Things are taking SHAPE, so put on your Silver Shamrock masks — it’s time to head back to Haddonfield, Illinois for… another installment of the Halloween franchise.
Yes, Halloween movie #20 is Halloween (2018).
To catch you up if you’re unfamiliar, this is the 11th Halloween film.
On this timeline of events… this is a direct sequel to the first film from 1978 and all other installments are presumed to be some kind of lore imagined around all of this.
There’s a lot more to it and someone on Wikipedia can probably better summarize it all.
Anyhow…
One of the credited writers is Danny McBride (perhaps best known as Kenny Powers from Eastbound and Down) and it was directed by David Gordon Green who has a weird filmography that includes heavy dramas, teen comedies, horror, and so much more.
I thought this had the chance to be a wildly profound meditation on revenge and grief and turning the tables on the past. It’s… not. So don’t expect a damn thing in that world.
It’s Halloween and the studios have finally figured out that releasing a Halloween movie might just do the trick. I hypothesize this movie will put asses in seats.
Attempts are made to reinvent the franchise, but also pay homage respectfully to the full series… and in many instances, I think the creative team assembled does a good job at a difficult task.
It’s got everything one want from this franchise: Jamie Lee Curtis, a psych ward, annoying podcasters who have somehow obtained Michael’s mask, teen drinking, Michael cruising around town, double-crosses turned into triple crosses, trick-or-treat shenanigans, fireworks, every kind of tool and household object and firearm in the near vicinity of characters feels like it could be unleashed as a weapon… and most importantly — Michael Myers has returned to being probably a specter. Convoluted deaths and happenstance-as-plot-advancement abound.
As far as slasher films go, there’s not much reinvention to be had.
However, a moment in the third act teases a much better movie which I think could and should be made… but I won’t say what it is here because it is entirely spoiler-y. It’s got my wheels turning. There’s something to it.
Anyhow…
The great:
John Carpenter’s score is extremely focused and extremely John Carpenter-y.
Will Patton shines in his role as Detective Hawkins.
Toby Huss and Judy Greer are a great film couple and the whole film could have focused on their antics:
Jamie Lee Curtis continues to kick ass — she’ll be 60 next month and is still a badass of cinema.
Jibrail Nantambu threatens to steal the movie, as well…
Many of the performances are, frankly, incredibly good.
The really good:
The tension and framing of sequences… all really well done. There are tons of nods to other chapters in the saga despite them not being part of the timeline. The vibe is mostly right.
The town is populated and all the victims are given their own little vignettes — but it almost feels like a TV series would have been better at this? Moments feel a bit tossed off for certain characters.
The not great:
The Michael Myers mask design is… not my favorite.
The middle of the movie has some questionable logic involving a phone tossed into what looks like a bowl of pudding at a high school dance. Not to be a dick, but… what?
The podcasters are straight up terrible and while it could have been a neat line in — they are merely victims for Michael Myers.
Some of the teen actors could use some more time to develop and Stranger Things… this is not.
Overstuffed plotting threatens to take away from the horror on more than one occasion.
That said…
What’s the scorecard here?
A notch above most of the Halloween installments, but by no means the best of the series. I have seen every Halloween film to date including the Rob Zombie flicks. This is probably top 3 — but mostly because the other installments are mega-dicey.
It seems that in trying to not make a Halloween sequel with all of those trappings, the filmmakers have done exactly that.
My friend didn’t like it as much as I did — but once I turned my skull off and embraced the movie that this was… just another slasher… I had a good time.
And for that reason, I’m not going to go overboard and say you need to aimlessly amble over to your local cinema to catch a showing.
One dollar. Sneak a Coke in.
Recommendations for further viewing: Halloween (1978)