MFF Special: Analyzing the Halloween Franchise and its Love of Laundry and Machines Used to Wash/Dry Laundry

Dude cuts holes in bed sheets.

When you rewatch all of the Halloween movies it’s easy to notice patterns and trends persisting throughout Michael Myers 40-year killing spree (here is what I’ve noticed in the past).  I’d never watched the Halloween movies so close together, so I hadn’t noticed his limited kill set that essentially features a lot of stabbing, impaling and stabbing then lifting. I also never noticed the important part laundry and bed sheets play in the franchise.

Sheets are everywhere in the franchise!

During my research I noticed an interesting trend. Movies featuring Michael Myers doing laundry have the lowest Tomatometer scores of the franchise. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (6%) and Halloween: Resurrection (12%) feature Michael Myers using washing machines or dryers to help him set traps. I’m not saying these two films are terrible because they feature Michael Myers proving he knows how to work appliances. I just love that the two lowest rated movies of the franchise feature Myers using laundry machines to kill people. Michael has always been down for cat-and-mouse theatrics, but these kills dampen any fear he has over the audience because their less about “pure evil” and more about Michael Myers being a jerk who likes to set lame traps for his own enjoyment.

For instance, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) features a very weird sequence that can best be described in a list. After doing a decent amount of research I’m happy with this timeline because it accurately works around October sunsets in Illinois and elementary school hours.

1. 10:00 AM –  Debra Strode goes downstairs to do some laundry and she realizes the washing machine is broken. She had done some earlier loads, so that explains the laundry hanging up outside in the backyard.
2. 10:39 AM – She comes upstairs with a laundry basket and gets spooked by Dr. Loomis
3. 3:30 PM – She sees Michael inside her house and runs into the backyard where she is caught up in the laundry, she manages to get free but is killed by a hatchet wielding Michael.
4. 3:32 OM- Debra’s blood flies onto a nice clean sheet.
5. 3:35 PM- Michael takes the sheet off of the line and puts it in the washing machine. He doesn’t start it yet because it’s still broken (I think).
6. 4:15 PM – Tommy Doyle walks Danny Strode home and they wait for Kara Strode there, It’s unclear if Michael is in the house. He might be in the basement waiting to start the washing machine.
7. 4:47 PM – Kara Strode comes home and finds Tommy and Danny waiting for her.
8. 4:47 PM – Is Michael still in the basement? Is he fixing the washer so it will work later? It does work later…so I guess he fixes it.
9. 5:00 PM – Tommy takes her across the street to the boarding house he lives in. Later, we see Michael standing outside so he must’ve fixed the washing machine….or needed a break.
10. 7:30 PM – Abusive jerk dad comes home, the power goes out and he heads downstairs to deal with the breaker. He looks at the washing machine and opens it up to find a bloody sheet.
11. 7:35 PM – He is killed.

This moment potentially proves that Michael Myers can fix washing machines. I wish that scene would’ve been in the producer’s cut.

The washing moment is at 10:18. Thank you Dead Meat!

The moment in Halloween: Resurrection isn’t as intricate or planned out. However, in order for everything to work out perfectly – certain things needed to go right. These kills take place so quickly I didn’t think a timeline was needed.

1. Michael is seen on camera and two unlucky security guards go to check it out
2. Michael kills a security guard named Franklin and stuffs his head in a laundry dryer
3. Franklin’s partner Willy comes in behind Franklin and walks past all the dryers to inspect a particular dryer.
4. This dryer is tossing around the head of Franklin
5. Willy walks backwards (exactly how Michael planned) and trips over Franklin’s decapitated body (perfect placement by Michael)
6. Willy is killed after Michael shows us how strong he is.

This scene proves to the audience that Michael is a brilliant game planner who puts together intricate murder setups that involve decapitating a dude with a knife, stuffing his head into a dryer, and waiting for the other security guard to come in and look into the dryer with the decapitated head in it. I LOVE IT!

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Now that I’ve covered the two instances of Michael dealing with Laundry,  here are some moments from the 10 films that feature laundry or bed sheets.

1. Halloween (1978) – Michael stands menacingly next to some sheets that are hanging on a clothesline.
2. Halloween (1978) – He locks Annie in a laundry room
3. Halloween (1978) – He cuts holes in a bed sheet to trick Lynda before he kills her.
4. Halloween (1981) – Laurie has flashbacks of her mother hanging white sheets on a clothesline
5. Halloween (1981) – Michael stabs some sheets thinking it’s Laurie
6. Halloween 5 – Jamie runs into some drying laundry in the children’s hospital
7. Halloween 5 – Jamie gets stuck in a laundry shoot
8. Halloween 6 – Michael gets blood on a sheet when he kills a nice lady.
9. Halloween 6 – Michael puts the sheet into a washer (without soap). The jerky dad checks it out and is killed.
10. Halloween H20 – Marion Chambers goes into her laundry room to get a flashlight
11. Halloween H20 – This is a stretch but the drapes/curtains in the school look a lot like bed sheets
12. Halloween: Resurrection – Dude puts a decapitated head into a washing machine
13. Halloween – Cuts holes in sheets again
14. Halloween 2 – It’s too gross a movie for anything clean.

I have no idea why so many sheets have been destroyed or laundered, I just know the Halloween franchise loves putting Michael Myers and other characters near sheets and laundry.

If you like this article make sure to check out my other data pieces!

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2. Analyzing the Unsuccessful Trap in Predators
3. How Far Did the Shark Travel in Jaws: The Revenge?
4. How Far Did the Creature From It Follows Travel?
5. How Many Bullets Missed John Matrix in Commando?
6. How Fast Does the Great White Swim in Shark Night?
7. Zara the Assistant and Jurassic World Had a Bad Day
8. A Look at Elektra’s sandbag trainer in Daredevil
9. How Far Did Nic Cage Run While Dressed as a Bear In The Wicker Man Remake?
10. Breaking Down The Mariner vs. Sea Beast Battle in Waterworld
11. How Long Did it Take The Joker to Setup the Weapon Circle in Suicide Squad?
12. Michael Myers Hates Blinkers
13. Jason Voorhees Can’t Teleport?
14. How Far Did the Merman Travel in The Cabin in the Woods?
15. How Far Did Matthew McConaughey Jump in Reign of Fire?
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17. Deep Blue Sea and Stellan Skarsgard
18. How Far Did Michael Myers Drive in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
19. How Did the Geologist Get Lost in Prometheus?
20. People Love a Bearded Kurt Russell
21. A Closer Look at Movies That Feature the Words Great, Good, Best, Perfect and Fantastic
22. An In-Depth Look At Movies That Feature Pencils Used as Weapons
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24. Explosions and Movie Posters
25. The Fast & Furious & Corona
26. Nicolas Sparks Movie Posters Are Weird
27. How Do You Make the Perfect Kevin Smith Movie?
28. Predicting the RT score of Baywatch
29. The Cinematic Dumb Data Podcast
30. What is the best horror movie franchise?
31. How Fast Can the Fisherman Clean a Trunk in I Know What You Did Last Summer?
32. It’s Expensive to Feature Characters Being Eaten Alive and Surviving Without a Scratch
33. How Long Does it Take Your Favorite Horror Movie Characters to Travel From NYC to San Francisco?
34. What was the Guy’s Blood Pressure in Dawn of the Dead?
35. Why Were There So Many Lemons in National Treasure?
36. How Far Does The Rock Jump in the Skyscraper Poster?