HALLOWEEN Sequel Makeup Artist on Recreating Michael Meyers' Iconic 40-Year-Old Mask

You all know the story behind Michael Meyers iconic Halloween mask and how the production team simply bought a William Shatner mask and distressed it and painting it to give it that eerie look. 

The upcoming Halloween film is going to be a direct sequel to the very first movie. Jamie Lee Curtis returns to reprise her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who is said to come to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. Judy Greer plays Karen Strode, the daughter of Laurie, and Andi Matichak (Orange Is the New Black, Underground) plays Allyson, the granddaughter.

Now, thanks to makeup artist Christopher Nelson, we have an idea of what to expect from this 40-year-old mask. While talking to Halloween News Daily, he discusses the process he went through in creating the new mask. 

"The film takes place 40 years later, so you’re not going to have that same mask, it’s not going to be this pristine, beautiful thing that it was in 1978. You have to approach it from that standpoint. I had 40-year-old masks that I studied and looked at how they broke down, how they wrinkled, how they did this and how they did that. I also took into account the context of the film. Where is the mask now and where has it been for these 40 years? Without revealing anything, I took that into context. I had hundreds of photos and books."

You can bet, that with the worn look, the mask is going to be even more creepy. The original prop mask used was only used in the first two films and was rediscovered last year. That's a photo of it on the side. Nelson goes on to talk about how he's just not creating the mask, he's also creating the character behind it.

"I mostly really wanted to capture that feeling you got when you saw Michael Myers. I was also talking to [director] David [Gordon Green] about how we were going to shoot it, and being very careful about it, very strategic about it, looking back at [original film director John] Carpenter and [director of photography] Dean Cundey and how they did that. That’s how I approached the mask.

"I wanted to create the character of Michael Myers, not just the mask. You’re not creating just a mask. You’re creating a character. You’re creating a feeling that you get that does have an expression. The mask does have an expression, but also the mask looks completely different in every single angle it’s ever been photographed at, and I wanted that feeling too. I wanted the feeling that when you saw Michael Myers, it morphs, it changes, it looks different from every single angle, like the original one did. I can safely say we accomplished that."

I can't wait to see how it turned out! Halloween will be released by Universal Pictures on Friday, October 19, 2018.