Halloween is right upon us.  The days are shorter, the temperature is cooler and the ominous feel of All Hallow’s Eve is lurking in every shadow!  This time of year is without question my favorite by far. I love the weather, the fodder shocks, the pumpkins and the corn mazes. I delight in seeing the costumes, smelling the candy corn and hearing the hair-raising sounds.  I love the black cats and goblins and of course–watching a good horror movie!

John Carpenter brought us THE horror movie which would forevermore be synonymous with the holiday when HALLOWEEN was released on October 25th, 1978.  The film struck a nerve with movie audiences around the world and remains today one of (if not THE)  best horror movies of all time.  The magic of HALLOWEEN is a mixture of a great setting, strong storyline, good characters and a villain that has become iconic….”The Shape” a.k.a. Michael Myers.  There is something about that 1975 Don Post Captain Kirk mask with the side burns ripped off, the eyes cut wider and being painted a ghostly white that is simply unnerving.  Mask makers have been trying to replicate this “lightning in a bottle” look of the Myers’ mask for some time now and with varying degrees of success.

In my last blog, I counted down numbers ten through six of what Michael-Myers.net voters chose as the best Myers mask replicas of all time.  In this blog the top five will be revealed!  Turn down the lights, illuminate your jack o lanterns, play the HALLOWEEN theme and enjoy part 2 of the Top Ten Myers Mask Replicas of All Time countdown!

The first entry lands at NUMBER FIVE, W.M.P.’s (Wickid Mask Productions) VINTAGE 75.  Like the 1975 Don Post Captain Kirk mask, this mask began from the William Shatner life cast.  Four sculptors and fifteen months later, Chris Morgan (owner of Wickid Mask Productions) deemed the Vintage 75 mask finished and consequently birthed its release.

At NUMBER FOUR is another of my personal favorites, NIGHTOWL’S NIGHTMARE MAN ’78 or “NMM78” for short.  Although there were different versions of this mask, the one that is considered by most to be THE version to have is the very limited original “4-stamp” (often referred to as simply the “4-stamper“) version.  The “4-stamp” part of the name is due to the mask having four distinct stamps on the back of its neck.  The first one states the name of the company (Nightowl Productions), the second the owner/artist of Nightowl (Justin Mabry), the third states the name of the Michael-Myers.net member who had a 75 Kirk from which the mask was pressed from (Billy Kirkus) and the fourth stamp states the name of the mask itself (Nightmare Man 78).

Only nine of these masks were made and this mask was the one to really usher in the Myers mask collecting craze to a level not seen prior.  Below is MM.Net member “TheShapeShifter” wearing a NM78 4-stamp, sporting a perfect H1 Myers “Boogeyman” look.

Coming in at NUMBER THREE is likely my favorite Myers’ mask replica of all time…the KEN HERTLEIN/DICK WARLOCK SIGNATURE MASK commonly known as the “KH/DW”. This mask is the ONLY mask that was made with the hero (the actual mask used in Halloween) in hand! After Dick Warlock portrayed Michael Myers in 1981’s HALLOWEEN II, he kept the mask he wore in the movie along with the knife, boots and coveralls. Sometime in the year 2000, he commissioned the very talented artist Ken Hertlein to come to his home and examine the hero in order to try and recreate this iconic mask. Measurements of Mr. Warlock’s head were taken as well as various measurements to the hero mask. The look of the hair, eye cuts, spatial relations of the features, mask size and all other little nuances of the hero were all taken into account.

The result is arguably the best Myers replica mask the hobby has seen to date.  Seen pictured below is MM.Net member Jon Dano who wears the KHDW strikingly similar to the way Dick Warlock wore the hero.

At NUMBER TWO is another example of just how far this hobby has come in trying to replicate the look of the Don Post 1975 Kirk that was converted into the white, ghastly mask which Michael Myers dons in HALLOWEEN.  N.A.G.’s (Nikolas Art Gallery) 75K or 75 KIRK takes its inspiration directly from Don Post Studios’ attempt to replicate their own 1975 Kirk mask.  In 1998 Don Post Studios laser scanned a production pull 1975 Kirk mask. The resulting mask was the 98 Shatner.  Two versions of this Shatner mask (named after William Shatner who played the original Captain Kirk in the Star Trek series) were released, one a more expensive and detailed mask and the other a more mass produced mask.  There was also a 98 Shatner Proto mask that was discovered which was an exceptional copy, retaining all of the details of this sculpt very nicely.  It is from this Don Post 98 Shatner proto mask that the 75K was derived.

With a near-perfect Kirk replica as reference, N.A.G. created the “75K or 75 Kirk”.  This mask could/can be ordered as a Captain Kirk mask, an already-converted Michael Myers mask or as a blank to have converted by the artist of your choice.  Below is a N.A.G. 75K converted into a Myers mask by artist All Hallow’s Ghost (otherwise known as “AHG”).

Finally at NUMBER ONE is Justin Mabry’s (of Nightowl Productions) CREEP or SHAT mask.

The CREEP version of this mask comes as an already masterfully converted Myers mask, straight  from Mr Mabry himself.  With its ghastly white paint up and solid quality, this is the best option for many people who want a very nicely done Michael Myers replica mask ready to wear right out of the box.

For those fans who would rather have the mask in a Captain Kirk form (or for those who like to send a Kirk mask to be customized into a Myers by the artist of their choice) the SHAT (short for Shatner) mask is offered. Both of these masks are of excellent quality and have great detail whether you are looking for a Kirk or a Michael Myers replica mask.  Here is a SHAT converted by Michael-Myers.net member James Carter (“jc_70”):

SHAT Michael Myers Mask – Voted The Best Michael Myers Mask of All Time

SHAT Michael Myers mask – Voted The Best Michael Myers mask of All Time

SHAT Michael Myers mask – Voted The Best Michael Myers mask of All Time

We hope everyone enjoyed the countdown!  What other great masks will come out between now and next October that could change the current rankings?

From all of us at Michael-Myers.net, thanks for dropping by and have a great HALLOWEEN! …..and be on the look out for HIM!