In 1978, John Carpenter introduced the world to the unkillable slasher icon Michael Myers in the horror film Halloween. After the release of the first film, the franchise exploded and now features twelve films featuring the killer. Despite receiving nearly fatal wounds and countless injuries, Michael Myers has yet to be killed by anyone or anything. His unkillable nature led to one fan theory that he has a rare medical condition that causes an insensitivity to pain.
The first two installments of the franchise end with cliffhangers and make fans question whether or not he has reached his end. When Halloween III: Season Of The Witch released in 1982, Michael Myers’ absence alluded to Halloween II as the last time he would grace movie theater screens. Yet, six years later, he was resurrected in the franchise with Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers. When he returned, it prompted several decades of fans questioning whether or not he even could die.
In nearly ever installment, Michael sustains some type of injury that would be fatal or cause extreme pain in the average person. This has lent fuel to fan theories that he is somehow an immortal being; one theory even suggests that he is a cyborg. The most improbable theory to date is that Michael Myers has a congenital insensitivity to pain.
Why Michael Myers Does Not Have A Rare Medical Condition
While there is a congenital medical condition that causes an individual to have an insensitivity to pain, it is high improbable that Michael Myers has such a condition. The medical anomaly is a peripheral neuropathy that affects the nervous system and causes an individual to not feel pain. Scientists have found that, due to the inability to experience pain, the condition can lead to a reduced life expectancy. This is caused by an accumulation of injuries that the individual is not able to feel or notice no matter the severity such as broken bones and severe wounds.
If Michael Myers does have the congenital medical condition, then his life expectancy would drastically be shortened by everything that is inflicted onto his body such as bullet and knife wounds, being pushed from buildings, and more. In the canon of the original films, there is no way that Michael would last so long. The condition may cause an insensitivity to pain, but it does not make people immortal. However, if the theory argued that he was immortal and had a congenital insensitivity to pain, then it would be more plausible, but it does not.
Ultimately, there is still no explanation as to why Michael Myers cannot be killed, but that does not stop fan theories from proposing an array of possibilities. A congenital medical condition that causes an insensitivity to pain could have worked to explain his immortality, but it can easily be debunked. John Carpenter's Halloween franchise does not have a slasher icon with a rare medical anomaly.