A Comprehensive List of Halloween 2018 Easter Eggs and References to the Previous Halloween Films.
From the beginning…
HALLOWEEN 78
Michaels left eye is scarred over from the original movie where Laurie Strode poked him in the eye with a hanger in the classic closet scene
HALLOWEEN 78
Scar on Michael’s neck from knitting needle that Laurie Strode stuck into his neck it from the original movie.
HALLOWEEN II 81
Halloween II (81) is heavily referenced in 2018 version. Beginning with Allyson and her friends walking down the sidewalk and Vicki‘s boyfriend talking about Michael Myers being Laurie’s sister which was one of the main key plot points in Halloween II. Halloween 2018 debunks that plot thread that was kept intact for all the Michael Myers Halloween movies.
HALLOWEEN 78
We’re introduced to Allyson’s family, we learn of Allyson’s boyfriend Cameron whose father’s name is mentioned: Lonny Elam. Lonny is in HALLOWEEN 78 he is the Trick R’ Treater who dares to knock on the Myers House door. He gets spooked by Dr. Loomis-“Hey Lonny, get your ass away from there!” Also, teenage Laurie says too little Tommy Wallace-“Lonny Elam won’t get out of the 5thGrade.”
Dana and Aaron, The two podcasters, go to visit Laurie Strode. During that visit, they mention how Michael Myers is being transferred. In an attempt to console Laurie Dana says “He will spend the rest of his days there” Laurie Strode response is “That’s the idea.” This mirrors a scene from the original movie in which Dr. Loomis Nurse Marion is driving to Smiths Grove to pick up 21-year-old Michael Myers. Marion asks Loomis what she should give Myers before going in front of the Judge. Loomis says Thorazine. Marion says “he’ll barely be able to sit up”, Loomis responds with “that’s the idea”.
HALLOWEEN 78
The entire classroom scene in HALLOWEEN 2018 is a reference almost shot by shot to HALLOWEEN 78 classroom scene. In the Orginal Movie, Laurie Strode is in class in which the teacher is lecturing about FATE. As the teacher is going on, Laurie looks out the glass window and sees The Shape staring back at her from across the street. HALLOWEEN 2018 Laurie Allyson is in class and the teacher is lecturing about FATE. In almost an exact recreation, Allyson looks outside the classroom window and sees her grandmother, Laurie Strode staring back from across the street. Also, clever trivia! The voice of the Teacher in Allyson’s class is non-other than PJ Soles who played Lynda in HALLOWEEN 78
HALLOWEEN 78
So now we go to a very clever Easter egg that references the original Halloween. And Halloween 2018 we have a father and son driving in a pick-up truck. While they were talking the song being played on the radio is playing is called JUST THE TWO OF US. It is the same exact song in which Laurie Strode is singing to herself while walking on the sidewalk while The Shape is watching her.
HALLOWEEN 4
In HALLOWEEN 4, the movie opens with Michael Myers being picked up for transfer. Transfer goes horribly wrong and Michael kills all in the ambulance.
HALLOWEEN 2018 something similar happens; Michael Myers is being transferred from Smith’s Grove. During the transfer, Michael causes a bus crash and kills most of the passengers and escapes.
HALLOWEEN 4/HALLOWEEN H20
HALLOWEEN 4 has a scene which takes place at a Gas Station. Dr. Loomis pulls into a Gas Station to fill up. Michael Myers arrived shortly before. Michael kills a mechanic and steals his overalls. Dr. Loomis while looking for assistant discovers the dead mechanic AND finds a dead waitress in the Diner attached to Station. In HALLOWEEN 2018 Aaron and Dana stop at a Gas Station to fill up, unaware they’ve been followed by Myers. In a scene where Dana is asking about a bathroom, we see in the background Myers beating a mechanic to death. Aaron later in the scene finds the station attendant murdered. Dana goes to the bathroom where the Halloween H2O reference begins. In H2O, a mother and daughter stop at a Rest Stop Restroom. Michael Myers enters the bathroom and gives the mother one good scare before stealing her purse with car keys Michael drives off with their car. HALLOWEEN 2018 Michael Myers follows Dana into the bathroom. He gruesomely terrorizes her and is interrupted by Aaron. Needless to say, the two Podcasters never get to broadcast their special on Michael Myers.
HALLOWEEN II 81& HALLOWEEN 78
When THE SHAPE returns to Haddonfield thus begins the re-imagining of HALLOWEEN II 81. Let’s begin with recapping the opening of HALLOWEEN II 81. Shortly after Loomis notices Michael Myers having vanished like a ghost; after being shot 6 times and falling off a balcony. The movie follows THE SHAPE as he stops at the Elron house. Mrs. Elron is making Mr. Elron a ham sandwich. Mrs. Elron walks from kitchen to den, where the tv is showing a news bulletin about the babysitter murders. While Mrs. Elron is watching TV, THE SHAPE walks into the kitchen and steals the Elron’s carving knife left on carving board. Mrs. Elron backs out of the den into the kitchen, reaches for the knife. She quickly notices not only blood on her carving board but that the knife is no longer there. She screams….to be heard by her next-door neighbor, a teenage girl, alone in her house. THE SHAPE stalks her through a window. She is on the phone being told about the murders. While she is on the phone, THE SHAPE, undetected, enters the house and shortly after the girl becomes the first victim of the movie. Later in the HALLOWEEN II 81, we see a teenager walking about Haddonfield town square with a boombox on his shoulders listening to the tragic news of the murders. As he’s listening, he bumps into THE SHAPE. One other thing to note; there is a scene in HALLOWEEN II 81 where a mother takes her young son to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital as the boy fell victim to a grisly Halloween prank. Important to note the boy is dressed as A PIRATE. How this all ties into HALLOWEEN 2018? THE SHAPE comes to Haddonfield on Halloween Night, looking to make a killing. A trick-or-treater dressed as A PIRATE has a BOOMBOX on his shoulders and bumps into THE SHAPE. Then in one long tracking shot, not too much dissimilar to the opening tracking shot from HALLOWEEN 78 we follow THE SHAPE. FOR THOSE WITH A GOOD EAR, YOU WILL HEAR Trick R’ Treaters recite the poem that is featured at the beginning of HALLOWEEN 78:
Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts,
Covens of witches with all of their hosts.
You may think they scare me, you’re probably right.
Black cats and goblins, on Halloween night.
Trick or treat!
We follow THE SHAPE. He notices an older woman in curlers NOT TOO DIS-SIMILAR TO MRS. ELRON. THE SHAPE walks into a tool shed and picks up a hammer. As we follow THE SHAPE into the house. The woman with the hair curlers is making a ham sandwich. Cutting ham on a cutting board. She puts the knife down, picks up her sandwich and goes off screen. THE SHAPE walks in with the hammer bludgeons her to death, walks over to the cutting board drops the hammer and picks up the carving knife. THE SHAPES WALKS through the house back out into the streets of Haddonfield. THE SHAPE then turns his attention to the house next door where a woman is on the phone listening to a friend who is telling her about the prison transfer bus crash. A bit rattled, the woman looks out her front window. THE SHAPE comes in behind her and kills her.
HALLOWEEN 78 & HALLOWEEN 4
Then we go to Babysitter Vicki. In this scene, we’re shown sheets hanging on the laundry line. A nice throwback to HALLOWEEN 78’s classic scene where THE SHAPE is stalking Laurie Strode through a laundry line of sheets. Later, Vicki, encounters THE SHAPE hiding in Julian’s closet! This references a scene from HALLOWEEN 4 where Jamie Lloyd is having a nightmare where she is being chased by THE SHAPE within her bedroom. She goes to shut her closet door and THE SHAPE appears in the room. As the scene continues in HALLOWEEN 18, Officer Hawkins enters Julian’s room and sees a “ghost” seated in a chair. This is a clear throwback to Bob “The Ghost” scene in HALLOWEEN 78. Shortly after, as Hawkins chases THE SHAPE, he comes across a gruesome find; Vicki’s boyfriend impaled to a wall! Similar to how BOB from HALLOWEEN 78 was pinned to a cupboard.
HALLOWEEN II, HALLOWEEN III, HALLOWEEN 4, HALLOWEEN H20 & ROB ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN 2
After Vicki’s demise, certain characters come together: Hawkins, Laurie, and Dr. Sartain. We see more of Haddonfield and Trick R’ Treaters. 3 of which are showcasing the featured Halloween masks in HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH: A Witch, Skull, Pumpkin masks.
Officer Hawkins, in the car with Allyson and Dr, Sartain find THE SHAPE. Hawkins hits Michael with his police car! Not the 1sttime in the series Michael has been run over. He was run over in HALLOWEEN 4 and by Laurie Strode in HALLOWEEN H20. Later in the scene, we have our first reference to a Rob Zombie version of Halloween. In HALLOWEEN 2018 THE SHAPE drags Dr. Sartain out of police car and then STOMPS on his head! This references Rob Zombies HALLOWEEN 2 in which one of Michaels victims gets his head stomped on to a pulp.
HALLOWEEN NIGHT DANCE COMIC, HALLOWEEN H20, HALLOWEEN ’78 & HALLOWEEN II ‘81
The final act of Halloween 2018 takes place at Laurie Strode’s compound. There are there is a wealth of references Easter eggs within the final 15 minutes of the movie. OK. So first up. It’s very obscure HALLOWEEN Comic Book reference; The name of the Comic is NIGHTDANCE. In the Comic, THE SHAPE turns one of his victims into a macabre Jack O’Lantern. The eyes, nose, mouth are carved out to resemble a Jack O’Lantern and the head is lit from within. In HALLOWEEN 18, Ray steps out of the compound to check on a Police car which just crashed in front of the house. Ray opens the door and he sees one of the policeman‘s head carved out and lit from within like a Jack-O’-Lantern. In Halloween H2O, Laurie sends her son off to safety and literally goes to hunt down Michael. This is similar to what happens in HALLOWEEN 2018, where Laurie leaver her daughter in the safety of the basement to hunt for Michael. What follows are love letter references to HALLOWEEN ’78 and HALLOWEEN II ’81. As Laurie is hunting down Michael, there are a lot of slatted closets; very similar to the same closet Laurie tries to hide and escape from THE SHAPE. In HALLOWEEN ’78 Dr. Loomis shoots Michael Myers and he falls off a balcony. Dr. Loomis goes out to the balcony and notices that Michael Myers is no longer there he has disappeared like a ghost. In Halloween 2018 the roles are reversed! Michael throws Laurie Strode off a balcony. He gets distracted for a moment. He looks back down and Laurie Strode has disappeared like a ghost.
In the final minutes towards the end, there is a nice homage to HALLOWEEN ’78 Cinematographer, DEAN CUNDY. In the original movie, there is the classic scene of THE SHAPE hauntingly appearing from the shadow of darkness and stabs Laurie. In HALLOWEEN 2018 right after Karen Strode shoots THE SHAPE, Laurie appears from the darkness of a closet and exclaims HAPPY HALLOWEEN MICHAEL. She pushes him down into the basement and her daughter and granddaughter make their escape. While they are climbing up the basement ladder, Michael Myers incorporates the now famous sitting up pose. Michael gets trapped in the basement which is set ablaze. THE SHAPE is believed to go up in flames not too dissimilar to the ending of HALLOWEEN II ’81 where THE SHAPE is engulfed in flames. The end of HALLOWEEN2018 showcases two references to HALLOWEEN ’78. At the end of the original movie, there is a montage of all the various rooms and locations where Michael Myers presence was. All the while you hear breathing from within a mask. The end of HALLOWEEN 2018, we are shown all the rooms of Laurie’s compound and finally the burning basement with NO MICHAEL. At the end of the Credits, we hear breathing from within the mask……..
