Halloween is the reboot/sequel to Halloween… man that is confusing.
In all seriousness, this movie probably should have been called something different to avoid confusion with the original film and its remake because now there are three films with the Halloween title.
To avoid this confusion, I will be referring to this film as Halloween 2018 from now on.
Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween 2018 picks up 40 years after the first one, completely retconning all of its sequels.
Laurie Strode, played once again by Jamie Lee Curtis, is now living in a constant state of paranoia because of the trauma she received at the hands of Michael Myers, which has almost destroyed her relationship with her family.
However, when Michael escapes while being transferred to a different mental hospital, Laurie and her family must band together to stop him.
I have only seen the first two Halloween movies but many of the other sequels do not have good reputations so, even with the positive response the film was getting from fans of the series, I came in with a level of apprehension.
After viewing it I have to say that although I did have some problems with it, Halloween 2018 still manages to be an enjoyable and frightening ride with one hell of a body count.
Seriously, this movie is especially gory, which makes the scenes with Michael as he prepares to kill someone even more chilling.
Michael is a force to be reckoned with in this movie, truly becoming the Shape and not just a random serial killer seen in other slasher films.
His presence is made even scarier through the film’s amazing soundtrack with both the old music from the original film and new ones sending shivers down your spine.
It also made it surprisingly sad to see some characters bite the dust because, even though most of them fit the typical tropes of the slasher genre. they still had enough nuance for me to care about them.
This was especially apparent with the Strode family, consisting of Laurie’s daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak).
All three gave fantastic performances and my favourite moment of the film had to come from Greer in a surprising moment that had me internally cheering.
I also loved the film’s main theme of trauma, with the final shot of Halloween 2018 being especially gripping.
However, there were certain things that held the movie back for me.
Halloween 2018 makes an unusual change in the series by incorporating comedy into some sections.
But, for me, this comedy never landed and always felt out of place.
Some of the characters did not work for me either.
First there was Karen’s husband and Allyson’s father Ray (Toby Huss) who has almost no point in the movie.
Then there was the plot point concerning Michael’s new doctor Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), which I felt was unnecessary in the grand scheme of things and very off-putting.
These problems aside though, Halloween 2018 is still a good time if you are looking to get scared.
Some great character moments from the Strode family and Michael Myers himself are the main highlights.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 