“Halloween (2018)” Review
Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) escapes to wreak carnage on Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night in the 2018 sequel to 1978’s “Halloween.”
There’s something refreshing when a franchise as long and convoluted as “Halloween” is given a clean slate. 2018’s “Halloween,” a sequel that ignores any film made after the 1978 original, was definitely a step in the right direction as it contained no Satanic cults, no familial relationship between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, no convoluted stories and no Busta Rhymes shouting “trick or treat motherfucker.” While not as chilling as the original, “Halloween (2018)” is easily my favorite film in the franchise apart from the original slasher classic.
Set 40 years after the original, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who survived Michael Myers’ 1978 killing spree, has post-traumatic stress disorder and spends every day preparing for Michael’s return which causes a divide between her and her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). But when Michael (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) manages to escape from captivity, making his way to Haddonfield, Illinois, Laurie prepares to face him down and prevent him from killing anyone else, especially her family.
After so many years of Michael Myers feeling less like the boogeyman and more like a joke, this film really made him scary again. In fact, this is the first film I’ve seen since the now defunct “Halloween II” that I felt like I was watching a “Halloween” film.
Director David Gordon Green did a fantastic job recreating John Carpenter’s direction while also adding elements from the other “Halloween” films like the long takes of “Halloween II” or the cursed masks from “Halloween III: Season of the Witch.” It’s clear that Green has a love for this franchise and that’s apparent throughout the film. John Carpenter also returned to the film as an executive producer and composed the score alongside his son Cody and Daniel Davies which not only resembles the original but has some new pieces of amazing music. It’s nice to have Carpenter back in the franchise he created.
Instead of becoming more supernatural, “Halloween (2018)” goes back to basics with Michael Myers being a man of flesh and blood with incredible strength. It also keeps the plot very simple with Myers stalking and killing people on Halloween night, only this time Laurie is the one hunting Michael. And unlike Dr. Loomis who stays in one location and manages to find Michael towards the end of the film, Laurie isn’t screwing around.
Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role of Laurie Strode with a more rough edge in “Halloween (2018)” where she arms herself to face down Michael Myers.
Jamie Lee Curtis gives one of her best performances in a role that reminded me a lot of Ellen Ripley from “Aliens.” While she could take care of herself in the first film, Ripley truly became the bad ass we all know in the second film by getting some guns and fighting more dirty. Laurie Strode is no longer the scream queen of the original and instead is hell bent on taking out Michael.
But while Laurie may be the protagonist of the film, her family are also given a lot of development and eventually help Laurie fight Michael. Karen was raised in fear of Michael by her mother and has spent years trying to live a more peaceful life, only to be hunted by the boogeyman her mom warned her about. As for Allyson, she’s now the teen protagonist and her friends are the ones being stalked by The Shape.
Unlike the teen characters of the first film, which were very much blank slates, I found the teen characters of “Halloween (2018)” to be a bit more developed. They’re not complex by any stretch of the imagination but I did find them to be more engaging and better people than teens in most slashers. When some of these characters die, I felt legitimately bad.
Speaking of which, the kills in the film are both entertaining and brutal. Most of the film’s kills rely on Michael’s brute strength and skillful handling of a kitchen knife, but there’s a creativity to them that is realistic while having the feel of a classic slasher. The film also is less reliant on jump scares and plays around with horror cliches.
But like many slashers, the film’s screenplay is weaker than the first victim of a horror film. While the plots of the original film and “Halloween (2018)” are refreshingly basic, elements of “Halloween (2018)” are either bad or feel like they don’t belong in the film. The twist that Micheal’s psychiatrist Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) is a villain and broke out Michael to see him kill is pretty dumb, especially when Michael immediately kills him, rendering the twist nearly pointless.
The film’s use of humor has divided fans with many wanting a more serious slasher. As for me, I think that the use of humor is not only entertaining but it doesn’t completely change the film’s tone. It’s okay for a slasher to have some humor as long as it stays true to its roots and “Halloween (2018)” does just that.
While most horror franchises have their ups and downs, the “Halloween” series has had some of the most influential and laughable moments in horror history. What “Halloween (2018)” accomplished is that it not only wiped the slate clean for sequels to “Halloween” but it also gave me one hell of a Halloween night I won’t soon forget.
