Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

LEATHERFACE (Real Name Unknown)- Terrordrome Version
Role: Chainsaw-Wielding Maniac
Movie Series: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
PL 9 (85)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS -2 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Initimidation 13 (+10)
Perception 5 (+3)

Advantages:
Equipment 1 (Chainsaw +2, Hook, Hammer)

Murderous Fighting Style:
Accurate Attack (Weak), Daze (Intimidation), Extraordinary Effort (Unleashed), Fascination (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Chosen Weapon) 2, Improved Hold, Improved Trip (Throw), Power Attack (Power), Startle, Withstand Damage (Block)

Powers:
"Chase" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Multiattack 8) (Reduced Defenses -2) (7) -- [8]

• AE: "Chainsaw Uppercut" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical, +2 to Hit Jumping Opponents) (4)

Features 1: May Add Weapon Damage to Special Moves [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Chainsaw +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Special Moves +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Power Loss (The Buzz)- a chainsaw is a pretty good weapon I guess, but it can be kind of hefty and awkward to carry (Leatherface has little trouble though and can toss it a good distance if so inclined), but it's also kinda loud. Leather has to keep it in check until time to use it lest he scare away potential prey. And you gotta watch the gas on it.
Relationship (The Saw Is Family)- Whether he's bullied by them or standing up to them, Leatherface is very, VERY loyal to his family. If one is killed he'll lose it and start bawling and screaming. If he finds out someone that he's been stalking and trying to kill is a member of his clan, then he immediately stops trying to harm them.
Responsibility (The Ladies)- Leatherface sometimes....just sometimes...has a weakness for the ladies and an attractive dame may be able to talk him down albeit temporarily.
Responsibility (Do Not Pass Go)- If you feel like being a smartass, add in this feature from the old Atari TCM game (YES, there was one) where Leatherface has difficulty passing minor obstacles in the road.
Weakness (Predictability)- These guys cannot simply "spam" out the same attack over and over again, as the opponent will expect the attacks, and be ready for them (and a counterattack). The third time he tries the same technique (or same combo of techniques) in a short span, they will be at -2 to Accuracy, AND to their Active Defenses in that round. All will decrease by 2 every successive round the same move is done.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 1 + 10 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 20 (85)

LEATHERFACE (Real Name Unknown)- Movie Version
Role: Chainsaw-Wielding Maniac
Movie Series: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
PL 8 (58)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS -2 PRESENCE -3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Initimidation 13 (+10)
Perception 5 (+3)

Advantages:
Daze (Intimidation), Equipment 3 (Chainsaw +2, Hook, Hammer), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Chainsaw), Startle

Equipment:
Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 4, Multiattack 4) (Flaws: Limited- Penetrating Only if Held Against Target) (Inaccurate -1) -- (10 Equipment Points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Hook & Hammer +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Chainsaw +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Power Loss (The Buzz)- a chainsaw is a pretty good weapon I guess, but it can be kind of hefty and awkward to carry (Leatherface has little trouble though and can toss it a good distance if so inclined), but it's also kinda loud. Leather has to keep it in check until time to use it lest he scare away potential prey. And you gotta watch the gas on it.
Relationship (The Saw Is Family)- Whether he's bullied by them or standing up to them, Leatherface is very, VERY loyal to his family. If one is killed he'll lose it and start bawling and screaming. If he finds out someone that he's been stalking and trying to kill is a member of his clan, then he immediately stops trying to harm them.
Responsibility (The Ladies)- Leatherface sometimes....just sometimes...has a weakness for the ladies and an attractive dame may be able to talk him down albeit temporarily.
Responsibility (Do Not Pass Go)- If you feel like being a smartass, add in this feature from the old Atari TCM game (YES, there was one) where Leatherface has difficulty passing minor obstacles in the road.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 14 (58)

HalloweenJack's Notes:
-Tobe Hooper has a great story about how he came up with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He was shopping in a mall around Christmas time and it was incredibly crowded. He couldn't make any headway in any direction he went. Then he looked over at a stand where chainsaws were featured prominently and thought to himself “If I revved one of those up everyone would scatter”.

-The seed was planted and it flowered when Hooper mixed the idea with that of notable boogeyman Ed Gein (which Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs also did). It was just the right idea at the right time. The early '70s were notorious for the rise of crime both in statistics and the shocking brutality and sickness of the crimes themselves. After all, the Manson family had only been in operation a few scant years earlier. And coming in at 1973 Leatherface here is our oldest character yet.

-The original film in the series, as the trope goes, is actually pretty good. It builds through atmosphere and a strange surreal quality that makes it almost nightmarish with barely any blood at all. Gunnar Hansen, who played the original Leatherface, was once shocked when he was in negotiations for a cameo in the Michael Bay produced TCM from 2003 when an executive noted that this wouldn't be some gore-fest like the original....to which Hansen replied “Have you even SEEN the original?”. And I have to say that I love this movie. I didn't see it until my freshman year of college was coming to a close and just loved it. It has this quality where it's just real enough that you can sit back and say “Yeah, that'd be messed up but it COULD happen”. One of the best “Put yourself into the character's shoes” movies I can think of.

-Simple enough plot, some teenagers hear about graves being desecrated a few counties over and go to make sure any loved ones buried there haven't been disturbed. Finding that they haven't, the five decide to chill out in the area and go hang at the ancestral home of the brother/sister pair in the group. Along the way, they pick up a bizarre hitchhiker and promptly kick the strange man out. They stop at the only gas station in driving distance where the owner tells them the pumps are empty but a tanker will be coming by in the morning to fill them up. The kids hang out at the house, and a pair head down to an old swimming hole, but on the way they hear generators running.

-Reasoning that they may be able to buy some gas from whoever lives in that other house in the middle of nowhere, they head over and pretty quickly wish they hadn't. The inhabitant of the house is a large, seemingly retarded man wearing a mask made of human skin that attacks and kills one of them and puts the other in the deep freeze for eatin' later. Gradually the other teens wonder where their friends have gone and one by one venture over that way and get picked off, until it's at last our final girl Sally Hardesty. She proceeds to make Leatherface work for his kill and pulls out one of the best chase sequences in slasher movie history (perhaps only outdone by Friday The 13th Part II's chase).

-Things go from bad to worse when she finds that not only is the owner of the gas station apparently Leatherface's dad but that crazy hitchhiker from earlier is his brother! Also, they have an emaciated 110 year old Grandfather in the attic who survives on a liquid diet if you know what I mean. Sally eventually escapes from the gruesome group, but even when she gets away the movie's closing moments make damn sure to remind you that Sally is going to be forever scarred by this event. And she wasn't the only one. An ex of mine, to this day, is terrified of this movie for me showing it to her when we were dating. This is a girl who's cool by John Carpenter's The Thing, by the way.

-The sequels....well they get weird. They vary in tone (the second is basically a parody of itself) and the continuity is everywhere. Some have said that each sequel is basically in a continuity of itself and I can buy that. I mean, by the fourth movie the family seems to be an entirely new bunch who aren't even cannibals and apparently work for the Illuminati. I'm not even kidding about that last part. Then Michael Bay got involved and produced a remake and a prequel to said remake (which are most memorable for R. Lee Ermy's role). Then years later Lionsgate produced ANOTHER reboot of the series. And there's a rumor of a completed but unreleased movie in another continuity simply called Leatherface and starring Stephen Dorff of all people!

-Leatherface himself is a large, physically powerful man. He's a bit tougher than any real human could be, taking damage like a champ but there's nothing supernatural about him. He's just a big tough guy. Not very smart though. Like I said before the guy is essentially mentally retarded. There's a gag in part 3 where he has one of those old computers that kids learned on back in the 80s where the program shows him a picture of a clown and asks him to spell out what it is. Leather here just keeps spelling out F-O-O-D and gets agitated that it's wrong every time. Likewise, for such a big powerful guy he's mentally dominated by his family most of the time and shrinks away from them when they get angry, despite being much much larger than any of them. Though again by part 3 he's about reached his limit and shuts down any attempts by one of his brothers to correct him. Then he whimpers and lays his head in his mother's lap.

Jab's Notes: The Science Fiction & Fantasy Museum in Seattle has a bit on this and other movies, and about how well-shot it is. One of the remakes also has Alexandra Daddario, before she got famous for "that scene" in True Detective, and before Baywatch probably ruined what her career could have been. Naturally, the male stars will probably move on to bigger things. In the game he's a cheap PL 9, as like so many of the later guys (many probably inspired by him), he's a slow-minded big guy with a weapon. The movie version is PL 8 with the Chainsaw, but PL 6 defensively.

[bsdigitalq]

The Phantasm series is probably one of the most consistently decent series out of the lot featured in Terrordrome. It probably doesn't hurt that there was substantial time in-between the making of each one, unlike the Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street series. Also doesn't hurt that, while still more or less horror films, they eschew the episodic nature of most horror franchises in favor of a continuing narrative. They aren't quite serial in nature, but each film seems like it's building off of the last one in some way, or attempting to correct its predecessor's errors.

They also aren't terribly like most of the other horror films. There's a huge amount of surrealism and dream logic involved, but of a stranger, more mind bending variety than the obvious reality warping of Elm Street, Inception, Dreamscape, or Paprika. And the Tall Man himself is pretty atypical of most modern horror movie villains, belonging more to the tradition of guys like Dracula than Jason or Michael. It helps that he's also got a great, intimidating personality and appearance, just simply by virtue of being really friggin' tall, nevermind Angus Scrimm's great expressions and vocal work.

Best one overall is the first film, but that one is also the most surreal and strange of the bunch. Phantasm II is much more conventionally good, and is almost more action-horror than anything else, but the recasting of the lead and the forced psychic romance left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Phantasm III is okay, lacking the obvious flaws of II but never quite reaching it's good points either. OblIVion is probably the most balanced one of the bunch, and does a lot to really further the story that II and III had been hinting at. It's also the one most heavily connected to the first film, even incorporating deleted scenes from the original into its story and making them canon.

It's a pretty memorable series, and regardless of the quality of the films themselves, the Tall Man is a great antagonist.

Most "scary" scenes just make me laugh- there's one infamous one where a nun closes a door and walks away, and some guy in black walks through the door with these gardening shears held at the worst angle possible (like up at the chest and pointed straight out), and people are like "OMG SO SCARRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" and all I can do is laugh.

That's from The Exorcist III, a pretty damn fine film and one of my personal favorites. I should note that the scene loses its effectiveness if all you see is the bit with the nun turning around and the killer coming out of nowhere- before that is a single uncut shot that's about, oh, five minutes or so, and in those five minutes William Peter Blatty (director, author of the novel the original Exorcist was based on, who passed away earlier this year) sticks in little, subtle moments designed to be missed but still leave an impression, doing things to ratchet up the uneasiness of the viewers, while never telegraphing the climax. It's pretty much one of the few genuinely good jump scare moments in cinema.

[Jabroniville]

I'm Canadian - Teletoon has no Adult Swim. Just The Detour, then Teletoon at Night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_5GIIMOLMo

Reminds me of my 2nd Edition builds for that series.

Canada: the place where random stuff that bombs in the States becomes defining media: Sailor Moon, Clone High and Undergrads (ESPECIALLY Undergrads- everyone I know between 25 and 38 loves that show) all were huge hits up here, and did middling business down South.

[Jabroniville]

As to this run - I have to admit that I'm interested given my own personal like of horror movies. So Thanks Halloween Jack for doing the work & thanks to Jab for posting it. Having the Tall Man as the first post definitely got my attention.

Thanks! I posted him first because I segmented everyone into the "Big Names" and "Smaller Names", and judged him as one of the smaller names, to be posted alongside other originators like Myers & Leatherface on the first day. The "A" guys get posted on the separate days.

[Jabroniville]

Oh yeah, ClayFighter! It's so stupid, but kind of amusing. I haven't played the games in years, but I could always play them again to help you error-check if need be. So I'll be looking forward to those builds. It's kind of a shame that everything they've attempted to do with the franchise nowadays has become vaporware (A new game and a HD remaster of the first game). One set I'd be interested in seeing is War Gods, since it'd basically be an extension to your MK set: It was Midway testing the MK4 engine with a brand new game, meaning it's basically a Mortal Kombat game without the ilcense. (They even still call Fatalties that!) The characters would probably use the Generic Kombatant Template plus Immunity (Aging) (because they all have an "Ore" that makes them immortal and grants them powers and strength), though maybe bumped up to PL 8 at least, since the roster is small. (The boss, Exor, though, is a classic MK-style pain in the ass boss, so he's likely a bunch higher.) As a note, I am definitely willing to help you with movelist research for any fighting game builds from games that I've played that you may want to do.

Yeah, I was basically 3/4 the way through building ClayFighter when I asked HJ about Terrordrome again, meaning I have those mostly ready to go. Though if you can think of other moves (specifically, their descriptions/what they actually do) while I'm posting them, feel free to point them out. I take out some of the redundancies and stuff (ie. no need to stat out TWO "Standard Hit-The-Guy Moves" for the characters), but I think I got most of the basics. The tricky ones were the clones from C2: Judgement Clay.

I think I'll also do that EA/Marvel game, Marvel: Rise of the Imperfects. Though the game apparently SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED, the characters actually have pretty good origin stories for comic book characters. De-stupid their designs a bit, and they'd be perfectly-fine superheroes and villains.

For some reason, I thought War Gods was that Capcom game with the T-Rex. I don't think I've heard of the one you're referring to.

[Jabroniville]

Most "scary" scenes just make me laugh- there's one infamous one where a nun closes a door and walks away, and some guy in black walks through the door with these gardening shears held at the worst angle possible (like up at the chest and pointed straight out), and people are like "OMG SO SCARRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" and all I can do is laugh.

That's from The Exorcist III, a pretty damn fine film and one of my personal favorites. I should note that the scene loses its effectiveness if all you see is the bit with the nun turning around and the killer coming out of nowhere- before that is a single uncut shot that's about, oh, five minutes or so, and in those five minutes William Peter Blatty (director, author of the novel the original Exorcist was based on, who passed away earlier this year) sticks in little, subtle moments designed to be missed but still leave an impression, doing things to ratchet up the uneasiness of the viewers, while never telegraphing the climax. It's pretty much one of the few genuinely good jump scare moments in cinema.

Reminds me of a clip of a David Lynch film someone showed one time. Something about a dumpster or something- everyone was going on about how scary it was, and I was like "LOLWTF?"

I dunno- I'm like the worst person to bring into Haunted Houses and stuff, too. One poor actor was like "You're supposed to SCREEEAAAAMMMMM..." A girl dressed as Sadako (that's the girl from Ringu, right?) was freaking out entire crowds of people, and I was like "Oh, hello". Some killer clowns showed up and I was just making ICP jokes ("NO! DON'T MAKE ME LISTEN TO INSANE CLOWN POSSE! PLEASE!!!"). I had to pretend to be scared or else be one of those assholes who brings everyone out of it .

Maybe there's something broken in me. I responded to a guy breaking into my apartment with mild annoyance once. It helped that he was smaller than I was and seemed more confused than I was that he was standing in my bedroom (he was apparently a drunken street kid looking for a place to crash), but I found it odd later that something considered such a... universal fear... was just like "UGH he wrecked my WINDOW FRAME that ASSHOLE!".

[Jabroniville]

Oh yeah, so I decided to include both Terrordrome AND Movie versions of the characters. Fighting Game rules are fine and dandy (if a little same-y at points), but the unique differences between movie villains and their game selves were enough that I felt like doing both. It only takes a little bit of work (just sticking with simpler Advantages and Powers).

Most Horror Movie villains are actually LESS powerful than their PL 9 game-selves (PL 9 being a pretty "Standard" Fighting Game Power Level)- they're extremely dangerous, but regular people can and do kill them if they get hold of a weapon. A lot of them take inspiration from Leatherface- simple-minded monsters. A few showcase MORE power in their movies that you can show in a fighting game (attacking someone in their dreams is a bit "outside" the Quarter-Circle Forward + Punch dynamics of a brawler).

[Spectrum]

Canada, where even home invasions are cordial.

[Goldar]

Wow, I was away for 2 weeks and had over 20 pages to review!

Some fun old characters: Nekra, Nubulon, Necrodamus, Ikthalon, Zom, Serpent Crown, Cyttorak, Witch Woman and Leatherface, just to name a few!

Thanks for all the good reading.

[KorokoMystia]

Oh yeah, ClayFighter! It's so stupid, but kind of amusing. I haven't played the games in years, but I could always play them again to help you error-check if need be. So I'll be looking forward to those builds. It's kind of a shame that everything they've attempted to do with the franchise nowadays has become vaporware (A new game and a HD remaster of the first game). One set I'd be interested in seeing is War Gods, since it'd basically be an extension to your MK set: It was Midway testing the MK4 engine with a brand new game, meaning it's basically a Mortal Kombat game without the ilcense. (They even still call Fatalties that!) The characters would probably use the Generic Kombatant Template plus Immunity (Aging) (because they all have an "Ore" that makes them immortal and grants them powers and strength), though maybe bumped up to PL 8 at least, since the roster is small. (The boss, Exor, though, is a classic MK-style pain in the ass boss, so he's likely a bunch higher.) As a note, I am definitely willing to help you with movelist research for any fighting game builds from games that I've played that you may want to do.

Yeah, I was basically 3/4 the way through building ClayFighter when I asked HJ about Terrordrome again, meaning I have those mostly ready to go. Though if you can think of other moves (specifically, their descriptions/what they actually do) while I'm posting them, feel free to point them out. I take out some of the redundancies and stuff (ie. no need to stat out TWO "Standard Hit-The-Guy Moves" for the characters), but I think I got most of the basics. The tricky ones were the clones from C2: Judgement Clay.

I think I'll also do that EA/Marvel game, Marvel: Rise of the Imperfects. Though the game apparently SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED, the characters actually have pretty good origin stories for comic book characters. De-stupid their designs a bit, and they'd be perfectly-fine superheroes and villains.

For some reason, I thought War Gods was that Capcom game with the T-Rex. I don't think I've heard of the one you're referring to.

Yeah, the Rise of the Imperfects characters would be cool to see builds of, despite the stupidity of their designs. I think they even appeared in some tie-in comics at some point. I just think it's weird that it came as a result of EA, of all people, teaming up with Marvel. I know Kreuz did his own builds of them at one point.

The one you're thinking of with the T-Rex is Warzard, aka Red Earth. It's a pretty odd game since it's basically a beat 'em up where all you do is fight bosses. There's actually like 3 or so of those types of games in the arcades. War Gods uses the same engine as Mortal Kombat 4.

[Jabroniville]

MICHAEL MYERS- Terrordrome Version
Role: Masked Killer
Movie Series: Halloween
PL 9 (91)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Close Combat (Knife) 2 (+12)
Initimidation 12 (+10)
Perception 6 (+7)
Stealth 10 (+10)

Advantages: 
Equipment (Knife +1)

Murderous Fighting Style: 
Accurate Attack (Weak), Daze (Intimidation), Extraordinary Effort (Unleashed), Fascination (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Chosen Weapon) 2, Improved Hold, Improved Trip (Throw), Power Attack (Power), Startle, Withstand Damage (Block)

Powers:
"Stab" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Accurate, Improved Critical) (4) -- [5]

• AE: "Grab & Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical, +2 When Opponent Parried Last Shot) (3)

Features 1: Adds Weapon-Damage to Special Moves [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Knife +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Stab +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Halloween/Witch Magic)- Michael shows up as you might guess on Halloween. Kind of his trademark. Or more accurately whenever a constellation ancient druids knew of becomes visible and.....oh jeez....yeah about that.
Responsibility (Let's talk about the Thorn Cult)- So yeah....Curse of Michael Myers states that Michael is the recipient of an ancient Celtic curse where one member of a family was cursed to wipe out their bloodline, so that the greater good of everyone else in a village living could occur. There's this stupid cult that Michael either loyally serves or kinda serves then butchers depending on whether you watch the theatrical cut or the original cut of Curse of Michael Myers.
Enemy (Bloodline)- That said...Michael does try and wipe out his family members a whole lot and with the exception of Josh Hartnett (and his son/great nephew......don't. Just don't), he's done a pretty good job. It might take a while, but he'll kill everyone in time. Which is okay because he's inhumanly patient. That and he'll kill anyone in his path....but that bloodline thing takes precedent.
Enemy (That ^&^*ing Loomis!)- Aside from Laurie Strode, if Michael has a nemesis...an Ahab if you will..it's Sam Loomis. Loomis has gone up against Michael a total of five times (seven if you count the remakes) and will do whatever it takes to stop Michael. I mean anything. Guy suicide bombed Michael in the second movie (part 4 just had him alive but badly scarred, which disappointed me. I was hoping there'd at least be an explanation of how he survived, but no...he just survived) and even used Michael's niece as bait in the fifth movie, looking like he'd totally flipped out, before luring Michael into a trap and throwing the girl behind him, netting Michael, shooting him full of tranqs, and then beating on the big guy until he had a stroke! THAT'S dedication to your profession! And while Michael will gladly try and kill Loomis.....there's sort of at least this respect towards him. Michael still listens to him....kinda.
Weakness (Predictability)- These guys cannot simply "spam" out the same attack over and over again, as the opponent will expect the attacks, and be ready for them (and a counterattack). The third time he tries the same technique (or same combo of techniques) in a short span, they will be at -2 to Accuracy, AND to their Active Defenses in that round. All will decrease by 2 every successive round the same move is done.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 1 + 10 / Powers: 6 / Defenses: 19 (91)

MICHAEL MYERS- Movie Version
Role: Masked Killer
Movie Series: Halloween
PL 8 (80)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Initimidation 12 (+10)
Perception 6 (+7)
Stealth 10 (+10)

Advantages: 
Equipment (Knife +1)

Murderous Fighting Style: 
Accurate Attack (Weak), Daze (Intimidation), Extraordinary Effort (Unleashed), Fascination (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Chosen Weapon) 2, Improved Hold, Improved Trip (Throw), Power Attack (Power), Startle, Withstand Damage (Block)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Knife +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Halloween/Witch Magic)- Michael shows up as you might guess on Halloween. Kind of his trademark. Or more accurately whenever a constellation ancient druids knew of becomes visible and.....oh jeez....yeah about that.
Responsibility (Let's talk about the Thorn Cult)- So yeah....Curse of Michael Myers states that Michael is the recipient of an ancient Celtic curse where one member of a family was cursed to wipe out their bloodline, so that the greater good of everyone else in a village living could occur. There's this stupid cult that Michael either loyally serves or kinda serves then butchers depending on whether you watch the theatrical cut or the original cut of Curse of Michael Myers.
Enemy (Bloodline)- That said...Michael does try and wipe out his family members a whole lot and with the exception of Josh Hartnett (and his son/great nephew......don't. Just don't), he's done a pretty good job. It might take a while, but he'll kill everyone in time. Which is okay because he's inhumanly patient. That and he'll kill anyone in his path....but that bloodline thing takes precedent.
Enemy (That ^&^*ing Loomis!)- Aside from Laurie Strode, if Michael has a nemesis...an Ahab if you will..it's Sam Loomis. Loomis has gone up against Michael a total of five times (seven if you count the remakes) and will do whatever it takes to stop Michael. I mean anything. Guy suicide bombed Michael in the second movie (part 4 just had him alive but badly scarred, which disappointed me. I was hoping there'd at least be an explanation of how he survived, but no...he just survived) and even used Michael's niece as bait in the fifth movie, looking like he'd totally flipped out, before luring Michael into a trap and throwing the girl behind him, netting Michael, shooting him full of tranqs, and then beating on the big guy until he had a stroke! THAT'S dedication to your profession! And while Michael will gladly try and kill Loomis.....there's sort of at least this respect towards him. Michael still listens to him....kinda.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 1 + 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 15 (80)

HalloweenJack's Notes:
-John Carpenter's Halloween is my absolute favorite horror movie, and is a toss up for my favorite movie. The idea for it actually came from one the film's producers (I can't remember whether it was Irwin Yablans or Moustafa Akkad) for a movie entitled The Babysitter Murders and was passed along to Carpenter. Carpenter was intrigued but decided to spice it up a little by doing a few things that were a little different.

First of all, he decided to set the film on Halloween giving it a little flavor and also providing an excuse for Myers to wander around and not really draw any attention to himself for the first little bit of the movie. I mean it's Halloween, right? That's the one day of the year where you can dress or act a bit strangely and get away with it! Anyone who's suspicious of the guy in the white Shatner mask wandering around might think he's just in the spirit of the holiday.

Secondly, he made the killer somewhat more than human....with the slow build towards the audience realizing that as the movie went on. At first, you're just going to think he's just some maniac in a mask but after it goes on a bit you come to the realization that Myers is inhuman. I mean Dr. Loomis says that practically from the start but you think it's just hyperbole.

And it's honestly a fantastic movie where everything just seems to fit perfectly. The atmosphere is wonderful, the acting is good, the music is fantastic, and it all builds and builds and builds.

And it gave us Jamie Lee Curtis, which if you've ever seen Trading Spaces or True Lies, you're welcome.

The plot is one of the simplest you can imagine. A psychotic breaks out of a mental institution, where he's been for the last fifteen years for killing his sister, and heads back to his home town on the anniversary of the night he killed her. Once there, he begins to stalk a girl who somewhat resembles her due to sheer happenstance and that's it. The suspense is honestly great, oftentimes with Michael being in the background, with characters having conversations and not even realizing he's there.

One shot in particular is amazing for the terror just around the corner, when the Annie character (played by Nancy Loomis) is standing in the kitchen of the house she's babysitting at, talking to her boyfriend on the phone. She's just come in from outside and has the patio doors open. As she's talking and walking back and forth in the foregound, Michael is standing in the background not ten feet from her just watching. No big musical sting, he's just there. And he's gone by the time she walks back to the other side of the frame. You have no idea where he's gone, whether he's inside or outside, and more importantly neither does Annie.

Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) just kills it too, with this combination of total fear and the heroic need to stand up to and stop his former patient. Which he does. Though what really sells it is after he shoots Michael several times, sending him falling out of the second story of a house, is the look on his face when he sees that Michael is NOT where he landed a moment earlier. It's a combination of both shock and “I knew that was going to happen” that just clicks.

Carpenter wanted to make Michael Myers sort of an elemental force. There's no real reason he's doing any of this. There's no reason he killed his sister years earlier, and by all accounts, was just a normal kid until THAT NIGHT. This ties into a theme of fate, as earlier Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee) is in class discussing the concept of fate as to how it tied into a lesson they were being taught. This night is her fate.

If you really want to watch Halloween, it's important to go into the movie with the proper mindset, not knowing some things that the sequels have churned out afterwards. Particularly the fact that Laurie Strode is actually Michael Myers younger sister. If you go in and this is all happenstance/fate it becomes a much more satisfying movie.

It was never intended to have a sequel, but considering it made a boatload of cash for virtually no budget, that was a foregone conclusion. The sequel is not as good as the first (trope alert) but still holds up fairly well. The third film had no relation to any of the other movies in the franchise, with the producers wanting to do an anthology series with the only thing in common being all the movies were set on Halloween. Audiences and critics hated it, but lately it's sort of been forgiven and is judged more on its own faults and merits rather than being “That one without Michael Myers!” as my sister so often dubbed it.

The fourth brought Michael and Loomis back, stating Laurie had died in car crash, and now Michael was trying to kill her daughter Jamie (played by Danielle Harris who grew up sooooooo fine. Shut up. She's older than I am). It's generally well received by fans of the series but has detractors too.

The fifth.....oh how I hate that movie. Released only a year after Halloween 4, Halloween 5 was clearly just made to try and milk the franchise a bit more and it shows that they had NO IDEA what they were doing.

It took six years for the series to come back in the fall of 1995. And it was terrible. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is generally considered to be a terrible mess of a movie (I have an odd affection towards it) and gave us both Paul Rudd's first movie and Donald Pleasence's last. The movie is infamous for being disastrously re-edited to appeal better to a certain demographic (14 year old boys) and wow....it shows. If you can find the original cut, give it a shot. Before editing it's a better movie. Not amazing but better.

It would take the horror boom of the late '90s and the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to somewhat salvage the series with Halloween: 20 Years Later, or the hilarious Halloween: H20 (or Halloween Water if your name is Crow T. Robot). It sort of retcons the previous installments to having never happened (kinda, sorta) and in essence functions as the true Halloween 3. Here, Laurie Strode had faked her death after the second movie and is suffering from serious PTSD and is MASSIVELY overprotective of her son John (Josh Hartnett in his first role...wow this series really started a lot of careers huh?) and has to face down big brother one last time. And it would be a fitting end if this really were the final chapter in the series, with Laurie having to nut up and face down her literal and metaphorical demons. The last scene in the movie is her decapitating a trapped Michael, after sharing one sisterly moment of briefly brushing her fingertips to his, and then standing there breathing heavily as if a massive weight has been taken off her shoulders. The movie got fairly good reviews, though there are problems, I'll admit. Hey I hated it when I first saw it, but grew to like it as I got older.

BUUUUT it made a whole mess load of cash and a sequel was greenlit, getting released in 2002 when the horror boom had already faded. The ill-fated Halloween: Resurrection retconned the ending to H20 with Michael having switched places with (and damaged the larynx) of a first responder and THAT'S who Laurie killed. Kinda odd nobody was all “Hey, where's Ralph? And who's that new guy walking off over there?”. And he finally kills Laurie Strode...in the first ten minutes or so....in a very anticlimactic fashion before heading to Haddonfield to knock off some teens doing a web reality show in his house....with Busta Rhymes throwing ninja kicks. Excuse me while I slam my head into my desk.

The one positive I can give it is the web show thing can kinda work at times. See our final girl has a friend who's watching online and with all the various cameras set up in the house, he can text her where Michael is at all times. They don't do enough with it though and the movie dies...though Michael as always lives.

This led to Rob Zombie coming in and doing a remake....with a lot more vulgarity (I'm no prude, but damn dude.) and "explaining" Michael is the way he is because....his family is white trash? It's not very good but it tries something different. You probably would have gotten a better reaction if Zombie had been responsible for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, as his style fits it better. It's not good, but like I said I can see what he was going for.

Then I think he made Halloween II just to throw in even more of his tropes because he was pissed off about how the previous movie was received. Rob said “HA!”. It's horrible, probably up there with Halloween 5 in the bad category.

So enough rambling....let's talk about Michael.

He's basically in the same area as the living Jason Voorhees. He's really strong (he flipped a small car once and can twist your head off if so inclined) and most injuries are only setbacks. He can take gunshots and only be slightly inconvenienced. Though too much damage (like an explosion or being shot multiple times by a dozen state troopers with shotguns, then falling into a well, and nearly drowning) will send him into a coma where he heals until he wakes up...usually in a Halloween or two.

He's a little slower than living Jason though, doing the usual “walks very slowly but still catches up to you” schtick. That said it balances out because he's actually quite cunning, sometimes wearing different masks to fit into a crowd easily or slashing the tires of a parking lot filled with cars so no one can get away. And his stealth is almost Batman like. He can be in the same room with you and you'd never notice until he's right on you. Or he can creep up behind you silently. Other slashers do this too, but with Michael his stealth is a consistent part of who he is.

Best to leave off with Dr. Loomis's monologue about him from the first movie.

“I first met him when he was six years old. I'd been told there was nothing left. Not even the most rudimentary sense of right or wrong, good or evil, life or death. I met this six year old child with this pale, blank, emotionless face...and the blackest eyes; The Devil's Eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely, and simply, EVIL.”

Jab's Notes: I remember seeing the first ten minutes of this when I was a teen. Why the first ten? Because my friend owned it and we repeatedly watched the scene where the sister showed her boobs. I had it on in the background one day when I lived with my old roommate, and it was pretty much some skinny naked girl running around bleeding- not sure which one that was. Looking at his history, Michael Myers seems to have inspired a lot of what Jason Voorhees became- a slow, steady, implacable killer with superhuman strength. Naturally, what was a very-respected first movie eventually descended into self-parody with endless sequels and bad ideas.

[Davies]

It would take the horror boom of the late '90s and the retrn of Jamie Lee Curtis to somewhat salvage the series with Halloween: 20 Years Later, or the hilarious Halloween: H20 (or Halloween Water if your name is Crow T. Robot). It sort of retcons the previous installments to having never happened (kinda, sorta) and in essence functions as the true Halloween 3.

I believe that there was going to be a scene which explained exactly how everything in the movies til this one fit together, but it was dropped from either the final cut or the shooting script proper.

[Goldar]

When these came out way back, they were good and scary, especially the first 2.

Number three was a let down with no Michael and no Witch, either (It was called H3: Season of the Witch).

Parts 4 and 5 were...weird. I did not care for them.

H2O was good to see Laurie (Jamie Lee) back and even had her mother, Janet Leigh, in it as her secretary! I believe that was Janet's last film and the last the two did together. They even share the line that Jamie Lee, as Laurie, had in Part 1 with her best friend's Father, Sheriff Bracken: "Oh, excuse me!" "No problem, I guess everyone's entitled to 1 good scare on Halloween!"

Hated the "Resurrection" one and in it Michael dies. No resurrection. Hated the cameras and on-line theme.

[L-Space]

It's cool to see classic horror characters get writes up. Regardless of how I feel about current horror movies, I'll always have a place in my heart for 70's/80's horror and slasher films.

I may have to check out Phantasm again. I've only ever seen bits and pieces of it and kind of wrote it off, but HalloweenJack's description of it makes me want to give it another go.

[HalloweenJack]

It would take the horror boom of the late '90s and the retrn of Jamie Lee Curtis to somewhat salvage the series with Halloween: 20 Years Later, or the hilarious Halloween: H20 (or Halloween Water if your name is Crow T. Robot). It sort of retcons the previous installments to having never happened (kinda, sorta) and in essence functions as the true Halloween 3.

I believe that there was going to be a scene which explained exactly how everything in the movies til this one fit together, but it was dropped from either the final cut or the shooting script proper.

yeah it got dropped. you could always argue that continuity still exists though, because why else would Loomis have been alive before the start of the movie?