It’s been 40 years since the murders took place in
Haddonfield, Illinois during October 31st of Halloween and this
series has been continued and transformed numerous times. It looks like another transformation is in
order, but to return to the same tone and atmosphere that made the original
film not only a horror/slasher classic but a game changer for the genre. This is Halloween,
directed by David Gordon Green (mainly comedy director and longtime
collaborator with Danny McBride) and written by Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride,
and David Gordon Green with Blumhouse backing this project (Miramax licensing
the series to them) comes a uniquely quasi-sequel/redirection of the entire
series once again. This also marks the 5th
time Jamie Lee Curtis has return to the role that started her career and made
her that film generation’s scream queen.
We also have John Carpenter coming back as both producer, consultant,
and composer with his grown-up son Cody and Daniel Davies to craft a new spin
and sound to the familiar, haunting soundscape of the series. Does all of these ingredients and creative
choices help to craft a sequel worthy of the original or does it play it safe
to provide a reliably tense but predictable slasher horror film for the new
generation? Let’s head into town and look at the story behind the case.
The story picks up decades after Michael Myers (Nick Castle)
was shot down and wounded by Doctor Loomis (Donald Pleasance) with Laurie
Strodes (Jamie Lee Curtis) being the lone survivor of the night he came
home. The shots only wounded him into
unconsciousness long enough for the police to find him and place him under
arrest. Laurie Strodes finds some
comfort but having seen Michael Myers get up numerous times from the multiple
stabs and shots sustained to him, never truly forgetting how he was pure evil,
driven by his desire to kill and nothing else…a true boogeyman. Michael Myers is taken back to the institute
asylum far from Illinois to be contained and treated if possible for decades,
while life in Haddonfield returned to normal and soon forgetting about the
terrible night as time passed onward.
But not for Laurie Strodes, as she never truly moved on from that trauma
and the friends she lost to the boogeyman.
It is the present and Laurie resides out in the middle of
forested areas around Haddonfield, a tired yet determined woman that is considered
crazy and dangerous by her own daughter Karen (Judy Greer), her husband Ray
(Toby Huss), and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). She suffers from PTSD, due to her obsession
with the day that Michael Myers is free and comes back to kill again, so she
prepares with an assortment of arsenals and safeguards for the battle against
pure evil to come to her and the town.
Her family though live a normal, stable life with typical daily problems
of work and daughter being an honor student with a loving boyfriend. It seems like just an average day in town,
especially as the Halloween spirit is in the air. That is until a fateful event happens in just
a quiet, lonely highway away from Illinois.
We see that Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), older and
scarred from the events of the first film is being contained in a modern, state
of the art mental asylum as a crime researcher and podcaster Aaron (Jefferson
Hall) and his assistant Dana (Rhian Rees) stop by to cover the tragic events
that occurred and understand the kind of evil, psychopathic person that Myers
is. He not only feels the presences of
the mask but re-kindles the strength and desire to break free, as he finally
escapes and starts to kill again, starting with the reporters as his first
victims and the mask he longs for. Thus,
a final showdown between the Shape and Laurie draws closer as he comes home
again to kill once more as Laurie is the only one with the knowledge, gear, and
will to stop him at all cost.
This is a straightforward retcon of all the Halloween films in the veins of Godzilla every time that series gets
rebooted (essentially ignoring all but the first film for continuation of the
series, Halloween has done this a few
times as well). This explores another
direction for the story, especially in shaping and creating a cast of
characters that do matter to the conflict and you at least feel some care for
their fate. It is also uniquely
self-aware of the troupes and clichés that have plagued this sub-genre of
horrors for decades by loading it with comedic reliefs and odd mundane humor
that mostly works in easing the horror down before hitting hard with a moment
of brutal violence. They also made
Michael more human than in pervious outings as he does get visible hurt but
still moves through wounds like a force of nature, adding some much-needed
tension to the stalks throughout the film.
It strips the series of all its messy continuity, back stories, and even
the sibling’s connection between Michael and Laurie for a basic but still
entertaining slasher film at its very core but updated for modern day
sensibilities and audience mentality of cinema.
Where the film truly shines is in the way it starts with its
dark and foreboding atmosphere set up by the journalist subplot that
re-introduces Myers as well as Strodes in this sequel storyline. They do a pretty good job grounding and
showcasing how damaged, yet strong willed Laurie has become from the traumatic
night. Her family (specifically her
Daughter and Granddaughter for at least the first half) have compelling
character drama amongst each other that was quite engaging to learn and really
understand the motivations as well as the reason for conflict between Laurie
and Karen. When Myers does his stalker
killing routine, it’s raw and violent as it gets by being both subtle and
delivering full on brutal kills that reestablish how dangerous Myers can be in
these films. This accumulates to the
showdown at the end, which truly plays up the suspense very well and provides a
thrilling climax, even if the finale comes to an abrupt close and utilizes some
odd editing to leave it open for a sequel.
For every quality moment, there are a few flaws that stick
out like a sore thumb and bring the film down from being a truly quintessential
horror film of this season. There are
some duds with the comedy that undercuts the horror elements of the film as
well as suffering from the very troupes and clichés of the genre that it
lampoons and satirizes at times. A few
of the subplots literally go nowhere and ultimately end up being pointless as
well as confusing as to how they fit into the main conflict overall,
specifically the investigative journalist as well as Michael Myer’s doctor Dr.
Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) with one of the oddest yet intriguing character
moments thus far. The film does feel
like it lacks a proper end to the story, as if they wanted to bookend it with
this one but left the door open enough to have someone make another story from
this film. Overall, the story is the
most exciting and entertaining follow-up to the original film in this series
with enough horror, suspense, and humor to keep audiences engaged and provide a
compelling new entry in the series, despite a few missteps with the humor and
overstuffed subplots that go nowhere in contrast to the simpler, exciting main
plot.
Let’s get to the cast, starting with the lead actors in the
cast from the heroine to the villain himself.
Laurie Strodes is once again played by Jamie Lee Curtis and it is a
different interpretation of the character that is handled more along the lines
of paranoia and a wreck loose. This adds
some compelling drama and character depth to her that truly reflects the
actress herself and what the character has gone through in this incarnation in
contrast to the other films. It is very
timely and quite ironic to have a female character that truly represents the
strength and will that women have continued to display in today’s cultural
zeitgeist but still maintain the entertainment value as well of this
genre. That is a credit to the
charismatic and reliably great performance from Curtis in the role that made
her famous 40 years ago.
We have an interesting but really cool setup for the return
of The Shape himself with Nick Castle providing the Voiceover of his breathing
to the killer with James Jude Courtney being the physical presence of Myers out
of and in mask. In the past films, Myers
has always felt like a cartoon super killer as each film got ridiculous hence
why he is being discussed here as this Myers is a fantastic combination of the
natural demeanor yet terrifying force of nature from his strength to kill from
traditional weapons to his own bare hands.
This plays beautifully with the inspired cinematography in truly putting
the fear of death and suspense back into the character from 1978. So, it is back to basics with the character
and the film as well as the genre is better off for it.
The supporting cast range from some dependable and quality
character actors in pivotal roles to the young, hapless victims waiting to be
knifed in this outing. We have Judy
Greer as Karen Nelson/ Strodes and she starts out as one dimensional protective
mom but eventually is given some back story and depth to her motivations to really
round out the mostly nagging moments she has in the film. The granddaughter Allyson Nelson (Andi
Matichak) is okay in her respective role in the story but doesn’t really get
much to do that affects the story or even ratchets the tension other than provide
more body bags for the film. The other
supporting character deputy sheriff Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) is dependably
good as the straight-laced but likable authority figure in the story. The prominent supporting cast are range from
good to just decent, despite the focus kept on Laurie and Michael themselves.
The rest of the cast range from atypical archetypes to the
few odd performances to sticks out for better and worse. The babysitter Vicky (Virginia Gardner) is
fine in an ode to the original formula of the series and provides some humorous
moments with the kid Julian Morrisey (Jibrail Nantambu), who literally provides
one of the funnier jokes in the film.
The boyfriends Cameron Elam (Dylan Arnold), Dave (Miles Robbins), and
guy friend Oscar (Drew Scheid) are also okay but not remarkable and are either
wasted opportunities or snuffed out pretty quickly in brutal but goofy
fashion. With doctor Ranbir Sartain
(Haluk Bilginer), he provides the oddest performance attempting to match the
Loomis character and taking it to an extreme that is both intriguing yet out of
left field stupidity that felt contrived and existed solely to get one
character to one location. Everyone
involved in the cast were ultimately really good with Curtis and the actors for
Myers as the standout among a cast of reliably good character actors and
newcomers playing the archetype roles of this genre well enough within the
context of the story and genre expectations.
Let’s get to the technical elements of the film, starting
with the cinematography and editing which are the staples of this genre. The cinematography is shot by Michael
Simmonds and they bring some back some of the cinemascope-style visuals to the
shots in the film, despite the use of digital and different sensibilities to
shot compositions but it looks appropriately dark as well as providing those
traditional holiday iconographies extremely well in the set design. There is an effective use of space in some of
the horror sequences from Michael stalking the neighborhood for victims to
Laurie’s hunt for him throughout her home (a fantastic inverse of the hunted
becoming the hunter) to create and utilize tension throughout the film. As for editing by Tim Alverson, there is a
good use of long takes and shots that contain actions in the background,
shallow focus of the shots to really add to the feeling of dread to the film as
well as pacing the story well enough to be engaged and entertained from start
to finish. This is exceptionally shot
and edited that honors the sense of dread and tension of the horror in the film
as well as not compromising how effective horror can be with its use of
ambiguity and the right amount of gore/blood effects to really instill fear in
the killer once more.
This leads to the use of special effects as well as the
kills themselves by Myers, especially for a return to this genre of
horror. The choice to not only imply the
kills but show the after effects of the kills instead of the act really feels
like a mix between the clean kills of the first film and the bloody, inventive
kills found in the second film.
Especially when the effects on them look great and definitely provide
some pure violent horror in a visual, visceral way to really establish just how
dangerous and strong Myers can be. The
use of practical effects for the kills with some minor enhancements with CGI
blood (only apparent in 1 to 2 scenes but mostly just a slew of well done, real
effects for the kills) that feels like a proper and welcome return to kills
that really have weight to them when they happen (not with the characters
themselves to be specific). It looks
good overall in the cinematography, editing, and visual effects as well as some
pretty brutal kills despite some being cutaways and only seeing the aftermath
in effective but also disappointing ways.
We finally get to the most exciting element of the technical
aspects of the film, sound design and score by the writer/director himself,
John Carpenter. The sound design is
mixed effectively to provide that visceral punch to the kills as well as being
of high quality as expected in this genre of films. However, the score really makes this film
feel like a great natural continuation of the original film, thanks to the
contribution of John Carpenter with his son Cody and composer/collaborator Daniel
Davies. The use of heavy sounds from the
guitar and percussions along with the synth based piano and themes really
provide an intense yet balanced blend of traditional and electronic driven
music to make the simple themes of the original film feel more aggressive with
the added musical depth to it. It sounds
great and features a music score worthy of the series by adding to the original
themes as well some new compositions to fit this follow-up to the original
film.
There was a decent amount of skepticism with the
announcement of a new Halloween film
that would ignore the sequels and other reboot attempts as well from fans and
critics alike. However, as more was
revealed of the film from casting to direction and the blessings of Carpenter
for this film, that turned people around and got the hype train going for this
film to release in the month of October.
Does it succeed in revitalizing a stagnant series once again with mostly
satisfying results? A resounding yes as this quasi-soft sequel takes the series
back to basics in its genre formula and the horror it instills in atmosphere,
dread, and tension instead of just relying on creative, gory kills to keep
viewers interest in the film. This is
exactly what the series needed to not only be brought back once more for newer
audiences, but serve as a mainstream reminder of what quality horror films can
be if they put effort into developing characters and the world to provide for a
playground for the story to take place in and effectively fulfill those genre
expectations in spades.
Score: **** out of *****
Halloween is an
entertaining, return to form sequel for the series in getting it back to what
made it so scary and creepy in the first place.
The character writing is some of the finest in the genre particularly
when the focus is on the Strodes especially Laurie played by Jamie Lee Curtis,
who shines in this role once more as well as being developed in a time that
makes her character timely with today’s culture as well as resonant effectively
in that regard. The majority of the cast
are pretty solid to just ok in their respective archetypical roles for this
type of film with a few odd ball moments of comedy that either adds levity
properly or zaps the tension out of the scene in an unfortunate way. The technical aspects of the film are
absolutely top notch in every aspect especially the editing and score of the
film from the legendary composer himself along with his son and longtime friend
to craft a heavier, aggressive sound to the classic themes. The kills and the climax are fantastic
moments of tension and dread that the film displays effectively, despite the
abrupt end to the film as well as the subplots that go nowhere or add to the
main conflict of the story here. This is
the night he came back home and it is going to be one to remember for horror
fans of the series and the genre alike.
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