by Kevin Powers

Created on: August 05, 2008   Last Updated: August 06, 2008

Until recently I've only heard about the alternate versions of the infamous HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS but one of the most infamous is the PRODUCER'S CUT of the film which was rumored to be completely different then the released version (there also happens to be a DIRECTOR'S CUT of the film which is different than the theatrical and Producer's Cut as well). After much searching over the years I was finally able to get my hands on a copy through the new website Horrorbid.com which aims to be the "eBay" of online shopping for horror related merchandise.

Having finally watched the Producer's Cut of the film I can say without a doubt that both versions of the film are still not any good but with the Producer's Cut it's interesting to see what the studios changed in order to get the theatrical version. The Jamie Lloyd (J.C. Brady) character doesn't die in the beginning at the hands of Myers like in the theatrical cut but is killed later on by Dr. Wynn (Mitch Ryan) and his cabal while in a hospital bed. There is also a brief flashback to the events at the end of HALLOWEEN 5 that elaborate on more of what happened when the police station was blown up.

The biggest change to the film is the ending, which is completely different then the theatrical version. Once Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd) leave the boarding house after being drugged by Wynn and his cabal the rest of the Producer's Cut takes a huge detour from the theatrical film. The ending now has Wynn trying to coheres Kara Strode's (Marianne Hagan) son Danny into killing his mother as well as trying to have Myers kill his son-Jamie's baby (the whole incestuous thing is explained more in this version). All this is to transfer the evil that is Myers into young Danny. None of the events make any more since in this version then in the theatrical version. Tommy manages to stop Myers in this film through the use of rune stones that cancel out the evil represented by the power of Thorn (which in this film is explained as the entity which is the harbinger of evil, thus Michael Myers). This version ends with little blood shed and the evil that is Myers transferring to Dr. Loomis (rather then Dr. Wynn whom we last see trapped by the rune stones by Myers). Trust me, none of it still makes any sense.

The film's still a mess but it's interesting to see how the two versions differ and why the studios wanted the changes. The theatrical version pumps up the death scenes and action tremendously and even though it cuts out a lot of exposition that would've made the story make more since nothing is really lost because the Producer's Cut rarely feels like a Halloween film at all with the "less is more" attitude. The theatrical cut makes for a much more dynamic and energetic film but the Producer's Cut, while preserving the original intensions of the filmmakers, make for a blander film going experience. Like I said neither version is really any good but the Producer's Cut is a very interesting alternative to the theatrical version.

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