There are many unsettling things about Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. Between that blank, white mask and those plain coveralls, he sort of looks like a mannequin. Perhaps this was the whole idea, as he was originally going to be called “The Shape”, after all.
Then there are those hollow black eyes, and the fact that he always walks after his victims and never runs (although, for all we know, he probably bursts into sprints when he’s not on screen). But you’ll probably agree that the creepiest thing about Michael Myers is his silence.
Though there are exceptions, which we’ll get into, Michael Myers has never officially spoken in the Halloween films. And according to Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) in John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), he never spoke during his 15 years at Smith’s Grove, either.
The exceptions are in the remake Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and its sequel Halloween II (2009), where we spend time with Michael as a child (Daeg Faerch/Chase Wright Vanek), who, until he’s incarcerated for killing his sister Judith (Hanna Hall), talks plenty.
There’s also a director’s cut of the 2009 sequel whose alternate ending includes a scene in which Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) inexplicably removes his mask and screams “Die!” before killing Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). But as it’s a deleted scene, it doesn’t count.
So, we can all agree that Michael does not speak. And no one really knows why. Ultimately, the absence of speech makes him appear even less human (just like those hollow eyes). With that said, there is a scene in Halloween Kills (2021) that seemingly breaks this rule.
Halloween Kills is the direct sequel to Halloween (2018) and the precursor to the trilogy-topping Halloween Ends (2022), all of which are directed by David Gordon Green and ignore every single Halloween sequel since the original 1978 film by John Carpenter.
In the 2021 sequel Kills, during the third act, which finds Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) bravely taking on Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) at his old Haddonfield home, many fans believe that they can hear the bogeyman actually whisper three words.
After Allyson fights Michael, her mother, Karen (Judy Greer), enters the house to save her daughter, impaling Michael with a large pitchfork before stomping on his head, rendering him temporarily unconscious. But when she removes his mask, he rises again.
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This is the moment where you’ll need to turn the volume up on your TV or laptop. As Michael stands to face Karen in the doorway, many fans swear they can hear him whisper the words, “Give it back“, referring, of course, to his precious Halloween mask.
While many would argue that this is one of those “auditory illusion” cases, where one person might hear the word “Laurel” and the other “Yanny”, for example (you remember that weird Internet thing, right?), we’ve actually checked this scene out for ourselves and were very surprised to find that we can indeed hear Michael Myers whisper “Give it back!”
Although, for obvious reasons, subtitles don’t appear when using this feature. It’s also worth noting that the filmmakers have never confirmed it, either.
There’s actually a thread on community network Reddit, though, where many fans say they can hear him speak (although there appear to be just as many who can’t hear a thing, and believe that the sound is nothing more than Allyson breathing and the floorboards creaking underfoot).
Why not check it out for yourself by watching the below clip from Halloween Kills, at around 00:57–00:58:
It’s uncharacteristic of Michael to speak, but his panic at someone having taken his mask falls in line with many other moments throughout the film’s 2018 predecessor and its 2022 follow-up, both of which hammer home the fact that Michael can’t be without his mask.
In many ways, the mask is what brings him to life. In fact, when investigative journalists Aaron Korey (Jefferson Hall) and Dana Haines (Rhian Rees) visit him at the hospital in the beginning of the 2018 film, Michael is instantly aware that they have his mask despite having his back turned to them.
Aaron says to Michael, “You feel it, don’t you, Michael? You feel the mask?”, wondering if there is some unspoken connection between the man and the mask. And later, once Michael escapes, he even hunts the pair down to retrieve it.
The fact that Michael never speaks only adds to his creepiness. But to hear him whisper those three simple words also sends a shiver down our spines.
Can you hear Michael Myers speak in Halloween Kills? Let us know in the comments down below!
The post Does Michael Myers Actually Talk in ‘Halloween Kills’?! appeared first on Inside the Magic.
