In 1978, director John Carpenter and co-writer/producer Debra Hill began working on a low-budget horror film about a serial killer who breaks out of a mental institution and enacts a string of murders in his hometown. Set during the holiday of Halloween, the film ended up sharing its name, resulting in the seminal classic that was Halloween. Upon its release, the film became a landmark entry in the horror genre and helped launch the careers of both Carpenter and lead actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who played the main protagonist Laurie Strode. After that, the series then continued with a bunch of sequels that varied heavily in terms of overall quality, with some serving as decent follow-ups to the original while others effectively killed the franchise for a few years at a time due to how poorly-received they were. But now this classic horror franchise is back with a new film that once again shares the title of the holiday that it’s set during, Halloween. Following the same path as 1998’s Halloween H20, which ignored the events of everything after 1981’s Halloween II, the new film goes the retcon route to remove itself from the franchise’s lesser sequels. In this case, however, it ignores the events of every single Halloween film that was released after 1978, meaning that John Carpenter’s original film is now the only one to precede it. Set 40 years after the events of its predecessor, this new film is directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote it with frequent collaborator Danny McBride. The two even have the honor of having John Carpenter return to the franchise for the first time since the ill-received 1982 spin-off Halloween III: Season of the Witch as an executive producer along with Jamie Lee Curtis making a much-heralded return as Laurie Strode. And with a pedigree like that behind it, the new Halloween film proves to be a worthy follow-up (arguably the first truly worthy follow-up, depending on who you ask…) to the 1978 classic.
On Halloween Night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers murdered his older sister Judith with a kitchen knife. 15 years later, Michael broke out of the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he began a new Halloween killing spree before he was stopped by his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, and apprehended by the local police. 40 years later, Michael (played by a combination of newcomer James Jude Courtney and series veterans Nick Castle and Tony Moran) is still being held at Smith’s Grove. During this time, podcasters Aaron Korey (Jefferson Hall) and Dana Haines (Rhian Rees) look to initiate a reunion between Myers and the sole survivor of his massacre, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), before he’s permanently transferred to a maximum-security prison. The two discover that, in the years since that fateful Halloween night, Laurie has been preparing for a potential return from the man who once tried to kill her. However, the physical and emotional scarring that she has been constantly dealing with ever since has also caused her to become incredibly distant from her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), although she does maintain a decent relationship with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). And unfortunately, her past ends up coming back to haunt her once more when Michael manages to escape from his captivity and return to Haddonfield to finished what he started 40 years ago. But this time, Laurie is ready for him and hellbent on making sure that the infamous being known as ‘the Shape’ is stopped once and for all.
As I noted a few days back in my retrospective on the Halloween franchise, the series eventually moved away from the slow, suspenseful atmosphere of John Carpenter’s original film in favor of a more traditional horror film mood and bloodier aesthetic compared to the first film’s generally non-graphic kills. In fact, this all began to take effect as early as its original sequel, Halloween II. Despite director Rick Rosenthal’s plan to have the film maintain the same general atmosphere of its predecessor, Carpenter decided to have the film be more violent given some of the horror films that had come out since his film was released. But with this new Halloween, director David Gordon Green delivers what is easily the closest to the original in terms of replicating its general mood. Granted, this film isn’t a ‘primarily bloodless’ affair like the original film, as it doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to some of Michael’s kills. Plus, the film even gives Green and McBride some opportunities to flex their comedic sensibilities with some humorous bits of dialogue here and there. But as far as tone and atmosphere are concerned, this film maintains the same narrative method of a slow buildup leading to an incredibly effective payoff that helped to make the original Halloween the classic that it still is today. Just like in that film, it takes a while before Michael officially starts to do his thing, but when he does, it paves the way for some incredibly suspenseful moments that, just like the original, are backed by an equally suspenseful score from John Carpenter. And while it can be argued that the plot is perhaps a tad bit predictable at times in terms of where it ultimately goes, along with having a few of the usual stock horror film characters who are just there to be killed by Michael, Green and McBride do a phenomenal job when it comes to all the ways that they pay tribute to the original film.
Just like Halloween H20, the biggest coup that this film manages to achieve is getting Jamie Lee Curtis back to reprise her role as Laurie Strode. And simply put, she is just as fantastic as she’s been in the other Halloween films that she’s been in, as the film does an excellent job of showing Laurie’s transition from the timid ‘final girl’ of the original film to someone who’s fully prepared to take on Michael Myers. In other words, this film ends up going the same route that Halloween H20 did in further developing her character, but in this case, it works a lot better here because the arc is more prominent to the plot whereas H20 didn’t really get into it until its finale. A lot of this is due to how the film explores all the psychological trauma that Laurie has been going through ever since that fateful Halloween night 40 years prior, and we see how it affects not only her but her loved ones as well. As such, the other two major standouts of the film are Laurie’s daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson, effectively providing the film with a phenomenal trio of female leads. With Karen, Judy Greer gets one of the more prominent roles of her film career thanks to a nice arc that showcases what Karen has gone through due to her mother’s over-protective nature. And without spoiling anything, this leads to one heck of an awesome payoff at the end. As for Allyson, newcomer Andi Matichak basically serves the same role that Curtis played in the original as the innocent teen who gets caught up in the whole Michael Myers situation. Matichak handles the role incredibly well, especially when it comes to Allyson arguably being the only one in the film to fully sympathize with her grandmother’s struggles, making her just as sympathetic of a protagonist as Laurie’s been all these years.
In short, for those who were disappointed by some of the franchise’s weakest follow-ups (e.g. Resurrection, Curse of Michael Myers, Rob Zombie’s heavily polarizing remake, etc.), you’ll be pleased to know that this new rendition of Halloween is easily the series’ best sequel to date. Ignoring everything that came after John Carpenter’s original film, this new sequel excellently showcases the evolution of Laurie Strode from the vulnerable heroine that she once was to a badass who’s ready to take on the man who nearly killed her while still maintaining the same sense of vulnerability that has helped make her one of the most iconic horror film heroines. This is then highlighted further by the film establishing her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson as equally fleshed out protagonists who are just as capable as she is when it comes to dealing with their current predicament. And as for the rest of the film, it succeeds at being a natural follow-up to Carpenter’s film by maintaining the same slow-burn atmosphere that leads to an incredibly satisfying climax while still utilizing aspects of the many horror films that have come out after the original. Plus, it also serves as another excellent example of a director stepping out of their comfort zone to produce an excellent film in a genre that they’re usually not known for. To reiterate, this film was directed by the guy who did the 2008 hit comedy Pineapple Express and he co-wrote it with one of the most prominent comedic actors of this current generation. Simply put, this sequel clearly reflects David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s admiration for the original film, and with the backing of both John Carpenter and one of the horror genre’s most prominent producers in Jason Blum, their collaborative efforts results in one of the most satisfying revivals of a classic horror film franchise in recent memory.
Rating: 4.5/5
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