Even in its current state—cracked and burned—Michael Myers’ iconic mask remains one of horror cinema’s most iconic images. As well-known as it is on screen, its backstory is legendary in its own right.
On Halloween, Tommy Lee Wallace played a number of different characters in the production. As a production designer, he also served as art director, location scout, and co-editor, and he designed four masks for the Shape to wear.
One of them was a Captain Kirk mask from 1975 that he bought off Hollywood Boulevard for a couple of dollars. With eyes widened and face spray-painted bluish-white, it met the script’s requirement for “the pale feature of a human face” and succeeded in evoking the desired eerie effect.
In horror films, the villains often wear masks, but they always get their “Scooby-Doo” moment when their identities are revealed.
The name Michael Myers does not belong here. He is still one of the most mysterious killers in horror films. What, then, is hiding behind that mask, and do movies ever give us a glimpse?
Pre-adult Michael Myers
In 1978’s Halloween, Michael Myers is one of the first characters we see, and he’s only six years old. The reveal of the young boy is shocking after the suspenseful opening sequence, in which viewers are subjected to the killer’s point of view as he commits a brutal murder.
It’s understandable if you don’t recall his appearance. But even when dressed as a clown and armed with a large knife, he still looks like any other kid. The young Myers’ story, including his trial and imprisonment, is expanded upon in the Halloween novel tie-in.
Little Michael is never mentioned again, and his face is never seen again. Dr. Sam Loomis’ chilling description of the silent boy, whom he calls “pure evil,” is the only source of information we have.
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The Halloween Kills Revealed on Michael Myers’ Face
During the last promotional trailers and interviews for Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode expressed a desire to unmask Michael Myers so that she might see the life drain from his eyes.
It’s strange to do so because the mask symbolizes the character’s true identity as a nameless, ubiquitous danger. However, he was exposed in an earlier installment of the Halloween series.
At the end of Halloween (1978), when Michael Myers (then played by Tony Moran) attacks Laurie, she is able to take off his mask.
Although this isn’t the first time something like this has happened in a Halloween sequel or reboot, it is the only time viewers have actually gotten a good look at Michael Myers’ face.
How many times did John Carpenter have Jamie Lee Curtis do the scene where she takes Tony’s mask off?
According to Tony Moran’s interviews, they did four or five takes of this scene. Tony put Vaseline in his hair at the suggestion of another person to make the mask’s removal more comfortable.
“Tony explains, “The only issue was that I had to get the Vaseline out after we finished filming, so I used apple cider vinegar or whatever it was.” The odor was unbearable.”
Where are the various Michael Myers masks that were used in the making of the film?
Photographs taken on the set of the Halloween film show that at least two distinct masks were used, and Tony Moran speculates that a third may have been present.
Because the actors playing Michael Myers had such a wide range in height and build, several masks were required. The masks have gone missing today, and no one seems to know where they could be.
Moran said, “I don’t have one” when asked if he had one “Some viewers may have missed the point, but the film’s modest $300,000 budget was set that way on purpose; the producers weren’t throwing anything in for free.
When it came out, I thought it was just another horror movie that would be on shelves for a month and then forgotten.”
Assassinates on Halloween (2022)
Green takes it further in the sequel. After years of sequels that failed to live up to the original, Halloween Kills revived the franchise by adding a touch of the supernatural after removing the curse that plagued the flicks of the late ’80s.
Myers’ mask is still around, all burnt and crispy from the fire that ended Halloween, continuing the story just where it left off.
That comes in handy later on when the movie reveals that the mask gives Myers superpowers, suggesting that he is able to withstand and even overcome anything because of it.
The film picks up on hints dropped in the first film when Myers survived incredible damage and uses that information as a plot point in the final act of Halloween Kills.
When Myers is cornered outside his house, Laurie’s daughter, Karen Strode Nelson, manages to remove his mask. His face is out of view due to the camera’s tight focus and acute angles, but he appears to be in obvious distress.
A closer look at the man we were reminded of at the start of Halloween 2018 is provided here. There’s still evidence of the eye injury, along with the grizzled stubble and thinning grey hair. Again, a quite unremarkable 61-year-old man, especially for a serial killer.
The greatest perspective is presented in a single picture reminiscent of those seen on Halloween 4 and Halloween 5. This time, Myers doesn’t flinch or cry out of pain. Instead, he has sustained considerable physical damage.
The enemy has been ambushed and soundly defeated; perhaps evil will finally perish tonight. The citizens of Haddonfield made a huge error by letting Myers re-equip his mask. Myers isn’t hiding behind a mask; it’s his true identity.
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