Before the second film in David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy released to DVD, Blu-ray & 4K Ultra HD this January, Green had stated the film featured a new cut of the film that ran longer than the theatrical cut and featured an alternative ending. But what were the main differences between both films? First and foremost, the 'Extended Cut' runs at 109 minutes as opposed to the original 105 minute run time we got to see in cinemas. I got hold of a copy on Blu-ray yesterday, and have had the pleasure of watching both (You can check out my full review for the film HERE). So here are the main differences between the 'Theatrical Cut' & the 'Extended Cut'.
Warning: This article does feature Halloween Kills SPOILERS.
During the opening sequence of the 1978 flashbacks after the kids interaction with the police officer, there is a brief scene where Lonnie is stalked by The Shape. Much like he did with Laurie in the original film, Myers stalks Lonnie from a set of bushes ahead of him. When Lonnie finds the courage to investigate, he discovers no one behind the bushes. It does feature an extra bit of music as well. It's a pretty cool throwback and easter egg for fans.
A few extra shots of Laurie arriving at the hospital in an ambulance, mostly just long shots.
After arriving in the hospital and Karen is hit with the realisation her husband is dead she begins to grieve. After breaking down and crying after washing her hands there is an extra scene where she goes looking for her husbands body in the morgue. As she goes into the morgue looking for Ray's body, she gets told "You shouldn't be in here!" by a member of staff of looks massively overwhelmed by the entire situation.
When Michael kills Sondra and Phil, Sondra's death sequence features additional shots of Michael examining his handy work as he slowly shoves the tubed light bulb into her throat.
A few additional shots of Allyson in the hospital are added in whilst Laurie gets cared for by the medical team.
There is a much longer POV shot as Trivoli walks into Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. You see him walk all the way through the car park and up to the entrance as people back away from him as he passes.
A few extra shots and footage of the mob causing havoc in the hospital and chanting "Evil Dies Tonight!"
Extra bit of footage for Big John's death sequence. We see a lot more gore and eye gouging.
More footage of Cameron as Myers kills him in the most brutal way possible.
A lot of footage added during the ending sequence when Myers recovers and lays waste to the vigilante mob that surrounds him. You effectively see more of the kills, gore and brutality (this includes a longer death for Tommy Doyle as well). Makes the sequence a lot better for me. Myers further demonstrates his brutality as the bat snaps when he kills Tommy Doyle, except this time you see him stab Tommy with the snapped bat as well.
And the biggest difference- the ending. Much like the theatrical cut Myers brutally slays Karen as she looks out from Judith's bedroom window, but this time the film doesn't finish there. As Karen lays dead we hear her mobile phone ringing, it then cuts to Laurie in the hospital on the other end of the phone. Karen's phone is answered, all Laurie can hear is Myers breathing on the other end. Angered and upset she says "I'm coming for you Michael." and drops the payphone leaving it dangling. The film finishes as Laurie leaves the hospital holding the same bloody knife that was seen at the end of the 2018 film/start of Kills. I much preferred this ending.
The Deleted Scenes
The blu-ray also features three deleted scenes.
When the Strode women first arrive at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, Allyson meets Leigh Brackett. She informs him they have managed to kill Michael by burning him alive in a locked basement to which Brackett replies "I would've loved to have seen him burn."
Sondra & Phil's scene featured more dialogue between the two of them and revealed a small camera was actually mounted on the drone Sondra was flying. The scene included POV shots from the drone's camera of Phil and then Myers as he wraps up his hand in bandages in their bathroom, he then realises the drone is there and swats it away. The Shape in this small drone POV sequence actually featured Nick Castle donning the mask. Unfortunate it got cut and wasn't even re-added for the 'Extended Cut'.
Extra shots and footage of the mob chanting "Evil Dies Tonight!"
The blu-ray also featured a hilarious gag reel and some pretty great featurettes that went into detail on several aspects of the film taking fans behind the scenes. Highlights of these for me were the '1978 Transformations' & 'The Kill Team' featurettes.
All in all I did prefer the 'Extended Cut' but it didn't differ drastically to what featured in the theatrical cut. Like it didn't feature two completely different scenes (Myers escape from Smith's Grove) like Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween did for example. It did add a bit more though and I enjoyed seeing more of the kills, action and gore; and the ending was definitely better than the theatrical version. There was just something about it that pumped things up and got me more excited for the final showdown between Laurie & Michael in Halloween Ends. I felt the theatrical version just ended quite suddenly and abruptly.
Halloween Kills is now available on Digital, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD.
In 2018, David Gordon Green’s Halloween, starring icon Jamie Lee Curtis, killed at the box office, earning more than $250 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing chapter in the four-decade franchise and setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend in history for a horror film starring a woman. And the Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn’t over yet. Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Evil dies tonight!
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