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1980s Horror Film Culture
  • ISSN: 2040-3275
  • E-ISSN: 2040-3283

Abstract

is the stand-out sequel in the franchise because it deviates so wildly from the pattern set in the original film, and then followed so poorly in subsequent editions. Instead, the John Carpenter and Debra Hill-produced takes the form of a ‘pod movie’, in which a toymaker plots to use a television signal to murder viewers on Halloween night. Much of the creative team were regular members of the Carpenter–Hill stable, which is clear in the film’s look, feel and sound. On the occasion of the release of , and ’s 40th birthday, this article proposes a critical re-evaluation of the work, highlighting the lost potential in the idea of an anthology series, the lack of serious engagement in the film and the crucial point of the villain having an Irish heritage. The film is also analysed as a ‘TV Text’: films, novels, plays and non-fiction works that are concerned with the effects and mechanisms of television. These were becoming increasingly prominent in the 1980s and beyond, with examples ranging from David Cronenberg’s (1983) and Don DeLillo’s (1985) to the late work of Gore Vidal and Arthur Miller.

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/content/journals/10.1386/host_00053_1
2022-10-01
2024-04-26
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): American studies; Halloween franchise; horror cinema; Irishness in film; John Carpenter; Michael Myers; TV in film

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