After 44 years, the Halloween film series continues with the recent release of the franchise’s latest installment, Halloween ends. To say the least, the film was not fully embraced by the fans. It landed with rotten scores with critics and moviegoers alike on Rotten Tomatoes. The social media criticism was also extensive, with some fans even going so far as to suggest that this new film tarnishes the franchise’s legacy. John Timmerman helped launch in 1978.
Carpenter, who worked on the film’s music with son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, thinks nothing of those claims. The idea that new movies in the franchise would somehow tarnish his legacy in the eyes of some fans isn’t something he ever thinks about at all, according to the director. Carpenter recently said the same thing in a new interview with Vulturesaying this when asked if he felt protective against Halloween movies that received negative reviews.
‘I do not give a hoot. I really don’t care.’
The horror mastermind went on to explain that he doesn’t hang up on what’s being said about it Halloween film that came after the original, as they were all made under the creative guidance of different filmmakers. Though he can now see how wrong he was, Carpenter says he’s never been interested in directing anything Halloween sequels, because he couldn’t have imagined there would be so much story to tell with the series, especially after Michael Myers was supposed to be killed in the original Halloween II.
“People wanted to see Michael Myers again. So there you go. The Halloween movie I love the most is the one I made in 1978, the one I directed. Others are the visions of other people. That’s how it goes. That’s what happens when you give up. I didn’t want to direct sequels. I thought there was no more story about it. Boy, was I wrong, huh?”
John Carpenter loves the paychecks that come with sequels and remakes
John Carpenter also shared his thoughts on the Hollywood remake trend, including the Halloween movies. As far as he can see, Carpenter says he prefers people remake his own material rather than being tasked with remaking someone else’s work, because every time a new movie comes out means this that he gets a different salary. He also suggests that it’s up to the public to decide whether a remake is good or not, as long as it gets paid.
“There are two kinds of remakes for me: one is where I’m the creator of the material. I wrote the screenplay. Two: it was a studio assignment. ‘We want you to do this.’ If it’s an assignment from the studio, they don’t pay me if they do a remake. They own the material. If I do the screenplay, they have to pay me. That’s the kind of sequel I like. My movie is Make your own. If you want to pay me a lot of money, fine. Have fun with it.”
Halloween ends now running in theaters and on Peacock. Even if this movie closes out the Blumhouse trilogy, there’s a good chance the movie series will reboot soon enough, which would mean even more money coming to Carpenter.