Horror and slasher films, in particular, have grown over the decades to become synonymous with blood and gore. While some use blood to tell its story violently, like the Evil Dead franchise, others use it as a by-product of the larger narrative, like Friday the 13th. That said, some pioneers of the genre started with little to no blood, including the debut of Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween.

Before Halloween hit theaters, the slasher genre had a violent resurgence thanks to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And what set that film apart from any that came before was the lack of blood and gore. Unlike other slashers films, most of the violence remained implied. That said, that direction wasn't supposed to evoke any elevated level of storytelling. Instead, it got used to enhance themes of survival and psychological horror. Years later, Halloween also had an incredible lack of blood but for deeper reasons.

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Michael Myers tries to kill Laurie Strode

Written by producer Irwin Yablans, The Man Who Created Halloween chronicled the process of bringing the film to life and the many influences used to elevate the story above the average horror fare. In the book, Yablans explained that he wanted to create a film that was a dramatic character drama first. That meant that violence would have to be second place to push Michael's menace, Laurie's will to live, and Dr. Loomis' drive to stop the evil. Yablans also stated he wanted "all the right scares in all the right places." That was evident in how the terrifying moments were subtle and, more importantly, used to build tension.

Rather than focus on blood and gore to motivate the scares, Yablans wanted the true terror to be a feeling and a fear of what wasn't there. He also talked about how he tried to manipulate the audience with camera tricks like focusing on a character on the right side so that the scare could come from the left. The best example was when Dr. Loomis scared a young boy away from the Myers house, and as he reveled in his victory, Sheriff Brackett appeared on the opposite end. Without a sound to trigger the scare, the suspense alone was enough to startle the audience even for a moment.

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Michael Myers Halloween

Tonally, Halloween also found inspiration in films that pushed the limits, like The Exorcist and Psycho, directed by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. These elements were felt throughout the film and helped show that slasher films don't have to be about making the audience uncomfortable. Instead, it built a new level of fear where Haddonfield was Michael's arena, and everyone in the town was his prey that he would hunt and kill at his own pace. While these elements were subtle, they greatly impacted the overall story.

Blood is an aspect of horror that, for the most part, cannot be avoided. In slasher stories, blood is representative of struggle and the ability to overcome that towering opposing force. But for Halloween, its suspense and ability to set up a conflict and scare took the place of blood. As a result, it only appeared for brief moments and put Michael in a league of his own where over-the-top gore wasn't his style as much as silently stalking and killing his prey was, making him far more realistic.