“Lost” Alternate Opening for HALLOWEEN 5 May Have Been Found!

  |  
Apr 2, 2019

In Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (released in 1989) “The Shape” was played by stuntman Don Shanks. The film opens with Myers stumbling out of a mine shaft before making his way to a hermit’s cabin near a creek. There, he’s nursed back to health before begining his next ramapage.

Initially, director Dominique Othenin-Girard had a much more explosive idea for the opening sequence, one that would have seen Myers escaping from the bowls of an exploding mountain before his bullet-ridden body floats downstream. Eventually, he’s rescued by Dr. Death (played by Theron “Uncle Thud” Read) who ressurects Myers using an ancient ritual.

Though shot, the Dr. Death opening wasn’t used and has since been assumed lost–or is it? More on that in a bit.

In a recent interview with Halloween Movies, Shanks described in detail what we would have seen in the alternate opening:

“(I was) placed on this stone alter, and all around (the set) were things that the production had gotten from witches, and people that sell you the occult. And there were scrolls and different chants and this and that. And (suspended from) the altar, right above me, was this rock that looked like a stalactite – it was on a string and it would circle. And Dr. Death was doing an incantation on me, and then he tattoos on me the Thorn rune, which is the sign of eternal life. And so he does all these incantations, and on Halloween Eve (one year later) I come back to life.”

“So I put the mask on,and I grab Dr. Death by the throat and pick him up over my head and break his back, and then put him on the altar, and take the stalactite and I go through his chest with it. I thought it was one of my better kills. But (later) Moustapha thought it was too much of the occult type thing. So they decided to shoot it differently.”

Now here’s where things get really interesting: The article is acompanied by a picture of a stack of unused footage from Halloween 5. The caption reads “It might not be lost”. This is, of course, refering to the Dr. Death alternate openining. It’s not certain that the scene Shanks describes is included, but if it is, we should be hearing about it soon enough!

Dr, Death Alternate Opening… are you in there?

Check out the interview in its entirity, HERE.

Would you like to see the alternate Dr. Death opening scene from Halloween 5? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Share: 
Tags:

Categorized:
Sign up for The Harbinger a Dread Central Newsletter