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Interview: Nick Castle on His Return to Haddonfield in ‘Halloween’ 2018

Published

5 years ago

January 14, 2019

Forty years ago Nick Castle stumbled into portraying one of the most iconic killers in horror history when he donned the pale white mask and coveralls of Michael Myers aka The Shape in 1978’s Halloween.

Castle, who would later go on to direct classic films like The Last Starfighter and The Boy Who Could Fly, had attended film school with writer/director John Carpenter, and when he found out his friend was directing a movie near his home, he called Carpenter up and asked if he could visit the set.

“He said, ‘Yeah,’ and then asked if I wanted to put on the mask and hang around the set,” Castle recalled in an interview with iHorror earlier this week. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’ That’s how it all started. There wasn’t a lot of direction. I just put on the mask and did it.”

Nick Castle stumbled into the iconic role of Michael Myers aka The Shape in the original *Halloween*.

It’s one of those Hollywood stories that’s hard to believe, but without much direction, or acting experience for that matter, Castle found a way of moving and embodying the character that made The Shape all too real and terrifying and influenced every actor who donned the mask in the decades that followed.

“I don’t know where that came from,” he admits, “but that idea that he would be very deliberate in his movements, it was very obvious to me, and I didn’t need much more than that. The character was very much a Frankenstein’s monster to me. He moved slowly, deliberately…you couldn’t really see his eyes. All you can see is that horrible, blank mask.”

Flash forward 40 years. Castle had retired from filmmaking when he received a call from David Gordon Green asking if he’d be interested in making some small reprisal of the role in a new Halloween film that retconned back to that original film and Castle’s portrayal.

Castle had started making appearances on the convention circuit, and had been meeting fans, realizing just how much that original film had meant to them over the years, and he suddenly knew this was a project he had to do.

“They brought me out to South Carolina for a week and I got to hang with the cast and crew,” he said. “I got to see Jamie [Lee Curtis] again, and John [Carpenter] came down to hang out. It was like a reunion, and we had a blast.”

He is quick to point out, however, that the lion’s share of The Shape’s portrayal in Halloween 2018 is on actor and stuntman James Jude Courtney.

“If they had asked me to come down and do the whole role,” he said, “it would have been a very different thing to consider. Having to be on set at 2 am, get ‘stabbed’ by this guy, do this, do that. The guy who does all that hard work is James Courtney, and he’s amazing. He was the one getting chairs thrown at him at 2 in the morning.”

Nick Castle with James Jude Courtney both appeared as The Shape in *Halloween*.

With the film in the can, he was excited to see audience reactions, and it also brought him back to the world of red carpet premieres for the first time in many years.

It was exciting, and even more so that he got to share it with his family.

“It was crazy!” he said. “I got to bring my two sons and their wives. The wives had never experienced going to a big opening and taking them there and to the premiere party was just a lot of fun.”

Halloween is already available on digital streaming services and hits Blu-Ray and DVD this week on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

6 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

8 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.