Halloween Creator John Carpenter On What Makes Michael Myers So Horrifying

Few filmmakers hold a candle to John Carpenter’s time-honored legacy.

As the director behind Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter is a giant of cinema, and there is perhaps no other horror film that has stood the test of time than Halloween.

First released in 1978, John Carpenter’s cult classic introduced moviegoers to Michael Myers, the iconic masked slasher who has since become a cornerstone of horror culture – even now, more than 40 years later, Myers continues to inspire Halloween costumes the world over. No thanks to the recent release of Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, of course.

But getting back to John Carpenter and Myers, in particular, the filmmaker spoke to CBS News about what makes his creation so terrifying.

John Carpenter: I wanted the audience not to know whether he was human or supernatural. He had no character. He was blank. He was simply evil. He’s like the wind, he’s out there. He’s gonna get you.

CBS: And that’s what’s the most terrifying?]

JC: Oh hell, yeah. Oh yeah. It’s what you don’t know about, what you can’t see is out there.

You can’t argue with Carpenter’s reasoning here. The lack of concrete knowledge surrounding Michael Myers helps maintain some semblance of mystery around Halloween‘s lead antagonist, and this less-is-more approach is part of the reason why Myers’ masked killer continues to fuel nightmares even 40 years after his inception.

Beyond that, the Halloween of 2018 has been billed as a sequel to the original classic, one anchored by the great Jamie Lee Curtis. Judy Greer is also in talks to play Laurie’s daughter (Karen Strode), with David Gordon Green behind the lens. As things stand, it’ll slice and dice its way into theaters on October 19th, 2018.