Today we’re diving into seven ways that test screenings—yes, the dreaded test screenings—changed the Halloween franchise forever. Some changes were for the better, and others… well, not so much.
1. Halloween II (1981)
Everyone knows that John Carpenter wrote this movie in a matter of hours, fueled by a six-pack of beer, and then handed it off to Rick Rosenthal. He didn’t want to direct it, didn’t want to make it a franchise, and frankly, didn’t even want to be involved.
But when the studio test-screened Rosenthal’s cut, Carpenter and the audience agreed—it didn’t have enough gore. The test audience, for some reason, was especially upset about the lack of teenage deaths in the movie. Because, you know, nothing says a good time at the movies like watching yourself get murdered on screen!
So, Carpenter went back and personally shot several days’ worth of gruesome kill scenes, including Michael Myers literally melting someone’s face off in a hot tub and adding a teenage girl’s death—just to satisfy the bloodthirsty test screening audience. Rosenthal hated this, by the way. He felt that Michael Myers only killed people who got in his way, and that these added kills took away from the character’s lore.
On the flip side, Halloween III never got a test screening—and maybe it should have because then someone might have pointed out, “Hey, there’s no Michael Myers in this thing!”
2. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
At this point in the franchise, after Halloween III threw everyone for a loop, the studio had to get it right. They wanted to scale back the gore and make the film classier—more in line with the original. But once they saw the finished product, they realized there just wasn’t enough violence to compete with the slasher trends of the time.
So, they scheduled one day of extra filming—nicknamed “blood filming”—and let special effects guru John Carl Buechler go wild. This gave us some of the movie’s most brutal scenes, like Earl getting his neck ripped out and Michael literally shoving his thumb through a paramedic’s forehead.
They also shot an extended version of the mechanic’s death scene, where Michael drives a crowbar into the poor guy’s throat. But that was too much even for them, so they cut away from it in the final version.
3. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
This movie is infamous for test screenings changing everything—so much so that we ended up with two completely different versions.
The Weinsteins—who we now all know were awful—held a test screening in New Jersey filled with 13-year-old boys (because apparently, they were the best judges of horror?). Surprise, surprise—the kids hated the cult storyline, the ending, and basically everything else about the movie.
That gave the Weinsteins the excuse they needed to take the movie away from the Accads and completely rework it. They added more deaths, new cult murder scenes, and a brand-new ending—which included Paul Rudd attacking Michael with a pipe (which, by the way, is a great band name).
Originally, Michael was supposed to be hoisted up in chains, but instead, the studio ran out of time and money. So they just flopped his mask on the ground and said, “Screw it, that’s the ending.” Classic Dimension Films.
They even brought in Rand Ravich (who wrote Hellraiser: Bloodline) to rewrite the ending because they hated the first rewrite. It got so chaotic that at one point, the director wanted a character to start mowing down cult members with a machine gun. Thankfully, writer Daniel Farrands fought against that and managed to keep some shred of sanity in the movie.
4. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Test screenings butchered this movie. No pun intended.
Originally, Laurie Strode died much faster, but test audiences said, “Hey, maybe let’s give her more screen time?” So they extended her scene, added some super weird moments with Michael, and tried to clarify what happened at the end of H20 (because yeah, didn’t she just cut his head off?).
But the worst part? According to director Rick Rosenthal, a 2001 test screening audience in New Jersey told the studio that the problem with the movie was… not enough Busta Rhymes.
I swear to God.
So, they added four days of reshoots, let Busta write his own lines, and gave us the ridiculous roundhouse-kicking, kung-fu-fighting Michael Myers scene.
Oh, and that terrible ending? Where they wheel Michael into the morgue, and his eyes pop open? Yeah, test screenings changed that too. Originally, one alternate ending had Michael grabbing a CSI tech in his house, Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style. Another ending had him choking Busta Rhymes before getting axed in the face by Sarah. But the studio went with the morgue scene instead, probably because they wanted a Halloween 9 that never happened.
5. Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)
This one’s simple. Test audiences saw the director’s cut and collectively went, “This is disgusting.”
And thank God. Because they convinced the studio to remove a 15-minute rape scene that added nothing to the plot. Unfortunately, the director’s cut still exists, but at least they tried to save us from Rob Zombie’s worst instincts.
6. Halloween (2018)
This film had minor test screening changes—mostly little dialogue tweaks. But the big change was the original ending, which we still haven’t gotten on Blu-ray.
Originally, the final fight between Laurie and Michael was much different. It took place outside the house, with a knife fight on the front lawn. Laurie got stabbed, and Karen had to shoot Michael with a crossbow (yes, a crossbow). He then stumbled into the woods, maybe to die, maybe not.
Test audiences hated the ambiguity, so they changed it to Michael burning in Laurie’s house—which in turn completely altered Halloween Kills.
7. Halloween Ends (2022)
Director David Gordon Green admitted that test screenings changed the ending of Halloween Ends. Originally, it was supposed to be more intimate—focusing on the bloodletting between Laurie, Allyson, and Michael.
But test audiences didn’t think it was big enough, so they added the hilariously ridiculous scene of the town literally throwing Michael’s body into a garbage shredder like an old Christmas tree.
There was also a scrapped ending where Laurie attacks Allyson at the end, implying that Michael’s evil had transferred to her. Thankfully, that was cut—because, dear God, we do not need Laurie Myers.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s how test screenings majorly altered the Halloween franchise. Some changes worked (Halloween 4), some were a mess (Halloween 6), and some gave us way too much Busta Rhymes.
What do you guys think? Any changes you liked or hated? Let me know in the comments!
