Dr. Samuel "Sam" J. Loomis is a fictional character in the
''Halloween'' franchise. A
main protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the overall series, Loomis appears on-screen in eight of the twelve ''Halloween'' films (and is mentioned or featured in audio recordings in others), first appearing in
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
's original
1978 film.
Donald Pleasence
Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...
portrayed the character in five films, with
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised i ...
taking on the role in the
2007 reimagining and
its sequel. In both portrayals, Loomis is introduced as the
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
of series
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...
Michael Myers, driven to pursue and restrain his murderous former patient. He also appears in a flashback in ''
Halloween Kills
''Halloween Kills'' is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to 2018's ''Halloween'' and the twelfth installment in the'' Halloween'' franchise. The ...
''.
Dr. Loomis's name was derived from
Sam Loomis, played by
John Gavin in the 1960 film ''
Psycho''.
Appearances
Films
Original series (1978–1995)
![Halloween Film Franchise Continuity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Halloween_Film_Franchise_Continuity.svg)
Dr. Samuel Loomis first appears in the original ''
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
'' (1978). Assigned as the psychiatrist to six-year-old Michael Myers after the boy
killed his own sister, Loomis spent eight years trying to reach Myers before coming to the conclusion that he was "purely and simply evil" and advocating that Myers never be released. Fifteen years after Myers' first murder, Loomis and colleague Marion Chambers prepare to escort Michael from Smith's Grove Sanitarium to court; Loomis plans to give Michael
Thorazine to ensure he will have no chance to be released back to society. However, upon arrival they find that the sanitarium's patients are wandering loose, and in the confusion an escaped Michael steals their car. Loomis suspects Michael plans to return to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois; investigating the Haddonfield cemetery he discovers that Judith Myers' tombstone is missing. He meets with Sheriff Leigh Brackett, and the two begin their search at Michael's former home. While a skeptical Sheriff Brackett patrols the streets, the doctor stays at the house believing that Michael may desire to return "home". Loomis hears two children frantically fleeing a nearby house; investigating, he finds Michael attacking
Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode is a fictional character in the ''Halloween'' franchise by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. She debuted in the original 1978 film as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. L ...
. Loomis draws his
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that has at least one gun barrel, barrel and uses a revolving cylinder (firearms), cylinder containing multiple chamber (firearms), chambers (each holding a single ...
and shoots Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony, but when he goes to check Michael's body he finds it missing. An unsurprised Loomis stares off into the night, while Laurie begins sobbing in terror.
''
Halloween II'' (1981) begins at the final moments of the first film. Laurie is taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, while Brackett accompanies Loomis in his search for Michael. The pair spots a masked figure that may be Myers, but he is struck by a car and immolated which confounds identification of the body. Sheriff Brackett learns his daughter
Annie was killed by Michael, and angrily blames Loomis for letting him escape and leaves the search to Deputy Gary Hunt. Investigation of the burned corpse reveals it was not Myers, whose trail is picked up at the local elementary school. As Loomis investigates he discovers clues connecting Michael to the occult practice of
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
, suggesting an explanation to his seeming invulnerability and murderous desire. The search is interrupted by a returning Chambers: the governor has ordered Loomis to return immediately to Smith's Grove accompanied by a
US Marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated ...
. Along the way, Marion shares that a previously sealed file reveals that Laurie is Michael's sister, adopted by the Strodes after the death of her parents. Realizing that Michael is after Laurie, Loomis forces the Marshal to drive to Haddonfield Memorial at gunpoint. The trio reach the hospital to defend Laurie. As Marion attempts to contact the police, Michael kills the Marshal and chases Loomis and Laurie into an
operating theater
An operating theater (also known as an operating room (OR), operating suite, or operation suite) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment.
Historically, the term "operating theater" refe ...
. Michael stabs Loomis in the stomach, seriously wounding him, but Laurie blinds Michael by shooting him in the eyes. The pair fill the room with
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...
and
ether
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again ...
. Laurie flees while Loomis ignites the flammable gases, blowing up the operating room. Miraculously, Loomis survives, as he is thrown out of the room by the explosion and is knocked unconscious. Michael, engulfed in flames, staggers out of the room before finally collapsing lifeless.
''
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' (1988) picks the story up ten years after the events of ''Halloween II''. Michael has been comatose since the explosion, but awakens when he learns Laurie Strode has died in a car accident, leaving behind a daughter,
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...
. Loomis heads to Haddonfield after learning that Michael has escaped. He follows Michael to a gas station, but Myers escapes in a tow truck and causes an explosion, destroying Loomis's car in the process. Catching a ride to Haddonfield, Loomis warns the new sheriff, Ben Meeker, that Michael has returned. Michael attacks the police station and kills all of the officers. A lynch mob is formed by the town's men to kill Michael once Loomis reveals he's returned, refusing to let Michael cause a massacre and the latter goes to protect Jamie Lloyd from her uncle. After Michael Myers is shot and falls down a mine shaft, Jamie and Rachel are brought back to their foster parents' house, where Loomis arrives with Sheriff Meeker, the former being convinced that Myers has died. Without warning, Jamie stabs her foster mother giving her an appearance similar to six-year-old Michael's first kill. Sheriff Meeker prevents a horrified Loomis from shooting her as the group realizes that Jamie is following in Michael's footsteps.
''
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'' (1989) takes place a year later as Loomis is assigned to Jamie at the Haddonfield Children's Clinic. Aware that Michael is still alive, and discovering that Jamie is telepathically linked with him, Loomis constantly pressures her to inform him of Michael's whereabouts, but Jamie is too
traumatized
Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typica ...
to tell him. When Michael returns, Loomis sets a trap for Myers at his house, which involves Jamie recreating an eerie recreation of Judith Myers' final moments before her murder. Michael arrives, and Loomis tries to reason with him, proposing that he fight his rage and redeem himself through a positive relationship with Jamie. Loomis's words seem to work at first, as Michael calmly listens to him and lowers his knife, but when Loomis reaches to take away Michael's knife, he subdues him. When Loomis awakens, he uses Jamie as bait, and lures Michael into a trap to weaken him with a
tranquilizer gun
A dart gun is an air rifle that fires a dart. The dart is tipped with a hypodermic needle and filled with a tranquilizer, vaccine, or antibiotic. A dart gun containing a tranquillizer is called a tranquillizer gun ( also spelled tranquilizer, tr ...
. After beating Michael unconscious with a wooden plank, Loomis suffers a stroke and collapses.
In ''
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'' (1995), Loomis has retired and lives as a hermit in a small home on the outskirts of Haddonfield. He is visited by his old colleague Dr. Terence Wynn, chief administrator at Smith's Grove Sanitarium who tries to persuade Loomis to return to Smith's Grove, but the latter declines. At the same time they hear the voice of Jamie Lloyd on the radio begging Loomis to help her. The following morning Jamie's body is discovered, and Loomis is devastated. He is later approached by Tommy Doyle at the hospital who tells him about his discovery of Jamie's child, Steven. It is revealed that Michael is under control of the curse of "Thorn", a power he has been cursed with by a druid cult led by Dr. Wynn since he was a young boy after hearing voices telling him to kill his family. After this discovery, Loomis and Tommy are drugged and later follow Wynn to Smith's Grove who abducted Danny, his mother, and Steven with the help of his cult followers. Wynn reveals that Jamie's baby represents a new cycle of Michael's evil that he kept secret from most of the cult who were focused on inflicting the curse onto a new child, Danny. Loomis is knocked unconscious after criticizing Wynn. Later, Michael butchers Wynn's team of staff surgeons and Wynn himself during a medical procedure with Danny and Steven sitting in a room next door. Tommy then joins forces with Kara Strode (Danny's mother and Laurie Strode's cousin) in order to protect Jamie's baby from Michael. They succeed, and after regaining consciousness, Loomis helps them escape the hospital while Tommy subdues Michael by injecting him with large quantities of tranquilizers. As Tommy, Kara, Danny, and Steven leave, Loomis refuses to come with them as he has "a little business to attend to". Back inside the building, Michael's mask is seen lying on the floor of the lab room, and Loomis is heard screaming in the background, leaving the fate of both men unknown.
In the original cut of the film, after telling the others he has got "a little business to attend to", Loomis walks back into the sanitarium to find a seemingly-defeated Michael lying on the floor of the main hallway, after being stopped by Tommy, who used
rune
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
s. Upon removing the mask, Loomis finds Dr. Wynn, who was forced by Michael to switch outfits so he could escape. With his dying breath, Wynn grabs Loomis's hand and says, "It's your game now, Dr. Loomis." After Wynn dies, the Thorn symbol appears on Loomis's wrist; realizing now that he himself is now to act as the leader of the cult, Loomis screams in terror.
''H20'' continuity (1978–1981, 1998–2002)
Ignoring the events of the previous three films, ''
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later'' (1998) establishes that Michael Myers has been missing for twenty years since the explosion in 1978. He kills Marion Chambers at Loomis's retirement house. Two investigators discuss what they know about Loomis's life in this alternate version of the series, following the events of the first two films. Having survived the explosion in 1978, Loomis was under Marion's care at this house in his final years before dying. However, even after nearly 20 years, Loomis refused to believe that Michael was dead, and devoted the rest of his life to studying all information about his former patient. The two investigators enter his private study, and find that the walls are covered with photographs, sketches, and newspaper articles about Michael. During the opening credits, Loomis' speech to Brackett about his first meeting with Michael is heard in a voiceover (provided by
Tom Kane
Thomas Kane Roberts (born April 15, 1962) is a retired American voice actor. He is best known for his work in animation and video games, most notably in the '' Star Wars'' franchise.
Career
Kane began his voice-over career in 1977, at fifteen ye ...
).
Rob Zombie series (2007–2009)
A new version of Dr. Samuel Loomis appears in the
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...
(2007). In the film, Dr. Loomis seems not to have contempt for Michael, and Michael doesn't truly see him as his nemesis. Their relationship with one another is more of a tragic friendship. Loomis does not immediately shoot Michael, but tries to reason with him. Loomis is first seen as a
child psychiatrist
Child and adolescent psychiatry (or pediatric psychiatry) is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial fact ...
brought in by ten-year-old Michael Myers' school to speak with Michael's mother, Deborah. After seeing the various animals Michael has tortured and killed, he recommends that the boy get help. After Michael commits three murders on Halloween, he is put under Loomis's care at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. On some days the two talk peacefully, on others Michael has outbursts of violent rage. Fifteen years later, Loomis writes a best-selling book based on Michael's treatment called "The Devil's Eyes". On his last day at Smith's Grove, Loomis tells Michael that he has tried but cannot help him anymore. He also tells Michael that he has become something like his best friend.
After Michael escapes, Loomis concludes that his former patient is going to Haddonfield. Once there, he enlists the help of Sheriff Lee Brackett, and also buys a gun. Loomis comes to believe that Michael has returned to find his little sister, Laurie, who Brackett helped get adopted by the Strodes after her mother committed suicide. Michael succeeds in tracking Laurie down, killing her friends and two police officers in the process. Loomis is alerted of Michael capturing Laurie by Tommy Doyle and Lyndsey Wallace, the children Laurie is babysitting, and sets off to the Myers house. There he confronts Michael as he approaches Laurie, begging Michael to stop, but as Michael ignores him and continues forward, Loomis is left with no choice but to shoot Michael. Loomis rescues Laurie, but Michael soon reawakens to continue the attack on his sister. Loomis again tries to reason with him at which point Michael lets Laurie go and subdues Loomis. In the unrated version of the film, when Michael is in pursuit of Laurie through the house, Loomis grabs his foot to try and stop him. Michael shakes him off and Loomis blacks out. In the film's original ending, Loomis is successful in convincing Michael to let go of Laurie as he is surrounded by police officers, telling Michael he "did the right thing". Despite Loomis's protests, however, Michael is killed shortly afterwards in a hail of gunfire, and the film ends with Loomis looking down sadly at his former patient's corpse.
In the
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
(2009), Loomis's character is revised; he is now seen as a greedy, arrogant mercenary who is profiting from the murders of the previous film. He does not believe Michael is alive and becomes annoyed and angry when asked about it. He goes on a tour to promote a new book, "The Devil Walks Among Us", while his assistant is shown to be disgusted with his campaign. In the climax of the film Loomis, after realizing Michael is still alive, realizes that he has changed for the worse and tries to save Laurie, this time unarmed. Michael ambushes Loomis and kills him by slashing his face and stabbing him in the chest. In the unrated version, Michael tackles Loomis out of the shack and then stabs him in the stomach while Loomis is still trying to reason with him. With Loomis injured and unconscious (it is not revealed whether he lived or died), the police open fire on Michael, killing him. Laurie, now completely insane, leaves the shack, picks up Michael's knife and walks over to Loomis's unconscious body. Against Brackett's orders, the police open fire on Laurie, apparently killing her too.
2018 continuity (1978, 2018–2022)
''
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
'' (2018) is a direct sequel to the first film, ignoring all other series entries. Taking place forty years later, it is established that Michael was arrested following his 1978 killing spree and has spent the last forty years imprisoned in Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Loomis does not appear in-person, having died an unspecified time ago prior to the film's events.
True crime podcasters uncover a 1979 audio recording of Loomis (voiced by Colin Mahan) giving a statement on his "former patient", advocating for Myers' execution and immediate
cremation
Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...
and voicing a desire to witness as Myers is put to death and destroyed. Michael's new psychiatrist, Dr. Ranbir Sartain (
Haluk Bilginer
Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera '' EastEnders'' ...
), is established as a former student of Loomis's and even referred to as "the new Loomis" by Laurie Strode; however, he has a different perspective on Michael than Loomis's belief that he is "pure evil".
In the sequel, ''
Halloween Kills
''Halloween Kills'' is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to 2018's ''Halloween'' and the twelfth installment in the'' Halloween'' franchise. The ...
'' (2021) Loomis (portrayed by Tom Jones Jr., and voiced by Mahan) is depicted in flashbacks portraying Myers' detainment by police forty years prior in the aftermath of his 1978 killing spree (events briefly mentioned in the prior film). Haddonfield officer Hawkins encountered Michael at the Myers residence, shortly before the arrival of Loomis accompanied by the rest of the police department. The doctor questions Hawkins if Michael killed the officer's partner, but gets no response. Loomis attempts to execute the detained Michael, but is stopped by a remorseful Hawkins who did not believe Michael deserved death for his crimes. Decades later, an older Hawkins blames himself for the deaths following Michael's 2018 escape and feels tremendous guilt for stopping Loomis that night.
Literature
Samuel Loomis's first literary appearance was in October 1979, in Curtis Richards' novelization of ''Halloween'', which largely follows the events of the film. He also appeared in the 1981 adaptation of ''Halloween II'' written by Jack Martin; it was published alongside the first film sequel, with the novel following the film events, with an additional victim, a reporter, added to the novel. The final novelization to feature Loomis was ''Halloween IV'', released October 1988. The novel was written by Nicholas Grabowsky, and like the previous adaptations, follows the events of ''Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers''.
Loomis appears in the online short story ''Halloween: Sam'', focusing on what happened to his character in the ''H20'' timeline after ''Halloween II''.
Written by Hutchinson and featuring illustrations from ''Autopsis'' Marcus Smith, ''Sam'' is a prose short story available exclusively for download at the website HalloweenComics.com. It explores the life of Dr. Loomis, including his backstory and relationship with Elizabeth Worthington, a journalist he met during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. In 1995, Michael Myers visits the ailing Dr. Loomis in a hospital and murders Elizabeth in front of him. Loomis attempts to stop him, but dies of a coronary failure.
In the comic ''Halloween: One Good Scare'', Loomis is revealed to have a son, David Loomis, who like him, is a doctor at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Although continuing his father's work, David is careful not to inherit his obsession with Michael Myers. However, when Lindsey Wallace is admitted to Smith's Grove claiming that Michael is stalking her, he finds history repeating itself. David neglects his other patients to interview Lindsey, investigates Michael's history, and even visits his childhood home in Haddonfield. However, on Halloween night in 2003, Michael arrives at Smith's Grove, murdering his way through the staff to get to Lindsey. David tries to protect her, but his fear gets the better of him and he hides as Michael drags Lindsey away to her death. Michael leaves behind a cracked picture frame containing a photograph of David and his father, a message that he plans to return for him.
Characterization
Scott Froehlich describes Loomis in ''Halloween'' "as the uncommissioned bounty hunter attempting to return his patient to the institution. His character provides insight into Myers’ motives, or lack thereof, and fills the audience in on how disturbed the masked murderer truly is." Brad Miska refers to Loomis as the film's "hero figure" who calls Michael "it" in a series of acts of depersonalization of his patient. Miska explains Loomis as believing Michael is inhuman, furthering that Loomis spends much of the film as "one of the few individuals (but not the only one) to fear and acknowledge the threat Michael presents and immediately speculates that he will return to Haddonfield – and we, of course, know he’s right." Josh Greally calls Loomis one of film's "greatest harbingers of doom" and adds that in spite of Loomis barely interacting with Myers in the film, Loomis "instils a sense of fear in the audience for how calmly assured he is of Michael's evil nature. He knows what Michael is capable of and that he is the only one who can stop him."
Doug Bradley observes that Dr. Loomis "spends a lot of the film warning people they don’t know what they are dealing with" and this provides Michael with "this supernatural, mysterious element that made him so powerful." Dustin Putman views Pleasence as having brought "authority, dignity, and vulnerability" to the Loomis role and defines the character as "a man who once cared for Michael, who can't help but feel as if he still shares a bond with him, but who has grown wearisome because he now knows that there is no way of getting through to him."
Commentary on Loomis in the original film extends to discussing how his character relates to Laurie Strode.
David McCallister notes the differences between Loomis and Laurie in their interactions with Michael in the original film that work together to form "a fantastic dynamic with" Myers that also demonstrates "an underlying look at how some perceive evil and how others like Loomis see mental health and the 'science' of people like Michael Myers." ''SciFiFX'' credits the film for focusing on Laurie more than Loomis, viewing him as being efficient "at telling everyone what sort of evil this man is. He makes sure everyone knows what sort of creature he believes Michael to be." M. Keith Booker, who saw Loomis as "playing the strict father to Michael", observes that "Loomis’s pursuit of Michael is so relentless that he becomes a sort of stalker figure in his own right, providing a third term that complicates the eventual moral opposition between Michael and innocent Final Girl Laurie Strode that enhances the allegorical structure of the film by providing a figure of righteous masculine authority so uncompromising that he becomes a sort of official representative of the structures and systems that somehow created Michael in the first place."
In ''Halloween 2'', Geoff Cox asserts, viewers "witness Loomis grow increasingly more exasperated that Michael’s still on the loose, confused about how he took bullets to the chest and walked away but vindicated in his belief that Myers is less a man and more a force of pure evil." Devon Elson observes that the early demise of a Michael lookalike "mechanically serves as a narrative reset to have the police disbelieve Loomis again." John Hansen notes Loomis being blamed by Brackett for his daughter Annie's death despite Loomis spending years trying to keep Michael contained, and reasons that "there would be ample reason for Loomis to lose his mind, but as far as I can tell, his behavior and actions are perfectly in line with the reality of Michael’s killing spree". Seth Harris assesses that Loomis "really goes over the deep end throughout" the second film and becomes a lunatic just as out of control as Michael himself. Harris opines that this is when Loomis works best, as "a madman, obsessed with killing this force of nature, he feels responsible for." Kayleena Pierce-Bohen praises ''Halloween II'' as being where Pleasence shaped "Loomis into a more complex hero" who helped create the Myers mythos: "If Myers is the ultimate evil, then Dr. Loomis is the ultimate force for good, standing up to the forces of darkness with kindness in his heart, over and over again."
Loomis is depicted in ''Halloween 4'' with burn scars from his near-fatal injuries at the end of ''Halloween 2''. Alan Smithee observed Loomis as "more world weary than ever" with physical scars to evidence his worry.
Adam Tyner wrote that Loomis served as "more than just connective tissue with the first two films in the franchise. It makes the world of Haddonfield feel more real...more lived-in...that there are consequences that linger and matter." Jack Wilhelmi viewed the inclusion of the Jamie Lloyd character as giving both Loomis and Michael "a tremendous amount of depth and characterization" and "a foil to build off of and play against." "Within this fourth installment, Loomis brought sympathy and tragedy because of his elderly age," wrote Rodolfo Salas, who equated Pleasence's performance to that of a father who had failed their child and whose attempts to reach Michael "brought about a sense of care, depression, and exhaustion." Salas also notes the contrast between Loomis and his knowledge of Michael and Jamie and her being "nearly unaware of her murderous uncle." Patrick Bromley, who cited the ''Halloween 4'' iteration of the character as his favorite version of Loomis outside of the 1978 film, opined that Loomis's "concern isn't so much for Michael's sanity anymore; it's barely even for the safety of Haddonfield's residents" and that the film "is where Loomis really gives in to obsession, and it's interesting to see the character slide closer and closer to the brink of crazy."
James Berardinelli called Pleasence "the stabilizing influence" in his review of ''Halloween 4'' and observed that "the character of Dr. Sam Loomis, even as beaten and broken as he is in the later installments, represents a rock of solidity. The ending of Halloween 4 would not have been as effective without Pleasance's entirely convincing reaction of unimaginable horror."
The ''Halloween 5'' iteration of Loomis is described as "increasingly unbalanced" by Jason Barr, and as having "apparently lost his mind" by Jesse Sparks, the latter viewing Loomis as having developed an evident mistrust in Jamie and that "his motivations have changed from public servant to becoming strictly personal." Derek Anderson assesses the film as depicting Loomis with an increased obsession with Michael that has been "pushed to a dangerous and almost selfish level." Anderson explains that Loomis views himself as the only one who can stop Michael and "knowing that he may not have much time left on this Earth, his growing obsession with ending Myers at any cost is a believable progression in a character who has dedicated the second half of his life to containing and obliterating the evil that lives within Michael—even if it means putting Jamie squarely in harm’s way." Berardinelli theorizes that "one could construct an argument that the good doctor’s obsession, combined with the various physical and mental experiences he has gone through, might have taken him off the deep end" and that Loomis could be argued as having become just as deranged as Michael.
Daniel Farrands, writer of ''The Curse of Michael Myers'', cited his intent to give Loomis an arc in the film, depicting Loomis as living in seclusion and seemingly having put his past with Michael behind him while writing a book about his patient. Farrands explained, "I thought that was a great way to start with him. Start him in a place of relative peace and end up right back in hell." He wanted the film to conclude "with this incredible battle for Michael Myers' soul between the good doctor and the evil doctor" and that he had written the part of Dr. Wynn with "the idea of casting a serious equal for Donald."
''Culture Crypt'' notes that Loomis "never even confronts Michael Myers one single time in ''Halloween 6'', often doing his own thing on a parallel arc to what Tommy Doyle and the Strodes do on the main one." Mark Ziobro expresses that Loomis "is not so much ranting and raving about how evil Michael is, but has accepted it" and has become a realist. Ziobro furthers that the filmmakers ran with the belief that Michael was unstoppable, as espoused by Loomis, "and leave his continued existence unanswered." In the first appearance of Loomis in the film, he is listening to a radio host who mistakes him as having been deceased, to which he replies, "Not dead, just very much retired." Richard Harrington, and Alan Jones have noted the line as being an epitaph for Pleasence.
Due to both being doctors who serve as the archenemy to a supernatural antagonist, a number of commentators have compared Loomis to
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
foe
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula'', is an aged Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows h ...
; the list includes Kyron Lewis, Christian Bone, Tony Fyler, Cody Hamman, and Padraig Cotter. Alternatively, Wicked Horror's Nat Brehmer argues, "Sam Loomis is not, when you break the character down and really study him, the Van Helsing of the Halloween series because Van Helsing was brought into the middle of a story he had no personal stake in." Brehmer likens Loomis to a personification of the
Cassandra
Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be belie ...
myth as Loomis is "someone who basically has a premonition" and "tries to warn everyone, and nobody listens, so exactly what he was trying to stop from happening just happens as scheduled."
Casting
Carpenter's first choice for the role of Dr. Loomis was
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
, famous for his roles in
Hammer Horror
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...
films; however, as he had just been in the high-profile ''
Star Wars'', Cushing's agent rejected the offer out of hand due to the low salary.
Christopher Lee was also approached for the role; he too turned it down, although the actor would later tell Carpenter and Hill that declining the role was the biggest mistake he made during his career. Producer
Irwin Yablans
Irwin Yablans (born July 25, 1934) is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry. His brother, Frank Yablans, was also a producer.
Life and career
Yablans was born to a Jewish family i ...
then suggested Pleasence, who agreed to star because his daughter Lucy, a guitarist, had enjoyed ''
Assault on Precinct 13'' for Carpenter's score.
Nancy Stephens
Nancy Stephens (born July 2, 1949) is a former American actress who has starred in many films and television shows. Stephens is perhaps best known for her role as Nurse Marion Chambers in John Carpenter's horror film '' Halloween'' (1978). She ...
reflected, "The thrill for me in the first ''Halloween'' was that I got to work with Donald Pleasence."
Tony Moran
Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and " K ...
, who briefly portrays Michael when his mask is removed, initially refused to do the film until learning that Pleasence was involved.
While filming the final scene of the movie, where Michael is revealed to have disappeared after being shot by Loomis and falling off a balcony, Pleasence asked Carpenter if he should do an expression of surprise or an "I knew it'?" Carpenter, "too naive to know the right answer", asked Pleasence if he could do both, to which Pleasence complied.
''
Halloween II'' was supposed to be the last film in the ''Halloween'' franchise to revolve around Michael Myers. After the 1982 release of ''
Halloween III: Season of the Witch'', the lowest performing film in the series at the time,
executive producer
Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Al Akkad ( ar, مصطفى العقاد; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian-American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween'' films and directing '' The Message'' and ' ...
wanted to make a sequel that brought back Michael Myers. On February 25, 1988, writer
Alan B. McElroy, a
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
native, was brought in to write the script for ''Halloween 4''.
McElroy wanted to open the film with Loomis being thrown from the explosion at the end of ''Halloween II'' as a way of explaining how he survived. This was vetoed by director
Dwight H. Little, who "didn't want to get tied up with a lot of 'logic police' questions about Michael and exactly what happened to Dr. Loomis, exactly what happened at the end of the hospital
equence" Little furthered that he did not want to be influenced by anything besides the original film.
In reprising his role in ''Halloween 4'', Pleasence became the only actor from the first two films to return. According to Little, Pleasence was "committed conceptually" to the role, but did not sign on to the project until having read a finished screenplay. Little reflected that he had been impressed by Pleasence's performance in ''
The Great Escape'' (1963). He asserted that Pleasence "carried a lot of film history and he carried a lot of weight as an actor" but was open to collaborating on scenes and Little would arrange a schedule to accommodate his health: "I did notice that after about four or five hours he would get quite tired. I don’t know if that was age or he was suffering with something. I started working with the AD to make sure we would do anything demanding in those first four to six hours, then for the last few hours just take it easy with him."
Ellie Cornell, who portrayed
Rachel Carruthers
Rachel Carruthers is a fictional character in the '' Halloween'' series of slasher films, and is the final girl of the film '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' (1988). Rachel is the foster sister of Jamie Lloyd, who is the niece of seri ...
in ''Halloween 4'' and its sequel, called working with Pleasence "a huge honour" and recalled that Pleasence could "nail his scenes" very quickly before leaving. According to Cornell, Pleasence would stay at a different hotel from the rest of the cast and "was kind of on his own, but he was just tremendously professional, just so supportive." Pleasance portrayed the character until his death in 1995; ''Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'' was released posthumously and dedicated to his memory.
In 1998's ''Halloween H20'', the voice of Dr. Loomis is heard giving the same speech that he gave to Sheriff Brackett when they were inside Michael's abandoned childhood home in the original film.
Sound-alike
A sound-alike is a recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular record, the style of a popular recording artist, or a current musical trend; the term also refers to the artists who perform on such recordings. In the voice-over world, it m ...
voice actor
Tom Kane
Thomas Kane Roberts (born April 15, 1962) is a retired American voice actor. He is best known for his work in animation and video games, most notably in the '' Star Wars'' franchise.
Career
Kane began his voice-over career in 1977, at fifteen ye ...
provided this voice-over rather than archival recordings of Pleasance.
An audio recording of Loomis is featured in 2018's ''Halloween''; Loomis is voiced by Colin Mahan. For ''Halloween Kills'', Loomis was physically portrayed by the film's
construction foreman
A construction foreman, construction forewoman, or construction foreperson is the worker or skilled tradesperson who is in charge of a construction crew. This role is generally assumed by a senior worker.
Duties and functions
Normally the forema ...
Tom Jones Jr., whose resemblance to Pleasance was enhanced with
prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup also called special make-up effects and FX prosthesis) is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects. Prosthetic makeup goes back to the beginning of film maki ...
; Mahan again provided the voice via
dubbing
Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
.
Reception
''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' ranked Loomis as the 18th best horror movie character. In 2016,
Dread Central ranked Loomis in second place (only behind
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...
as
Norman Bates
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, wh ...
) on their ''Top 5 Most Powerful Performances in Horror History Since 1960!'' list, opining that Pleasence spoke "with pitch-perfectly clear intention" and created "one of the greatest characters in film history" in the original film. ''
Screen Rant'' listed Loomis as the second best ''Halloween'' character (behind Michael Myers), asserting that "Pleasance truly gives one of the best performances in Horror films as the determined doctor."
/Film cites Loomis as the greatest character John Carpenter made over his five-decade career. Joe Puccio described Loomis as legendary and called Pleasence "arguably the crown jewel of the series". Meagan Navarro called Loomis the pillar of the ''Halloween'' franchise and asserted that "Pleasance always gave Loomis his all, no matter where the story took his character." Matthew Chernov of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' asserts that Pleasence gave credibility to Loomis' ominous warnings and that the actor "never gave anything less than 100 percent on screen", citing this as the reason "why, for many fans, he remains the series' stealth MVP."
Justin Davis of ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' praised Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis for "star-making performances" in ''Halloween''. Ron Pennington of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' wrote that Pleasence as Loomis provided "a strong presence, but it’s basically a one-dimensional role, designed to provide necessary plot information." Berardinelli referred to Pleasence as the "saving grace of ''Halloween II''" and that the film "belongs to Loomis, the gun-toting action figure who arrives in the nick of time and has more good one-liners than everyone else put together." Discussing ''Halloween 4'', Vinnie Mancuso cited Pleasence as "absolutely hamming it up to a new level". Cox wrote that bringing back Pleasence as Loomis was one of the "major things" ''Halloween 4'' did correctly and that the film was "anchored by solid performances from Pleasence and Harris". Reviewing ''The Curse of Michael Myers'', Ben Martin lauded Pleasence for giving "a good performance again. So good in fact that I’m reminded of why I liked Loomis in the first place."
While admitting that Loomis was "the most interesting" character in ''Halloween 4'', Edison Smith viewed him as suffering the most from the film's repetition of the Myers storyline, with Pleasence's "once-iconic turn beginning to smack of self-parody" whose only growth was "becoming a
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
style action hero who crashes through windows and leaps fifty feet through the air to avoid gas station explosions". The character's portrayal in ''Halloween 5'' has also received negative reception, with Richard Harrington of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' rebuking Pleasence for giving "a flat two-note performance". A.A. Dowd of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' writes that by the time of ''Halloween 5'', "Donald Pleasence’s shtick had shaded into self-parody. He spends most of this regrettable fourth sequel bellowing into a little girl’s face like a lunatic." Commentary was directed toward the reduced role of Loomis in ''The Curse of Michael Myers'', with Marc Savlov of ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' calling the role "hardly more than an extended cameo", and
Jeremy Nichols lamenting that Pleasence's "role was cut down significantly so we don’t get to see him much." Eric Hatch and Berardinelli, both of whom disliked the sixth film, bemoaned that it was Pleasence's last appearance in the series, with Sparks asserting that "Pleasance deserved better, especially at the end of his career."
In popular culture
Loomis has been featured in merchandise. In 2020, NECA released a figure of Loomis alongside Laurie Strode based on their appearance in ''
Halloween II'' (1981). NECA produced a two-pack of 7-inch figures of Loomis and Michael from ''Halloween II'' to celebrate the film's fortieth anniversary the following year.
Loomis has also been referenced in media. In the season eight episode of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' entitled "
Hurricane Neddy
"Hurricane Neddy" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 29, 1996 It was written by Steve Young, directed by ...
", after Dr. Foster discovers that
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
has gone mad, he states, "May god have mercy on us all!" The episode's DVD commentary clarifies this as a reference to Loomis' reaction to Michael escaping at the start of the original film. In the 2010 ''
The Boondocks
Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas.
Boondocks may also refer to:
* The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band
* ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder
** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...
'' episode "Smokin' with Cigarettes", the Dr. Doomis character is based on Loomis and voiced by his ''H20'' voice actor Tom Kane. In the 1996 film ''
Scream
Scream may refer to:
*Screaming, a loud vocalization
Amusement rides
* Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany
* Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England
* Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
'',
Skeet Ulrich's character Billy Loomis is named after him. The fifth film in the ''Scream'' series stars
Melissa Barrera
Melissa Barrera Martínez (born 4 July 1990) is a Mexican actress and singer. In Mexico, she is known for roles in the telenovelas ''Siempre tuya Acapulco'' (2013), '' Tanto amor'' (2015), and the Netflix series '' Club de Cuervos'' (2017). Out ...
as Sam Carpenter, who is revealed to be Billy's daughter, with her technical name being a nod to the ''Halloween'' character. Nicholas Brooks of ''
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
'' writes extensively on the connections between Barrera and Pleasence's characters. In the 1985 Mexican slasher film ''
Cemetery of Terror
''Cemetery of Terror'' (Spanish: ''Cementerio del terror'') is a 1985 Mexican slasher film directed by Rubén Galindo Jr. and starring Hugo Stiglitz, Servando Manzetti, Andrés García Jr., María Rebeca, and René Cardona III.
Plot
Medical stu ...
'',
Hugo Stiglitz plays the psychiatrist of the film's antagonist in a role inspired by Loomis. In the 2002 film ''
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat'',
John McConnell and Mark McLachlan play detectives Dave Loomis and Mike Myers, named after the ''Halloween'' characters.
Max Gail
Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. (born April 5, 1943) is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), ...
plays a character named Sam Loomis in an episode of ''
NCIS''; the episode also features characters named after ''Halloween'' characters Tommy Doyle and Bob Simms.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
described her portrayal of Laurie Strode in the 2018 ''Halloween'' film as being similar to Loomis: "Laurie has been traumatized and Laurie also understands Michael Myers in a way that nobody else does. So, in a weird way, she’s become the new Loomis character because Loomis was the one who understood that he
ichaelneeded to be stopped because he was pure evil."
References
Works Cited
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loomis, Samuel J.
Halloween (franchise) characters
Fictional psychiatrists
Fictional English people
Fictional World War II veterans
Fictional immigrants to the United States
Fictional writers
Fictional hermits
Film characters introduced in 1978
Fictional sole survivors
Male horror film characters