Everyone involved in bringing Michael Myers back to the big screen with the new Halloween, their collective passion for the project can be seen on every single frame. If that was all that they brought, to what is essentially being played like a true sequel to the 1978 John Carpenter-directed classic, that would not be enough to conjure a great movie. Sad, but true. To the joy of the millions of fans who have adored the horror movie legend for four decades now, I am proud to report that the film works exceedingly well as a stand-alone fright-fest.
If it wasn’t a direct sequel to the 1978 juggernaut, Halloween—circa 2018—it would still be considered one of the more horrifying doses of scary cinema we will see this year. That may be its greatest compliment.
An enormous reason why the film is so electric lies on the shoulders of its star, Jamie Lee Curtis. She returns to the role of Laurie Strode and Strode is exactly as we would suspect she would be, four-decades removed from the utter horror of surviving a mass murderer who took five lives before he was stopped. She lives in a fortified home with a basement full of weapons… all geared towards something she has “prayed” for—that Myers would escape prison so that she can take 40 years of PTSD and execute the psycho killer.
It has come with a high cost. She has several divorces and is not exactly close with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer). Although, her relationship with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) is much more endearing and an utter joy to see played out by these two fine actresses.
When what would be most people’s worst nightmare and Laurie’s dream come true occurs, it sets off a series of events that will leave exponentially more lifeless bodies than Myers took back in the day. In the dead of night, while on a bus that is transporting the killer (and a few other mentally altered convicts) to a new facility, the vehicle winds up in a ditch on the side of the road. Numerous law enforcement souls are lost, and a killer is on the loose, ready to do what he does best—ruthlessly murder with violent aplomb.
Hot on Myers’ trail is a man who was there when he got caught all those years ago, Officer Hawkins (played by the always awesome Will Patton). He shares a passion for bringing a violent brand of justice to the killer that Laurie has and when the two of them team up in the search for Myers, it is a bit of jaded justice joy to behold.
Helping them track down the mask-wearing slasher is the doctor who has been treating Myers for decades now, Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer)—who we learn is a student of the first film’s mental health expert, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence). His mental health commentary is fascinating to behold as it is a direct contradiction to the brut force passion that Laurie holds for the same person. Dr. Sartain has a passion for discovering what it is that makes Michael Myers tick and how he “feels” when he kills. When he runs into the brick wall of emotion that Curtis gives her Laurie in this film, it is a study in cinematic contradiction. It is truly fascinating and adds layers of authenticity to the entity that is Halloween.
Another facet of the film that is so welcomed is its humor. There are numerous scenes where characters give gifts to the audience in the form of stress relief. You have to love a horror film that has the presence of mind to give the viewers ebbs and flows that add up to more than just thrills, chills and exposition. Halloween is riddled with downright hilarious moments that are utterly delightful.
Curtis is a revelation. When the world gets to see her Laurie, circa 2018, the character should wind up on lists comprised of some of the cinema’s most kick-ass female characters of all-time—right alongside Sarah Connor and Ripley. Curtis gives a triumphant turn and commands this film from its opening moments through its coda. It is so terrific to see this talented actress deliver bloody brilliance that is a thespian version of a hurricane if I’ve ever seen one. There are layers to her Laurie that include being a mother and a grandmother, in addition to her singular driving force that is seeking vicious justice.
Credit screenwriters David Gordon Green and Danny McBride for the richness that is Curtis’ character, but also the thrills, humor and horror. The pair have not only written a love letter to the original film but delivered a true sequel to it that hits all the high notes one would want from a follow-up that is four decades in the making.
Green also directed and brings a pitch perfect touch to the film that is simultaneously utter adoration and an instant horror classic. It would have been easy to basically hit the same ebbs and flows as the first film and update it for a new era. This thing stands on its own in a manner that is a true movie miracle. Halloween also produces something that Carpenter must be pleased about as well—as soon as those credits rolled I immediately imagined a blissful evening of watching the 1978 and 2018 films back-to-back when the latter arrives on home video. That will be one hell of a double feature.
Halloween not only works as a horror film that delivers on its promise of scares that range from subtle to the sensational but beginning to end is just a good movie—regardless of its genre. Those are the ones that age well. Judging how well the original has been embraced over time by continually evolving generations, I suspect fans will still be talking about Green’s Halloween in 2058.
Grade: B+