One of the most enduring horror film characters is that of Michael Myers, the first of the big three teen slasher horror icons from the Eighties – because Michael himself actually dates from the Seventies. The other two are, of course, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. Although not overtly supernatural in nature like the last two, Michael has proved equally as hard to kill, surviving certain death on many occasions and seemingly regarding critical injuries as a minor inconvenience, such as when he plucked out a deeply embedded axe from his torso in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
Michael Myers is from the Halloween series of films which started in 1978 with John Carpenter’s Halloween, the original film, and has been portrayed in many films since then as the primary antagonist of the series, although not in Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which was unconnected to any of the others in the series in continuity. In the first two films, Michael was simply referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, rather than by name. As well as the films, Michael has proved an enduring enough character that he has also appeared in video games, comic books and novels.
Michael is a silent character, never speaking as an adult, and only as a child in the 2007 reboot. Described as being pure evil, he has a predilection for hunting down and killing teenagers – a common theme for the Eighties slasher villains.
For all his iconic and easily recognisable nature, Michael Myers is actually an incredibly easy costume to do. It can be assembled out of some easily available and cheap items.
The Head
One of the most distinctive and easily recognisable components of a Michael Myers costume is the mask he wears on his head. An emotionless and almost featureless face, recognisably human yet lacking the components that would make it truly so, with eyes that are barely visible, making him look eyeless. The hair often appears to be part of the mask as well. The original mask was based on William Shatner’s face, for a death mask for Star Trek‘s Captain James T. Kirk, although coloured white. It would be possible to do the same, but Michael Myers masks are now easy to buy.
The Body
Michael dresses in a one piece boiler suit, usually in dingy colours. Blue is a common colour, but dirty greenish is a possibility as well. This is probably the part easiest to improvise, especially if there’s already a boiler suit lying around. Otherwise, this, too, can be purchased.
The Accessory
The essential accessory for a Michael Myers costume is a knife – all the Eighties slashers had some sort of blade with which to slash. Michael seems to prefer large kitchen knives. This is an area where improvising is a bad idea – do not add a proper kitchen knife to your costume! Instead, buy a cheap, and safe!, plastic knife for the costume.
And there it is. Three parts to an easily recognisable Michael Myers costume.