Halloween makes an effort of proving that Michael Myers cannot be explained, and goes so far as to kill those who dare try. Not only does this appear to be some sort of meta commentary on the previous evolution of the franchise, where various motives were ascribed to the character, from Druid cults to broken homes, it also serves a purpose in restoring The Shape to true bogeyman status.
Early on in the film we are introduced to the character of Dr. Ranbir Sartain, dubbed contemptuously as "the new Loomis" by Laurie. Unlike Loomis, Sartain is completely and utterly fascinated by Myers, to the point of obsession. It's heavily implied that he manufactured Michael's escape, and he does it all in a vein attempt to understand his personality. The issue here, of course, it that Michael is pure evil - the kind that no one could ever hope to rationalise, explain, or explicate.
Any attempt to understand Myers in this film is met with aggressive violence, and that cuts to the very core of the character. He does what he does not because of any particular drive - he is just evil given human form. That's far more terrifying than anything an origin or convoluted backstory could convey, and it's partially why the new film is so unnerving.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
