4. The workprint scandal

With the film headed towards a US release at the end of August 2007, trouble hit when a “workprint” version was leaked online and quickly made its way around the web. "I mean, it’s just the way things are," Zombie said at the time. "It’s a world of thievery."

He didn’t seem all that worried, however – despite claiming to not have seen the leaked version, he would advise New York Magazine’s Vulture Blog that he was “pretty sure” it was an older version of the movie.

And so it proved – Dark Horizons got a look at the print and, after comparing it to the finished version, remarked that it was a version created before test screenings were held in June 2007, and that several elements – including Michael attacking a fellow, female inmate at Smith’s Grove – had been changed or removed.

Still, there was the worry that the box office might be hit, just as concerns were raised when Eli Roth blamed the failure of Hostel: Part II on a leak.

But Zombie didn’t have much to worry about. Handed the widest release for any Halloween film in the franchise, his new take proved to be a success, even if it was critically ravaged.

With a $30 million opening weekend in the States and a successful run on DVD, a sequel was all but guaranteed…

Next up: Figuring out a follow-up