After 44 years, the Halloween movie series continues on with the recent release of the latest installment of the franchise, Halloween Ends. To put it mildly, the film wasn't quite embraced by the fans. It landed with rotten scores with both critics and filmgoers at Rotten Tomatoes. The social media criticism has also been extensive with some fans going so far as to suggest this new movie taints the legacy of the franchise John Carpenter helped launch in 1978.
Carpenter, who worked on the movie's music alongside son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, thinks nothing about those assertions. The idea that new movies in the franchise would somehow tarnish his legacy in the eyes of some fans is not something he ever thinks about at all, according to the director. Carpenter recently said as much in a new interview with Vulture, having this to say when asked if he felt protective of Halloween movies that were met with negative reviews.
"I don’t care. I really don’t care."
The horror mastermind went on to explain that he doesn't get hung up on what's said about any Halloween film that came after the original, as those were all made under the creative guidance of different filmmakers. While he can now see how wrong he was, Carpenter says he never had any interest in directing any Halloween sequels as he couldn't have imagined there'd be so much story left to tell with the series, especially after Michael Myers was meant to be killed off in the original Halloween II.
"People wanted to see Michael Myers once again. So there you go. The Halloween movie I love the most is the one I made back in 1978, the one I directed. Others are other people’s visions. That’s the way it goes. That’s what happens when you give up. I didn’t want to direct sequels. I didn’t think there was story left. Boy, was I wrong, huh?"
John Carpenter Likes the Paychecks That Come With Sequels and Remakes
John Carpenter also shared his thoughts on the remake trend in Hollywood that has included the Halloween films. As far as he sees it, Carpenter says he prefers when people remake his own material rather than having the job of remaking someone else's work, as every time a new movie comes out, it means he gets another paycheck. He also suggests it's up to the audiences to decide if a remake is good or not as he's happy as long as he gets paid.
"There are two kinds of remakes for me: One is where I’m the originator of the material. I wrote the screenplay. Two: It was an assignment from the studio. 'We want you to do this.' If it’s an assignment from the studio, they don’t pay me when they do a remake. They own the material. If I’ve generated the screenplay, they have to pay me. That’s the kind of sequel I like. My movie exists. Make your own. You want to pay me a bunch of bucks, fine. Have a great time."
Halloween Ends is now playing in theaters and on Peacock. Even if this movie concludes the Blumhouse trilogy, chances are the movie series will be rebooted once again soon enough, which would mean even more money would be coming Carpenter's way.