a comment »

361. Halloween (2018) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guests Charlene Lydon and Bren Murphy, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, David Gordon Green’s Halloween.

It has been forty years since the night that Michael Myers came home. The killer is in custody and Haddenfield has seemingly recovered from that horrific crime. However, not everybody has been able to move on from those events. Laurie Strode is still haunted by the horrific attacks, convinced the serial killer is lurking in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, bren murphy, charlene lydon, danny mcbride, david gordon green, fascism, final girl, halloween, halloween (2018), horror, horror genre, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, John Carpenter, legacyquel, liminal spaces, michael myers, nick castle, slasher, trump, violence | Leave a comment »

357. Halloween (2007) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Doctor Bernice Murphy, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Rob Zombie’s Halloween.

One October, the small town of Haddenfield is shocked by the brutal murder of young Judith Myers. The culprit? Her younger brother Michael. Committed to a psychiatric institution under the care of Doctor Samuel Loomis, Michael escapes fifteen years later to continue his reign of terror. This time, he has got young babysitter Laurie Strode in his sights.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: bernice murphy, brutality, dimension films, doctor bernice murphy, donald trump, gore, halloween, hollywood, horror, joey keogh, John Carpenter, laurie strode, Malcolm McDowell, michael myers, new wave, nostalgia, podcast, remakes, rob zombie, scout taylor compton, slasher, violence | Leave a comment »

354. Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Scott Mendelson, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Steve Miner’s Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later.

Two decades after the horrific Halloween night in which Michael Myers returned to Haddenfield, Laurie Strode finds herself desperately trying to put her life back together under an assumed name at an elite private school. Raising her son, Laurie is still haunted by the trauma of that night twenty years ago, unaware that a Shape is lumbering through the darkness directly towards her.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: clever, continuity, halloween, halloween h20, horror, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, John Carpenter, meta, pop culture, scott mendelson, Scream, self-aware, slasher, steve miner, trauma | Leave a comment »

350. Halloween III: Season of the Witch – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guests Ciara Moloney and Dean Buckley, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Tommy Lee Wallace’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

With just a week to go before Halloween, Doctor Daniel Challis finds his routine upset by the arrival of a mysterious patient. Raving mad and clutching a mask, the man is murdered later that night and his assailant imolates himself in a car bomb. Working with the patient’s daughter, Ellie, Daniel decides to investigate the case, which leads him to the gigantic Silver Shamrock corporation headed by the mysterious Conal Cochran. Daniel and Ellie soon discover that Cochran has a particularly malicious trick lined up for Halloween night.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

the250 · 350. Halloween III: Season of the Witch – All-o’-Ween (#—)

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: advertising, canon, children, ciara moloney, continuity, cult, dan o'herlihy, dean buckley, eighties, ftc, halloween, imdb, irish americans, joey keogh, John Carpenter, materialism, nigel kneale, podcast, Ronald Reagan, silver shamrock, The 250, the sundae, the sundae presents, tom atkins | Leave a comment »

349. Halloween II (1981) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on October 14, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Joey Keogh, this week with special guest Billie Jean Doheny, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, Rick Rosenthal’s Halloween II.

In the immediate aftermath of Michael Myers’ brutal killing spree, the lone survivor is rushed to hospital. As Sam Loomis searches desperately for the monster stalking Haddenfield, Laurie Strode makes some startling discoveries about her own family history that suggests the violence of the evening was not as random as it initially appeared to be.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: ben tramer, dick warlock, franchise, halloween, halloween 2, halloween ii, horror, hospital, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter, michael myers, rick rosenthal, sequel, slasher, splatter | Leave a comment »

348. Halloween (1978) – All-o’-Ween (#—)

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Darren

This year, we are running a season looking at the films in the Halloween franchise. So this week, John Carpenter’s Halloween.

In October 1963, the small town of Haddenfield is shocked by the brutal murder of young Judith Myers. The culprit? Her younger brother Michael. Committed to a psychiatric institution under the care of Doctor Samuel Loomis, Michael escapes fifteen years later to continue his reign of terror. This time, he has got young babysitter Laurie Strode in his sights.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: american cinema, bernice murphy, debra hill, doctor bernice murphy, donald pleasance, halloween, horro, iconic, importance, influence, irwin yablans, Jamie Lee Curtis, joey keogh, John Carpenter, laurie strode, loomis, michael myers, moustapha akkad, podcast, slasher, The 250 | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On the Urge to Stop Imitating John Carptenter and Just Hire John Carpenter…

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Firestarter in theatres and on Peacock, and the way that the movie draws overtly from Carpenter, it seemed like a good opportunity to ask the question: why aren’t studios simply paying John Carpenter to make movies?

After all, Carpenter is a director who is responsible for some of the most influential and beloved horror movies ever made, including The Thing and Halloween. Modern horror owes a massive debt to Carpenter, a debt that it repays by paying him as an original creator, as an executive producer, or even as a composer. However, with Carpenter openly stating that he would love to return to directing under the right conditions, it’s worth asking why studios haven’t done more to assure those conditions.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: halloween, in the frame, John Carpenter, the escapist, the thing | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On the Enduring Appeal of Michael Myers…

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Darren

So, as I have mentioned before, I am launching a new video series as a companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch with every second Monday’s article, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel the following week. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film content – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

With the release of Halloween Kills, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look back at the larger Halloween franchise. In particular, the enduring and lasting appeal of Michael Myers as a character. What is it that makes Michael Myers such an icon of horror cinema?

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: halloween, horror, in the frame, John Carpenter, michael myers, omar ahmed, rob zombie, serial killers, slasher | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On The Enduring Appeal of Michael Myers…

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of Halloween Kills, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the larger Halloween franchise.

What is it that makes Michael Myers such an enduring and unsettling figure? Why has the character remained so popular and iconic across four decades? Why are audiences constantly drawn to the serial killer, who is remarkably straightforward in many ways? Indeed, it seems like the relative simplicity of Michael Myers is part of the appeal. Myers is somewhat uncomplicated as far as slasher movie antagonists go. However, he is also fundamentally unknowable, and all the more effective for that.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.