Halloween (2018) Review

“Halloween” Theatrical Poster

Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Toby Huss, Jefferson Hall, Rhian Rees
Running Time: 105 min.

By Kyle Warner

It’s strange – yet totally welcome, in my opinion – for a slasher movie to be an event film in 2018. And it seems only appropriate that it would be a new Halloween that summoned the crowds to theatres, as the original Halloween (1978) was the slasher which led the way for the subgenre’s newfound popularity in the 80s. The last of the original run of Halloween films fizzled out with Halloween: Resurrection (2002), a movie in which rapper Busta Rhymes kicks Michael Myers through a window with a Bruce Lee howl. Five years later they restarted the timeline with Rob Zombie’s grungy grindhouse remakes of Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). I am not a fan of the Zombie Halloween films, but at least one can give Zombie credit for crafting a remake with so much original flair. In any case, it’s been a while since Michael Myers last stalked the silver screen in a film that all fans loved. For the new 2018 Halloween (the lack of a new title to separate it from the original is not helpful), the decision was made to mix new blood with old. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode. Nick Castle is back as Michael Myers (or “The Shape,” as he’s credited). John Carpenter returns to produce and write music for the new outing. And the new blood is an interesting mix of proven indie talent like director David Gordon Green (Joe), writer Danny McBride (The Foot Fist Way), and popular characters like Judy Greer (Jurassic World), Will Patton (The Punisher), and Toby Huss (Halt and Catch Fire). This style of approach, where they try to recreate the old magic with people from the present and the past, it doesn’t always work out. But the new Halloween is an example of the ingredients coming together beautifully. They even ended up crafting a genre movie that rides on a political and cultural wave, as if by accident they stumbled into the middle of a conversation already in progress with something unprepared but nonetheless relevant to say.

2018’s Halloween ignores all the other Halloween sequels and is a direct follow-up to the 1978 original. This decision will irk some fans of the series. But considering that the Zombie films already ended the original timeline… and that H20 (1998) also kinda ignored some of the sequels that came before it… and that the Myers family tree was getting complicated… oh and also that cult business… well, maybe it was time for another series reboot of sorts. The big thing to keep in mind is that Myers and Laurie Strode are not related anymore. That was something added into Halloween II (1981) to help expand on the story. Writer/director John Carpenter never liked the idea, which funnily enough became the backbone of many of the sequels. So yeah, that’s out. In the new film, we’re told that Michael Myers was captured not long after the balcony fall at the end of the first film. Will Patton’s Officer Hawkins, who was just a young cop in 1978, was among the first on the scene and is considered responsible for stopping Dr. Loomis from executing Michael in the street.

The events of that Halloween night 40 years ago left a deep emotional scar on Laurie Strode. We catch up with Laurie in her fenced off home that she’s transformed into an anti-slasher fortress. She’s the screw-up of her family because she can’t just ‘move on’ from her experience. She ruined the childhood of her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), because she taught her like a survivalist ready for the worst home invasion scenario ever. As a result, Karen is not close with her mother, and does what she can to keep her daughter (Andi Matichak) from spending time with grandma.

I’m always struck by how films – they often tend to be horror films – anticipate a moment in society or politics. A recent example would be Green Room, which seemed to anticipate Trump’s America and his ‘very fine people.’ Well, 2018’s Halloween is an unlikely movie for the MeToo moment, but here we are. The idea of victim vs. predator is a big part of the film. Laurie’s lasting trauma, related to an event most would ask her to forget about, is what she has to carry around with her as a survivor of her assault (though her assault was of a violent, home invasion variety, the symptoms she exhibits are likely relatable to survivors of sexual assault as well). But Laurie is not simply hiding. She’s waiting. As she tells Officer Hawkins, she prays every night that Michael will escape. So she can kill him. Laurie is seen as the victim by many but she seeks to become an avenger.

Of course, Michael Myers does escape. They should really stop transporting that guy around Halloween. Actually, don’t even let Michael see a calendar once we get past August. Michael is visited by a couple of podcast true crime writers who are doing a special on the case from 40 years ago. They try to reach him, going so far as to show him his mask. They think they failed, but they succeeded in waking up the evil within, and it’s not long before Michael comes looking for his mask.

Once Michael Myers makes it to his old haunt in Haddonfield, he proceeds to basically go door to door massacring everyone he sees. It’s bloody mayhem. Myers is portrayed like a shark smelling blood for the first time in years. He’s calculating, unstoppable, and straightforward in his drive to just unleash as much pain on humanity as possible. Myers is scarier than he’s been in years. I was not initially certain that removing the sister/brother subplot was for the best, but now I’m convinced it was. Michael Myers doesn’t care about Laurie Strode. He’ll kill her and her whole family if it’s convenient for him but he’d just as happily kill the neighbors. It’s Laurie who needs closure, it’s she who needs revenge. Michael Myers is just a force of evil moving about town with a knife. The thinking minds among the psychiatrists and cops who try to rationalize the evil are attempting to understand it and, in doing so, dumb it down. This was the greatest mistake of the sequels that came before. Michael Myers is at his scariest when we recognize that there’s nothing to understand.

After some of the bloodiest kills in the series, Myers is maneuvered on a path to the Strode fortress for the showdown that Laurie was always seeking. I say ‘maneuvered’ because that’s exactly what it is. There is a 5 or 10 minute subplot in the film that I don’t like one bit. I will go no further in explaining it, because to do so would spoil a twist, but I suspect you’ll know it when you see it. It’s a shame, too, because if not for this ugly hiccup in the script, I think the film is pretty great.

By my count, Jamie Lee Curtis has played Laurie Strode in five films now. She’s rarely been better than she is here, in or out of that role. It’s the sort of performance that, if horror was more widely respected, would see her get some Best Actress consideration come award season. Laurie Strode was Curtis’ first film role 40 years ago. She’s grown a lot since then and she’s been through some shit, too. You see some of that come out in the character this time that you didn’t see in other Laurie Strode sequels. The actress digs deep for her return to the part. It’s impossible to imagine the film being a success without her.

Will Patton is good as the cop who is committed to killing the man he let live 40 years ago. Judy Greer is again in Mom Mode, but I liked her moments playing off Curtis as the two expressed the strained mother/daughter relationship. Child actor Jibrail Nantambu steals every scene he’s in (which are too few) and gets the biggest laughs in the movie. The rest of the cast is good in their roles. One of the film’s strengths is that you fear for character’s lives even after just having met them. Early on, Halloween kills off a character that most movies would’ve let live, and from then on we know that this movie is not playing around.

The score by Halloween godfather John Carpenter, his son Cody Carpenter, and Daniel A. Davies is another highlight of the film. It mixes the old themes with new age music tech, making it sound something like that Trent Reznor Halloween cover from 2017. It’s very cool. Having Carpenter involved at all is cool, to be honest. One wishes he’d return to the director’s chair sometime soon, but a new film score is fine for now.

David Gordon Green’s direction is spot on. It’s a very intense movie. The cinematography by Michael Simmonds (Nerve) makes good use of shadow and color. The screenplay by Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley has a sense of humor, as you might expect from the Vice Principals team, but knows when not to go for laughs. It’s a horror movie all the way.

The 2018 Halloween is the best Halloween sequel since Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). And it might even be better than that film, too. It’s a great horror film anchored by a wonderful dramatic performance by Jamie Lee Curtis and no shortage of scares. I would’ve liked Halloween more without that dumb, short-lived subplot, but I still love the movie for what it is. Brutal, funny, and not lacking in something to say, it’s one of my favorites of the year.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 8/10