Halloween

Directed by: David Gordon Green
Written by: David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle, Will Patton

Movie “sequels” abound in the land and most are just ho hum re-hacks of the original. They never approach the impact of the original, nor do they recapture the sense of surprise and awe that you left the theater with. Occasionally one comes by that somehow mirrors those original feelings and conjures up those long buried emotions you first felt.

Happily, Halloween is one of those films. It breathes new life into one of the best thriller/slasher films ever made and truly resurrects the original ‘Boogeyman’. Miraculously, it totally ignores the plethora of bad films the original spawned over the years and ties itself to the original as though nothing has happened between the two pieces.

With this film, Halloween has returned to haunt a new generation of moviegoers and thrill older fans by stirring up the same emotions the original evoked in them. I saw it happen as I sat in a packed theater and enjoyed the film with as diverse an audience as I’ve ever been in.

Here’s The Storyline

Forty years ago, when last we saw Laurie Strode (Curtis), she alone survived the knife wielding, Halloween masked, murder spree of Michael Myers aka “The Boogeyman.” He wound up locked away in a ‘fortified facility’ for the criminally insane and our heroine wound up a gaunt, white haired paranoid survivalist living apart from her family in a ‘fortified compound’ in the woods awaiting Michael’s inevitable return.

An unexpected and violent escape by Michael (played again by Nick Castle the original actor) during a nighttime bus transfer, leaves a trail of murder, mayhem, and corpses as this killing machine makes a beeline to the one person he has unfinished business with. Who will live and who will die…and how, makes up this frightening journey into terror.

To their credit, Director David Gordon Green and his leading lady Jamie Lee Curtis manage to put a fresh face on the film franchise and provide a proper ending to the tale … well, maybe. Add John Carpenter’s new/old score to the mix, and you get a film that evokes much of the terrifying and propulsive suburban nightmare that was so memorable in his genre creating original.

Halloween is just a lot of fun wrapped in a nostalgic creative playfulness that’s filled with scary and thrilling set-ups, ass-kicking action, some gruesome executions, and a few genuine chills.

My take… I actually like these films when they’re good, they’re fun escapist material not to be taken seriously. Unfortunately most films of this type do nothing but shred the genre. Fortunately, Halloween (2018) is a true example of what a good genre film looks like.