Halloween’s Michael Myers has become part of pop culture and as such is one of the most popular killers in the slasher genre, and while he’s mostly known for the peculiar mask he wears, another detail that has made him stand out is that he never talks – but why? The slasher genre has been home to some of the best horror movies in film history, and one that was key in popularizing the genre in the 1980s was John Carpenter’s Halloween, released in 1978, and which marked the beginning of what would become a franchise with over 10 movies and different timelines.
Halloween introduced viewers to Michael Myers, who on Halloween night, in 1963, killed his older sister, Judith, when he was just six years old. Michael was then sent to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, where he became the patient of Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and never spoke again. Fifteen years later, on October 30, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where on Halloween night, he went on a killing spree after stalking Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Laurie became the only survivor of Michael’s murders in 1978 and continued to be his target for many more years, while Michael continues to not say a single word.
While he’s not the only slasher that doesn’t speak, as there’s also Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers not talking at all has raised a lot of questions, especially when looking at his backstory, as he seems to have become a villain all of a sudden on that fateful Halloween night, so his reasons to stop talking could also be as mysterious as the origin of the evil in him. So, why doesn’t Halloween’s Michael Myers talk?
Has Michael Myers Ever Spoken In The Halloween Franchise?
It’s mentioned in the first Halloween movie that Michael Myers didn’t say a single word during his time at Smith’s Grove, so he’s not mute as he did talk before the murder of Judith. Michael Myers, then, has chosen not to speak again, though why exactly is what continues to be debated among viewers. Michael’s physical ability to speak was confirmed by Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) in David Gordon Green’s Halloween, but a reason why he chose not to speak again wasn’t given. Some possible reasons why Michael Myers hasn’t talked again since the murder of his sister is that it’s part of the catatonia he tricked everyone into thinking he had, while others, based on the events of Halloween Kills, suggest he is still in shock after what happened in 1963, and he’s still that little boy who killed his sister, so his selective mutism could be a lot more complex than it seems.
Others, however, following what Loomis said multiple times about Michael Myers being the personification of evil, believe that Michael’s choice to not speak again is part of that embodiment of evil, with his actions speaking way louder. Michael Myers hasn’t spoken in any of the movies in the Halloween franchise except Rob Zombie’s remakes. Zombie’s Halloween spent more time with young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) after Judith’s murder, and it was after he killed a nurse that he went mute, but in Halloween II, the now adult Michael said one word: “die”, to Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), as he killed him. It’s to be seen if Halloween Ends will explain why Michael Myers hasn’t talked since 1963, but it might be best to keep the mystery as it makes Michael even scarier and more threatening.
