This Halloween, Michael Myers comes home for the first time...again, for the last time...again...or not...depends on how much Michael Myers slays at the box office I guess. So, I just want to start by saying I am not the biggest horror movie fan in the world. That being said, I do have respect for a great deal of horror films and their cultural significance outside of the silver screen. One of the most iconic horror figures is the boogeyman himself, Michael Myers. The character has appeared in countless films and is recognized by even non movie fans. John Carpenter practically created the modern slasher when he unleashed “Halloween” on the world.
My girlfriend and I were looking forward to seeing this new take on “Halloween” ever since is was released. It’s been awhile since a classic horror franchise has graced the cinemas. We were ready to get into the Halloween spirit with this film.
“Halloween” (2018) ignores the previous sequels and acts as a direct sequel to the very first “Halloween” movie released in 1978. In this film, Michael Myers has been locked away for forty years and Laurie has spent the last forty years of her life getting ready for his return. Needless to say, Myers ends up escaping during a prison transfer and carnage erupts.
Now, my biggest problem with this movie on a personal level is the fact they ignored all the previous sequels. I liked the idea in “Halloween II” that it turned out Laurie was Michael Myers sister. It tied the characters and their fates together and helped make Laurie seem to be on Myers level and made their struggle almost seem destined. To remove this story aspect was a mistake especially since family was such an important theme in this movie.
In my opinion, you can’t have a movie that sells itself so much on the nostalgia of the “Halloween” series while completely overlooking it’s sequels which is part of the reason the first film became such a cult classic. What makes matters worse is that “Halloween H2O” already served to retcon some of the sequels so this film is essentially a retcon of a retcon.
Speaking of “Halloween H20”, this film basically felt like a bit of a rehash of that film. Michael Myers returns decades later to torment Laurie and her family. The scream queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis, once again reprises her role as Laurie Strode and makes the most of her role. I don’t know, maybe it was just me, but she didn’t actually seem to be in the film very long. I was a bit disappointed by that fact.
I don’t want you to think the whole movie was a disappointment though. There were a lot of elements that were added that helped the story along. Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees played investigators in the Michael Myers case and they helped reintroduce Michael Myers into the universe. They were both very good in their roles. Having Nick Castle return as Michael Myers was also a nice touch.
The cinematography in the film was top notch. It was one of the better filmed movies I have seen recently. The lighting and the camera locations and movement really emphasized the mask of Michael Myers and his sheer size. They did fantastic work.
One interesting thing the movie tried to explore but fell short of was trying to explore the difference between a man and a monster. I feel like the filmmakers fell short of that however when they started to give Michael Myers superhuman levels of power (which to be fair is a franchise staple so they are off the hook for that). I wasn’t a big fan of the twist involving Dr. Sartain either. By the time the revelation is made of what he had done, the film quickly moves past it and ignores it. It just seemed pointless and silly.
Now I know another sequel will be made because this movie made a ton at the box office but I am wondering, how do you make a decent sequel without undermining the importance of this film being forty years later and offering up some resolution? That was a problem “Halloween Resurrection” dealt with and we see how well that did.
In the end, the film offered a nostalgic slice of horror without fully embracing it’s heritage. It was a decent movie and it is currently being embraced by audiences. I just feel like it just missed the mark.
Grade: C
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