It’s been a great time to be a horror fan, as the genre’s renaissance has been going strong for years. A number of beloved franchises returned to theaters in the process, including John Carpenter’s Halloween. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s current trilogy continued with Halloween Kills last October, with the slasher arriving for home release in time for the Holiday Season. And a new exclusive clip shows the practical way Dr. Loomis was brought back without Donald Pleasence.
Aside from Jamie Lee Curtis, the late actor Donald Pleasence is the other protagonist of the Halloween franchise— especially the sequels. But given his death in 1995, fans were shocked to see his character Dr. Loomis return to the big screen in Halloween Kills. As explained in the video above, rather than using visual effects, this was done via prosthesis and one seriously good lookalike. And just like that, we're able to see him help arrest Michael Myers on that fateful 1978 night.
Early in Halloween Kills’ runtime, the story has a flashback to the night of Michael Myers’ original attack through Haddonfield. Loomis was played on set by Tom Jones, Jr., who was also the film’s art director. Add in some stunning prosthesis by make-up artist Chris Nelson, and the The Shape’s doctor was miraculously brought back from the dead.
In both the clip about Dr. Loomis, as well as in the accompanying interviews for the past two movies, it’s proven just how methodically David Gordon Green and company approached their work on Halloween Kills. They’re big fans of John Carpenter’s original, which is why it was so important to bring Donald Pleasence’s character back to the big screen. And in the end, Tom Jones looked uncanny as the iconic character.
Overall, Halloween Kills truly made the town of Haddonfield into a character, and expanded the mythology of the 1978 original slasher. Aside from the miraculous return of Dr. Loomis, the sequel featured the return of a number of actors from John Carpenter’s OG Halloween. That includes Kyle Richards, who has been confirmed to be returning for the threequel Halloween Ends.
With the same crew presumably joining David Gordon Green and Danny McBride for Halloween Ends, there’s no telling what sort of bloody drama will come with the highly anticipated slasher. But with the Ends serving as the ending to the current trilogy as well as Jamie Lee Curtis’ swan song as Laurie Strode, the stakes have never been higher.
Halloween Kills will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray January 11th, after first being released in both theaters and Peacock. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
