The New Loomis
Donald Pleasence passed away in 1995, but the new Halloween still found a way to honor his iconic character of Dr. Loomis through the presence of Dr. Sartain, Michael’s new psychiatrist. It’s established early on that he was a student of Loomis’. When Laurie meets him for the first time, she even lampshades his stand-in role by calling him “the new Loomis.” The film then cleverly plays with our expectations for this sort of character when Sartain’s darker intentions are revealed later in the movie.
Of course, Loomis himself also makes a vocal cameo here. When the British podcasters listen to his old recordings, Loomis can be heard arguing for Michael to be executed as he believes the killer’s pure evil. Though the words echo a similar speech the doctor made in the original, this was new material that was actually read by a pretty spot-on Donald Pleasence impersonator.
Hiding Under A Bedsheet
Probably Myers’ most memorable kills from the first movie are his murders of the unfortunate babysitter Lynda and her boyfriend Bob. After snuffing out Bob by pinning him to the wall with a knife, Michael displays a bit of uncharacteristic humor when he dons a bed sheet ghost costume to fool Lynda into thinking he’s Bob… before killing her, too.
The deaths of Vicky and Dave – another unfortunate babysitter and her boyfriend – echo the demise of Lynda and Bob, but with a few twists. First, their deaths are switched around. Vicky dies first before Dave goes to investigate and meets the same fate. Their actual deaths occur off-screen, but when Sheriff Hawkins discovers their corpses, he finds Dave pinned to the wall (like Bob) and Vicky left under a bed sheet ghost costume. Clearly, Michael loves that ghoulish joke for some reason.
Speaking of Lynda, the actress who played her – P.J. Soules – makes a vocal cameo appearance in the new film when she’s heard as the voice of Allyson’s teacher in one scene.