After some meticulous analysis of behind the scenes photos, and known information from the crew, you can actually trace the order in which Halloween 1978 was shot based on the hero mask hair.
This started by me analysing a very specific hair style of the hero based on the hedge scene. We have all seen the photo, which I will reference below. The hair has a very specific look compared to other scenes we see of the mask.
If you look at the hair in this photo you can see that it has a very fresh and uniform look, albeit clumped, but no matting, tangled look. In fact, there are no stray wiry hairs at all. Any protruding parts of the hair are clumped together. Looking at the section at the top of the forehead, it is clear the hair is uniform and going in one particular direction.
This looks very similar to how a real 1975 Captain Kirk mask would have looked from new, with the hair being combed and uniform. You can see the same type of uniform pattern from this photo here:
You’ll also notice the hair has a swoop to the left side of the mask. The funny thing is you can see this exact same pattern on the hedge scene photo too. This angle of the same scene will give you a better look at this swooping style on the hero at the hedge scene:
Now from the information we currently know of the 1978 film, the daylight scenes were shot first, with the first days of shooting covering the walk Laurie and Tommy take to the Myers house, the walking home from school scene including “speed kills”, and Tommy being bullied at the school. Jamie Lee Curtis has spoken before about her first day of shooting and having to sing as she walks away from the Myers house as Michael watches her.
The point being that if you look at the hair of the hero in the hedge scene photos above, you can see that the hair looks really fresh, and looks exactly like how a real 1975 kirk stock hair would be after having goofed and puffed it out. No stray wire hairs, no matting, just uniform hair that is clumped together.
You can see this exact same hair pattern in more behind the scene shots in the daylight:
You can actually tell from this photo that this must have been taken in the very first days of shooting, as the hair looks almost identical to how it looks in the hedge scene, still uniform and clumped.
On the contrary, if you take a look at how the hair on the mask looks towards the end of production, it looks closer to how it would look on the set of Halloween II 1981.
We know that scenes that featured Donald Pleasance were shot in the middle - end of production, as they only had 5 days to shoot with him, so they made sure to leave any scenes that included Dr. Loomis together so they could all be shot in that 5 day window.
So we can infer from that information, that the closest scene and climax were shot towards the middle - end of production during this 5 day window. Take a look at this behind the scenes photo of the mask during the closet scene:
You can visibly see how the hair doesn’t look uniform anymore, and instead looks more tangled, wiry and matted. Even the hair above the forehead is still puffed upwards, it no longer has the same uniform straight look, compared to the hedge scene where it is puffed up but in a swayed direction to the left side of the mask closer to the original 75 kirk hair style.
You can see the same thing here during the knitting needle stab scene:
The hair here looks almost identical to the hair of the hero seen in Halloween II 1981:
It’s a lot flatter, a lot more matted, tangled and wiry. We already know that Nick Castle would fold and stuff the mask in his back pocket during breaks. Knowing that, you can visually see how the mask’s hair starts out in a very new stock condition in early production, which includes scenes you see of Myers in the daytime, and becomes more and more messier and tangled as production continues towards later scenes such as the films climax.
One thing I find very interesting, is that a lot of artists seem to replicate the second half of the hero’s hair timeline. We see almost every single mask with this matted, tangled wiry hair. I almost never see any artists trying to replicate what the hero mask looked like at the start of production. Almost no wiry hairs, but straight uniform hair that is clumped together and puffed out. I would definitely love to see more artists trying to capture that look!
For the last photo, I want to focus on the middle point. The point in time where the hero mask sits between the uniform clumps and the matted tangled hair. The famous hallway scene was shot right in the middle of production, after the daytime scenes and before Donald Pleasance arrived on set. If you take a look at the famous hallway scene photo, you can see the hair on the hero is the perfect mix between the uniform clump and the matted tangled mess. What you have is more a uniform clump with stray wiry hairs starting to form.
Would love to see some different Myers masks that can pull off all stages of the hero throughout production. Post your pics if you feel like you have something to share! Would love to see the early straight uniform clump look!
