Jason Blum says the new ‘Halloween’ movie has a “social message” and is an exploration of what happens “after a traumatic event”.
The 49-year-old producer is responsible for bringing the horror sequel to the big screen, with the plot following Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode battling psychopath killer Michael Myers 40 years after the original 1978 movie.
Blum insists that the slasher film has a “social message” and is an exploration of what happens to people when they live through a “traumatic event”.
Speaking at the Busan International Film Festival, Blum said: “We have a very specific approach to making movies at Blumhouse. We try and put a social or political message into a scary movie. This movie is about two things: women’s empowerment, there are three generations of women overcoming the most evil man in the world.
“Also, where most horror movies are about a traumatic event, this is an exploration of what happens to a group of people 40 years after a traumatic event.”
Blum – the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions – also revealed that he would not have agreed to work on the project unless John Carpenter, the creator of the original movie, was back on board.
Carpenter is responsible for writing the score for the film and he worked with director David Gordon Green and his co-writer Danny McBride to create the perfect soundtrack for the murders.
His return means that the new ‘Halloween’ installment is the first film in the canon with his direct involvement since 1982’s ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’.
Blum said: “Another thing that is unique about Blumhouse horror franchises is that we work really hard to include the creator of the original movie. [I] would not do the movie unless John Carpenter would come back in.”
The new ‘Halloween’ film has been made as a direct sequel to the first two movies and, according to co-writer McBride, it pretends “the other sequels never happened”.
The first film began with scenes showing six-year-old Michael Myers murder his 17-year-old sister, but after being locked away in a high-security mental institute for 15 years he escapes and returns to his hometown to find his next victims, targeting babysitters on Halloween evening.
But the white-masked killer meets his match in high school student Laurie Strode – portrayed by Curtis.
The 59-year-old actress has reprised her role as Laurie three times since 1978 in 1981’s ‘Halloween II’, 1998’s ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’ and 2002’s ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ but this will be her last battle with Myers.
Bang Showbiz
