Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)

Decent documentary on the Halloween franchise up until right before Rob Zombie's two contributions to the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. It doesn't quite cover each film thematically in elaborate detail like the later Jason and Freddy docs would ultimately do, but it has a lot to say about Myers in pop culture, and what the groundwork for Myers accomplished thanks to Carpenter and company back in '78. It acknowledges what the films in the franchise did or didn't do right according to fan and critic reaction. Truthfully, this is one of those docs where it covers the films yet doesn't quite hit each of them in the kind of enlightening detail that others would later do. Seeing various actors/actresses from the films showing up like Nancy Kyes and Tom Atkins along with makeup artists like Nicoterro and Buechler, and directors like Rosenthal and Tommy Lee Wallace does lend to some cool tidbits. Like the debate of the Myers mask in H20, the production dysfunction of Part 6, how Harris decided Part 6 wasn't respectful (and right she was) to her character, Clive Barker (much to my personal astonishment) rather open (maybe he was being sarcastic) to writing a film directed by John regarding Myers vs. Pinhead, reactions to the slasher themes set in motion (what happens if you are promiscuous), what elaborating on The Shape does to the enigma he once had in Carpenter's film (rather obliterated years later by the Thorne storyline), Pamela Stroop's reveal about having a closed set with a few people when she does shows her breasts and how members of the crew were supposed to strip too, and why men get it quick and rather less elaborate while women die in a lengthy and rather cruel way.Kudos, though, to addressing the lingering bad taste regarding Busta Rhymes' karate chop to Myers, the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to the franchise because a lot of money was thrown at her, how the franchise often teetered in regards to what the emphasis should be on (violence or suspense), how the character of Myers should be treated over the long term (humanizing him or providing "too much" back story), and letting us see behind the scenes and how popular Halloween is.

This documentary exhaustively examines the "Halloween" franchise, with interviews with creators John Carpenter & Debra Hill, along with actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Charles Cyphers, P.J. Soles, Tom Atkins, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, and archival footage with the late(and much missed) Donald Pleasance, among many other actors, directors, and writers involved. Takes a look at how and why the first film was made, following its production and release, where Carpenter thought it had failed, only to discover to his surprise that it was a big critical and commercial success. Also goes into the formation of the many sequels, the ups and downs of their production, and then the possible future of the franchise.Made before the two(needless) remakes and tragic death of owner Moustapha Akkad, this film was quite an interesting look at the franchise, now 35 years, rather than 25!

The Documentary itself is worth the price of admission, but the hours and hours of amazing extras are just a bonus. I've loved anything to do with the Halloween franchise for so many years, even bought some of the crappy sequels, I'm a die-hard fanatic and a proud one at that.Horror's Hallowed Grounds. P.J Soles is with our tour guide. The tour of the filming locations is a nice watch, it has some cool insight into what happened and P.J looked to be having fun.Halloween 2 and 3 extended interviews. Didn't really pay much attention to the interviews from 3, sorry not a fan of the film what so ever, but I did enjoy Tom Atkins jokes about being a ladies man.Pamela Susan Shoop|The infamous nurse who was drowned viciously in the hot tub| claims Carpenter and Rosenthal didn't get along, and Carpenter was more into the gore, doesn't seem right to me, considering Carpenter had a brilliant script with Halloween.Tawny Moyer|Jill| claims Dick Warlock was very gentle and caring and says Jamie Lee Curtis was great to work with.Gloria Gifford|Mrs Alves| Says they wouldn't let her off the gurney to even eat or go to the bathroom, because they didn't wanna disturb the blood.Rick Rosenthal says Halloween 2 was supposed to be more suspense orientated, while Tommy Lee Wallace declined to direct Halloween 2 due to too much stress. Extended Celebrity interviewsIncludes a funny interview with Charles Cyphers, while Dick Warlock reveals he wasn't even aware of these conventions until a few years ago. P.J Soles thinks the success of Halloween is amazing. While other famous people like Kathleen Kimont, Danielle Harris recall famous memories along with the cast of Resurrection. Ellie Cornell is displeased about how she was dispatched so quickly in Halloween 5|Don't blame her| Nancy Kyes explains how she was surprised she was able to scream on cue.There is some On-Set footage from Halloween 5, some Halloween convention montage, fan collections of memorabilia.Panel Discussions.Halloween IIThis one was pretty fun, a lot. Pamela Susan Shoop seemed a bit full of herself at times, Tawny Moyer seemed chipper and cheerful, while I was happy to hear that Gloria Gifford and Cliff Emmerich|security guard| liked working with Jamie Lee. But I wish Jamie Lee herself along with Leo Rossi and Lance Guest were there as well.Halloween. Various cast members are missing, Jamie Lee once again. But seeing Brian Andrews recall some memories was great and the lively P.J Soles was great, while I enjoyed watching Charles Cyphers recite his "You let him out" line. Halloween 4 and 5 Discussions. This was pretty good, with of course Ellie and Danielle peaking my interest the most.Halloween 6. Half of them seemed clueless to the success I must say, especially Kim Darby who looked nervous and kinda awkward to be there. Paul Rudd obviously is too big a star, but Braford English, Janice Knickerhm and Marianne Hagan were having fun, and I enjoyed listening to them. Janice can still recite her Halloween story from Halloween 6 as the baby-sitter with perfection.The Myers Gang had an entertaining panel discussion, it was usually lively.If your into it, The Producers and Dean Cundley have one too. Bottom line. Simply a dream come true for me, so many wonderful extras. My only complaint is that I didn't get to see my beloved Jamie Lee Curtis, but there is more than enough here to satisfy, I just want to go to one of these in person!10/10

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*** This DVD was definitely worth waiting almost three years for. Actually I only was aware of its release date for no more than six months or so, but it was definitely worth the wait. The documentary narrated by P.J. Soles, the footage from the convention held in South Pasadena in 2003, and the interviews were all well done. I loved seeing all of the cast members from all of the different Halloween films come together to answer fan questions and reunite with each other as some of these cast members hadn't seen much of each other for years. If you are a Halloween fan, I definitely recommend this DVD for you. Also check out the Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 Special Edition DVDs also released the same day as this one was as well (July 25, 2006). 9.9/10 stars.