Michael Myers' mask in the Halloween franchise has changed in almost every movie, though that doesn’t mean it was for the better – here’s how the iconic mask has evolved. Back in 1978, John Carpenter introduced the world to a new slasher killer in Halloween. Although the movie wasn’t well-received upon its release, time has been good to it and is now regarded as one of the best horror movies ever made, and it’s credited as one of the movies that helped develop and popularize the slasher genre in the 1980s.
Halloween told the story of Michael Myers, who was sent to Smith’s Grove sanitarium after killing his sister when he was six years old. Fifteen years later, he escaped and returned to Haddonfield, Illinois, where he began stalking Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends on Halloween night. Laurie’s story of survival continued in Halloween II, and after that, the franchise began taking some liberties, changing the timeline and its main characters a couple of times, as well as Michael Myers’ mask.
Michael’s mask has become part of pop culture, and it’s well-known that it was a Captain Kirk mask that was repurposed and modified so Michael Myers could have the desired impact and look – but the mask hasn’t been the same in all movies, though they have tried to keep its characteristic pale and expressionless look. Here’s how Michael Myers' mask has changed through the Halloween franchise.
As Halloween II picks up directly after the first movie, Michael Myers wears the same mask seen in Halloween, though with some slight differences. Halloween II arrived three years after the original movie, and during that time, producer Debra Hill kept the mask under her bed, which inevitably covered it in dust and caused the paint to fade (and even turned a bit yellow). The mask seems wider, as if it had stretched out, but that’s only because Nick Castle didn’t reprise his role as Michael, and was instead played by Dick Warlock, who is shorter than Castle. Halloween II was believed to be Michael Myers’ final movie, so Warlock was allowed to keep the costume, but once Halloween 4 was in development, the production crew realized they couldn’t let the cast take props again, which is why subsequent masks look different.
The mask used in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is very different from the original one. It’s much whiter and brighter, and had less defined features, especially the mouth and cheekbones. The eyebrows look as if they were painted on, and the hair is slicker, as opposed to the teased hairstyle of the original one. The eyes are also smaller, closer to those of the original Captain Kirk mask.
The mask continued changing, and in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers it was longer, with slicker hair than the previous one, and the eyebrows were still heavily criticized (as these ones appear to have texture). As opposed to what the mask is supposed to look like, the Halloween 5 one had an angry expression, and it had an overall messy appearance.
When it comes to Michael Myers’ mask, Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers went back to its roots and featured one that was closer to the original design. Still, it had some differences, as it looks larger (to the point where some think it made Michael look like a bobblehead toy), and the hair was longer and messier. Still, it’s a big improvement from the ones in Halloween 4 and Halloween 5.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later made the mistake of having four different masks. One was made to look similar to the one in Halloween 6, and was used in the opening scene; another one was used through most of the movie, and while it was closer to the original one, it was too small and the eyes were visible; the eyes of another were too wide, the hairline was too far back, and had a blueish-white color; and the final mask was a CGI one, which although it was only used in one scene, it looked pretty bad.
The Halloween: Resurrection mask was heavily criticized for showing “too much emotion”, as some of its features and lines were too harsh, which appealed to some fans and others simply hated it. Many fans feel the mask looked like he was wearing makeup, perhaps due to its marked lines and painted eyebrows.
Because Michael Myers got the mask from his sister’s boyfriend before killing her and not from a hardware store as in the original movie, the one in Rob Zombie’s remake has an old, dry, and cracked look, which in a way gives it a modern yet creepy look. For the sequel, the mask is pretty much the same, only with larger cracks and more stains.
As David Gordon Green’s Halloween is a direct sequel to the original movie, the mask is identical to it, only showing the passing of time. As the mask was kept as archival evidence of his crimes, the mask is now cracked and dry, but it keeps the same emotionless, empty expression that made the original mask so iconic.
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