Lee Brackett

Lee Brackett is a character featured in the 2007 slasher film Halloween and its 2009 sequel Halloween II directed by Rob Zombie. A version of the character was previously presented in John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween where he was played by Charles Cyphers. In the original movie, Sheriff Brackett's first name was spelled "Leigh", not Lee.

Biography
Lee Brackett was the sheriff of the town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He was the father of seventeen-year-old Annie Brackett. Around the time that his daughter was born, Lee responded to a 911 call, which related to the suicide of a woman named Deborah Myers. Deborah was the mother of Michael Myers, a young boy who was guilty of murdering five people and was admitted to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Lee found Deborah's infant daughter alone in the room. He didn't want the child growing up with the stigma of the Myers' legacy around her neck, so he omitted finding her in his report and drove her to another town where he dropped her off at the emergency room. Three months later he discovered that his friend Mason Strode adopted the baby who was later named Laurie.

Seventeen years later, Michael Myers broke out of Smith's Grove and came to Haddonfield in search of his long lost sister. Michael's former psychologist, Doctor Sam Loomis, recognized how much of a threat Michael was and tracked him back to Haddonfield. He found Sheriff Brackett and warned him about Michael. Brackett didn't care for Doctor Loomis much, and knew that he had written a book about Myers. He suspected that Loomis was trying to drum up stories of "monsters", because monsters sell books. Sam was adamant however and insisted that Brackett should conduct a search for Michael.

Lee Brackett finally told Loomis about his involvement with Michael's infant sister and he tried to contact Mason Strode. When nobody answered the telephone, Lee grew concerned so Loomis and he began to drive out to their house. En route, he received a 911 call from the Wallace residence which had been ironically called in by Laurie Strode. They turned the car around and went to the house where Lee found his daughter, Annie, bleeding on the floor. While Loomis scoured the area for Michael Myers, Lee attended to his daughter.

Although Annie survived, it was not without severe physical and emotional scarring. Brackett grew into a more paranoid paternal figure following this incident. As Myers had also murdered Laurie's adoptive parents, Lee invited her into his home to stay with them. He never revealed what he knew of Laurie's true family lineage and always feared that the day might come when she would learn the truth.

In light of the trauma shared between both young women, Lee attempted to play the role of the "cool father figure". As such, Annie and Laurie were free to come and go as they pleased, and there were few restrictions put upon them in terms of manners and lifestyle.

In October of 2009, Sheriff Brackett's worse fears came to pass. It started with the publication of The Devil Walks Among Us, the unauthorized biography of Michael Myers written by Doctor Sam Loomis. Brackett learned that Loomis revealed the true nature of Laurie's relationship to Michael and that she was his sister. Fearful of how Laurie might react should she read the book, he attempted to catch up with her, but was too late. Laurie read Loomis' book and knew that Lee knew about her origins the entire time.

Naturally, Halloween night always made Sheriff Brackett ill at ease. He assigned Deputy Andy Neale to keep a watch over his house while his daughter was at home. Unfortunately, Neale could not prevent the single greatest tragedy in Sheriff Brackett's life from coming to pass. That evening, Michael Myers broke into his home and finished what he began two years ago. He viciously murdered Annie Brackett, leaving her bloodied body lying on the floor of an upstairs bathroom.

Brackett was at the police station when the 911 call came through. Deputy Gwynne told him that the call originated from his house and he raced over there to see what had happened; Deputy Fred King tried to prevent Lee from entering the room, but he pushed his way past and collapses after seeing his daughter lying dead on the floor. Sheriff Brackett went into a state of shock and silent rage.

Soon after, he received word that Michael Myers was spotted in a cabin off Eagle Road. Brackett mobilized a helicopter unit and every squad car he had access to and had them converge on the scene. His men surrounded the cabin with rifles at the ready. Doctor Loomis arrived and Sam still blamed him for his failure with Myers. He punched Loomis in the face and in his grief and anger, pulled his gun on him. He hissed at Loomis, confessing how much he wanted to shoot him, but was luckily restrained.

Loomis went into the cabin to confront Michael and they exited the building moments later grappling one another. Michael stabbed Loomis and as he fell, Brackett ordered his men to open fire. Myers took multiple shots to the chest and fell to the ground. Laurie Strode, who had been Michael's prisoner inside the cabin, exited and picked up Michael's knife. She hovered over Loomis' body as if she were going to stab him when the officers opened fire again. Brackett called the order to cease fire, but it was too late. Laurie Strode died in a hail of gunfire. In the span of a single evening, Brackett lost two daughters.

Notes & Trivia



 * In an alternate ending to the film, Sheriff Brackett returns to the Myers house with a squad of police officers and brings Michael Myers down in a hail of bullets. In the original version of the film, Brackett is not seen again after he finds his daughter.