Debra Hill: The Woman behind Michael Myers

By Stacie Ponder

Michael Myers, the masked killer of the Halloween franchise, is one of the most enduring icons of modern horror. He's starred in seven feature films, killed two sisters, been immortalized in plastic as an action figure, and grooved to his own kick-ass theme music. He's timeless, faceless, relentless- he's The Shape. He's The Boogeyman.

Audiences forget- or simply don't know- that John Carpenter wasn't the sole creative force behind the mythic figure. It's understandable, especially when John Carpenter's Halloween is emblazoned across the screen at the film's start. In his earliest (and some would argue, his best) days, however, John Carpenter had a creative partner in Debra Hill. Hill was a huge force behind Carpenter's earliest works before breaking away from him and forging a path for herself as a major player in Hollywood...

In the early 1970s, Hill began her career in the crew ranks, working as a script supervisor on films like Goodbye, Norma Jean and Satan's Cheerleaders. The early days certainly weren't easy days, however, as Hill recalled in 2003:

"Back when I started in 1974, there were very few women in the industry, and everybody called me 'Honey'. I was assumed to be the makeup and hair person, or the script person. I was never assumed to be the writer or producer. I took a look around and realized there weren't many women, so I had to carve a niche for myself."

Things changed in 1976 when Hill worked as assistant editor and script supervisor on John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13. The two became lovers and eventually cooked up the idea for Halloween- a film that would break earnings records for independent cinema (it returned upwards of $60 million on a budget of only $320,000) and launch the careers of Carpenter and Hill in earnest.

As co-writer of Halloween, Hill broke new ground not only for women in film, but in the horror genre as well. She explained to E! Online what she and Carpenter were trying to achieve with the film:

"Both John and I were raised in the '50s, and there was a slew of films we watched when we were kids. The Creeping Eye and The Crawling Terror. We wanted to bring to Halloween that kind of scare and to open up the world to show it was a reinvention of the horror pictures we grew up on...it was different than it is now. It was a safe haven. It was quiet. The idea that out there lurks evil really appealed to both of us. "Scares" come from when you least expect them."

John Carpenter wrote the Sam Loomis "He's evil!" bits, Debra Hill wrote the teenage girl bits ("Totally!")... they added Michael Myers as a through-line and a legend of fright was born.

Hill remained entrenched in horror throughout the early 80s, teaming again with Carpenter for The Fog (1980- co-writer, producer, 2nd-unit director), Escape From New York (1981- producer), Halloween II (1981- co-writer, producer), and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982- producer). After she and Carpenter parted ways, Hill went on to produce David Cronenberg's acclaimed adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Dead Zone in 1983.

In 1985 Debra teamed with friend Lynda Obst to form Hill/Obst Productions. The team would produce such hits as Clue, Adventures in Babysitting, and the Oscar-nominated Terry Gilliam film The Fisher King. She re-teamed with John Carpenter in 1996 to re-visit Snake Plissken in Escape From LA, but after 15 years the collaborative magic was no longer there.

Debra Hill died just over a year ago, on March 7, 2005 - taken too soon by cancer at the age of 54. John Carpenter called working with her "one of the greatest experiences of my life". She was indeed a true pioneer, blazing a trail for women in the film industry and leaving an indelible mark on the horror genre.

She had to step down from the board of Women in Film so the organization could rightfully honor her in 2003. At the time, Hill said, "I hope some day there won't be a need for Women in Film. That it will be People in Film. That it will be equal pay, equal rights, and equal job opportunities for everybody."

Debra, wherever you are: we're still waiting. Thank you for the nightmares.