ObscuraJournal 10/30/25

I hope folks realize that John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, and Season of the Witch are all about 'the Shape'. It would be safe to say that parts of Prince of Darkness also figure in the mix, especially when considering Alice Cooper's involvement, and those pixelated images of what is probably the prince of darkness at the end.

'The Shape', most notably embodied in Michael Myers, is Carpenter's horrifying obsession with the unknown. Before I understood the Shape, there was Michael Myers, which for a long time I did not consider to be a supernatural entity. I stand corrected now, and it was my realization that the Shape was much more than plain old Michael Myers. The Shape is evil. Pure, unadulterated evil.

Evil with the darkest eyes.

The devil's eyes.

Beyond Carpenter's involvement with the Halloween franchise, many have tried to give some form of reasoning or explanation of 'the Shape'. For me, this is where the films falter. To be honest, there are Halloween films I absolutely refuse to watch (beyond Rob Zombies' versions, which are their own thing, completely unrelated to Carpenter's vision) because when you try to explain the unexplainable, the whole thing falls apart.

Sometimes, unexplained is better.

It's definitely scarier. As soon as the mystery is removed, it no longer has any bite.

Creators that refuse to dumb this stuff down, that throw explanations out the window, are the ones able to use the unknown to their benefit. The recent film Weapons is a fine example of giving audiences just enough to chew on while maintaining a strong sense of mystery through-out. Even the basic explanations of what-the-hell-is-going-on spurs only more questions, which is the hallmark of effective story-telling.

Fearless writing in the raw.

Carpenter never cared about explaining the Shape because it's scarier that way.

Be like Carpenter.

peace&love