Crossovers appear to be a highly appealing concept. Comic book fans have long admired notions like the Avengers and Justice League, which bring together superheroes from distinct narratives. They also appreciate crossovers, such as Batman versus. Predator. In reality, Disney Channel has relished developing crossovers with plots like Hannah Montana and Wizards on Deck. So it is not a stretch to see Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise and Pinhead from Hellraiser dueling on the same screen.
Dimension Films has contemplated a crossover, but it was shelved for a variety of reasons, including the thought that it would fail or the producers’ dislike of the concept. However, writer Dave Parker had already outlined a possible narrative for it, and few fans could have predicted what would have happened.
With Halloween being a series that does not mind rebooting its storylines, it would not have been difficult to create a new origin narrative for Michael Myers, complete with a demonic twist in the form of Pinhead. In this video, we will discuss how the two storylines may have merged and why the concept failed to take off.
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The Impact Of Crossovers
Since the 2000s, crossovers in Hollywood have gradually gained an immense amount of popularity. 2003 graced us with the monumental Freddy vs Jason moment where we got to see Freddy Krueger from The Nightmare on Elm Street share the spotlight with Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th.
The movie had to go through a gruesome development. It had been in the making for 16 years and required several writers to take turns, resulting in the script development cost to be a whopping 6 million dollars. However, all was well in the end as the movie turned out to be a blockbuster, raking 116.6 million dollars while the budget was 30 million dollars.
The early 2000s went on to see more crossovers between mega-franchises, most notably Paul W.S. Anderon’s Alien vs Predator, which was also a raging success by the way. This resulted in Dimension reintroducing the idea of merging the Halloween franchise with Hellraiser, an idea they had previously rejected.
Halloween’s Michael Myers and Hellraiser’s Pinhead are two insanely popular antagonists with a massive impact on pop culture. Both franchises have dominated Hollywood’s horror field and continue to do so even today. Michael Myers has inspired several other slasher characters such as Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th and Ghostface from the horror-spoof movie Scream. Meanwhile, Pinhead has inspired the Gittarackur avatar of Illumi Zoldyck from the anime series Hunter x Hunter.
So before we get into what the verses between these two characters could have been like, it is best to talk about their backstories.
Who Is Michael Myers & Who Is Pinhead?
Michael Myers’ story began when he murdered his sister Judith Myers while he was only a small boy. He was then taken to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, from where he escaped. His psychologist, who was convinced of his evil, tried to track him down while he was on the loose in his hometown. He went on to murder more teenagers while the primary reason for his urge to kill remained unknown.
Some believe it is because he has no emotions and killing is the only thing that makes him feel something. Some have stated how he kills just for the sake of it while others have stated how he killed teenagers in the first Halloween movie as he was against them having sexual desires. The first reason seems more likely.
On the other hand, we have Pinhead, a cenobite, who kills as he is disillusioned with his existence and wants to murder his fellow cenobites to achieve power. All Cenobites were united due to a mutual interest in torture and death. Opening the Hellraiser box transported them to the Hell dimension where they all became a part of the Order of the Gash.
Pinhead was once a human from England called Elliot Spencer. He joined the British Army and served in France during World War I. Initially, he was compassionate but the inhumanity he witnessed in the Battle of Flanders ruined his faith in humanity and God.
The resulting trauma brought him to the Lament Configuration or the Hellraiser box as he searched for pain and pleasure. He was given what he seeked as he solved the box which transported him to the Hell dimension. Years of torture transformed him into a demon and the Leader of the Cenobites who served in the Order of the Gash. He was also the Hell Priest.
Plot Breakdown Of The Movie
The idea for a crossover between Michael Myers and Pinhead emerged when Dave Parker pitched the idea to Dimension Films under the title of ‘Helloween’. Parker believed that Michael Myers’ supposed immortality would make him a great addition to the Hellraiser mythos. Myers has no set objective behind his killings so Parker intended to introduce an intention by pulling out of the Hellraiser franchise.
In the movie Halloween, Myers kills his sister out of the blue but Parker intended to add onto that. In a flashback scene, we see Myers trick-or-treating on Halloween and he goes to this house where a guy in black boots gives him the Hellraiser box. Myers opens it and Samhain, the Lord of the Dead, escapes from Hell and takes over his body. So no matter how many injuries Myers takes, he does not die. With the origin story altered, the rest of the storyline flows seamlessly.
The story takes place during a time when people try to destroy the Myers house on Halloween. This is when they find the Hellraiser Box hidden within the walls. They open it and Pinhead appears. Since the entire fiasco is taking place in the Myers household, Michael Myers appears as well. When Pinhead sees Michael, he recognizes him to be Samhain since he can feel it. The two then engage in a duel in this dimension and eventually, they battle in Hell.
However, the idea was pitched in the 90s after Freddy vs Jason was rejected, so the influx of crossover movies hadn’t begun yet. Dimension rejected the script since they reportedly did not know how they could make it work. However, while Freddy vs Jason was being developed, the makers had intended to introduce Pinhead to the franchise.
As Krueger and Voorhees fought, they would wind up in Hell where Pinhead would appear in front of them. This idea did not take flight either as it would require New Line Cinema to license Pinhead from Dimension Films.
A fan on Reddit had come up with an alternative plot for what Michael Myers vs Pinhead could’ve been like. Michael escapes from the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium on October 30, 2007, as he crushes the head of the bus driver. He steals his coat and walks towards Haddonfield. Meanwhile, someone solves the Lament Configuration in his house, which Michael is obviously oblivious to. His house gets fogged as Pinhead appears and the person who solved the configuration runs away.
This angers Pinhead and his Cenobites as Hell has now been brought to Haddonfield but the man who did it is gone. Enraged, they blew up the buildings and houses in the area. The Police Department fails to do anything as the Cenobites are bulletproof. The Barbie Cenobites blow up the cars behind which cops were hiding. The DVD Cenobite get a DVD and stuck it into Dr. Loomis’ chest. The camera head impales a cop.
As Michael reaches Haddonfield, he is confused sees the sight that was in front of him. DVD Cenobite notices him and notifies Pinhead, who tells Pinhead that he will tear his soul apart as he had run from them in hell and to this world, trying to imply that he has the bloodthirsty soul of a demon which is where his evil stems from. Michael kills DVD and Barbie Cenobite with a pitchfork and a spear and ultimately, he must fight Pinhead with a sickle.
Unfortunately for Michael, he is only human and Pinhead can rip him apart in only three seconds. But with him being an escaped demon inside, maybe he has a chance.
Why Did It Get Canceled
The idea of the movie sounds promising, with Michael Myers turning into a cenobite as his body was taken over by Samhain. During its conceptualization, it was not taken very seriously until the success of Freddy vs Krueger. But due to complications surrounding the execution, it was ultimately scrapped.
Michael Myers would undergo a slight alteration, with the mask fixed to his face and his hand being made of knives, to make him more sinister as he was now the vessel for a Cenobite. Halloween has retold its origin story several times and reverted back to the original story so often- so another story to the mix wouldn’t harm the franchise. However, there is a slight problem.
The power scales and premises for both antagonists are from different dimensions, literally so the only reason they are being pitched against each other is that their rights are owned by Dimension Films. Otherwise, it makes more sense to pair Michael Myers against another slasher like Jason Voorhees instead of a demon with superpowers straight from Hell.
Doug Bradley, the actor who plays Pinhead, filled in Your Move Magazine during an interview where he spoke about this potential crossover movie. Clive Barker was brought in to write the story under the direction of John Carpenter but the producers of Halloween, the Akkad Brothers did not wish for the crossover as they believed that the Hellraiser franchise needed Halloween but Halloween did not need Hellraiser.
Around this time, a poll was held where fans were asked regarding who would win in a versus, Pinhead or Michael Myers. However, very minimal response to the poll proved that fans did not want the crossover either and it was ultimately scrapped.
Which Killer Would’ve Won The Fight In The Final Battle
Michael Myers and Pinhead are killers from two very different worlds. One is a sinister serial killer while the other is a demon from Hell. And Michael Myers is no Batman he will brainstorm and manage to gain the advantage over supernatural beings.
Unlike Freddy vs Jason, Michael Myers vs Pinhead seems to be a stretch- considering the fact that Michael is just a serial killer with a mask and a butcher knife while Pinhead wields power from Hell. Also, a duel till death is also implausible since Pinhead is already dead. He is invulnerable to most weapons and has Hellish powers. He can sustain damage even when his guard is down but he only returns with more power than before. On the other hand, Michael Myers has no supernatural powers.
The Halloween franchise made him unkillable, without much explanation with reference to his supposed immortality until the Curse of the Thorn was introduced. In this curse, Micahel Myers has been cursed by the Thorn cult. It makes him immortal but the cult commands him to kill his family members as the cult requires sacrifices to sustain their immortality.
However, the franchise often breaks continuity for reboots and to retell the story in new ways, which is how the Curse of Thorn was introduced. Several fans believed that it took away from the ominous ambiguity that surrounded Michael Myers’ supposed immortal character by adding a layer of the supernatural to it.
The storyline was rebooted again to return Michael to his original self but even if he went against Pinhead with the Curse of Thorn, a duel between them would be awkward and uneven because Pinhead would easily defeat him even without killing him.
Pinhead can read minds, he has telekinesis, he can create illusions, open the doorways to different places and teleport the Earth’s plane, and has impactful monologues that can convince people to do his biddings. He can drag people to Hell, kill them on the spot and easily overpowers Michael Myers. However, Michael’s durability and super strength would allow him to land a few impactful hits provided he can get his hands on Pinhead and because Pinhead can take damage. It still would not be close.
Michael Myers has one advantage over Pinhead and that is the fact that Pinhead can be stopped. If the Lament Configuration is destroyed and Pinhead is tied to the pillar of souls without being woken up, he can be taken down. Unfortunately for Michael, he is a serial killer in its most authentic sense and only cuts people down. This would require a lot of plotting, scheming, and planning.
So, Pinhead would win this fight with no difficulty.
What do you think of a crossover between Halloween and Hellraiser? Did you enjoy this video? If yes, don’t forget to like and comment on this video. Till then, goodbye. And have a nice one!