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TIFF 2018: Five things you missed at the Halloween premiere

If you missed Saturday night’s world premiere of David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel, then you missed it. Period. At until it opens theatrically on October 19. The slasher film in which Jamie Lee Curtis once again reprises her role as Laurie Strode isn’t screening again during TIFF and isn’t doing any press screenings, either. Needless to say, that meant epic lines outside the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, where Midnight Madness fans temporarily relocated from the program’s usual home at Ryerson.

1. Just because you arrive in costume doesn’t guarantee VIP treatment

A couple of people –  almost wrote “dudes,” then realized how presumptuous that was – dressed in Halloween serial killer Michael Myers’s iconic mask and jumpsuit worked the line pre-show, posing for photos as the filmmakers and cast worked the red carpet. Surprisingly, not that many fans were dressed up, but it’s not like going all out gets you special treatment. The line for the 11:59 p.m. screening stretched up Victoria Street toward Dundas. At one point, the two Michael Myerses trudged past me, blaring John Carpenter’s theme song on a speaker, en route to the back of the line. “Is that necessary?” the woman behind me quipped.

2. Michael Myers was actually there

Director David Gordon Green brought out cast members Curtis, Judy Greer and Andi Matichuk, as well as co-screenwriter Danny McBride and the producers and immediately received a standing ovation. After a quickie intro with Midnight programmer Peter Kuplowsky, the lights went down and, when the audience finished clapping along to the L’Oreal commercial and screaming “Aaargh!” at the anti-piracy warning (Midnight traditions), the screen went dark for an unusual amount of time and a silhouette appeared on stage. Yes, it was The Official Michael Myers who provided a final, typically silent introduction.

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Samuel Engelking

Fans dressed as Michael Myers posed for photos on the street while the stars worked the red carpet.

3. The audience going wild during shots referencing the first film

Without getting too specific, the new version of Halloween (which ignores all the previous sequels and continues the story from the first one) features a handful of clever call-backs to iconic shots from John Carpenter’s 1978 film. Each of those moments received a raucous response from the audience – the kind the Midnight crowd might reserve for a particularly satisfying death scene or a L’Oreal commercial (don’t ask). There is also a clever feminist twist on the “sex equals death” slasher movie trope that elicited knowing laughs from the crowd. 

4. The movie is all about trauma

Curtis, dressed in head-to-toe probiotic yoghurt white, was the star of the Q&A and had the most thoughtful answers. The main thrust of the film is that her character Strode has been waiting for years to exact revenge on Myers and her obsession has estranged her from her daughter (Greer) and granddaughter (Matichak). “It’s a movie about trauma. It is generational and something we’re seeing with wars,” she explained. “I thought it was an amazing story to tell and see through her eyes and the eyes of her granddaughter.”

“I’m traumatized now!” added Greer, who was seeing the finished film for the first time. “I’m shaking!”

5. The crew paid tribute to Laurie’s plight on the final day of shooting

The Q&A, while fun, didn’t yield a ton of insightful information. When someone asked about the ongoing appeal of Michael Myers, producer Malak Akkad did not launch into a soliloquy on toxic masculinity. “I think it’s the greatest horror franchise!” he exclaimed in pitch-y Hollywood producer fashion.

Answering a separate question, Curtis told an audio commentary-worthy story from the last day of shooting. The actor said from day one she insisted the cast wear name tags so she could remember everyone’s name, and right before she filmed her final scene in South Carolina from inside a truck, she looked up and all the crew members were wearing tags that read, “We are Laurie Strode.”

“There I was with this crew that was so loving,” she recalled. “It was this amazing gift the crew gave me.”

Check out more photos from the premiere below:

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Samuel Engelking

Judy Greer

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Samuel Engelking

Andi Matichak

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Samuel Engelking

Jamie Lee Curtis flanked by producers Malek Akkad (left), Jason Blum and Bill Block

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Samuel Engelking

Co-writer Danny McBride (left) and director David Gordon Green.

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