John Carpenter's low-budget 1978 horror film Halloween came out of nowhere to become a critical and commercial success, and eventually a genre classic. The many films to follow have had varying levels of success, with none coming close to the original. This new film takes only the original as canon, erasing everything that came after and delivering a follow up that shows us how the first film's events have affected the lives of its characters.
This new entry is written by Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, with Gordon Green also directing. The film takes place exactly forty years after the original. Michael Myers escapes amidst a transfer to a new asylum, and Laurie Strode is forced to protect her family and the rest of Haddonfield from the Boogeyman's return.
I really like the direction they took with the central characters of the film. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie, and plays her as an emotional detached outcast that has spent the past four decades doing little other than obsessing over Michael Myers. She is tough and grizzled and gives a badass performance here. The way the film portrays her PTSD is really great and it takes a very natural approach to her character. Her daughter is played by Judy Greer, and she is clearly sick of dealing with her mother's grief. A lot of films under utilize Judy Greer and I was certain this would be another. I was proved wrong, and she is also a badass, and has some great standout moments. Laurie Strode's granddaughter in the film is played by newcomer Andi Matichak. Keep your eye on Matichak because she has some serious talent. She takes what could be a generic scream queen role, and much like Curtis is the 1978 original elevates it. She also has her power moments and constantly manages to measure up to the stars she is on screen with. While the three all do great on their own, the way they are all utilized gives the film a generational element that gives more heart to it than I expected, while being very easy to connect with. The film introduces two journalists early on, played by Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees. Neither were incredible, but they served their characters well, and I found that they were utilized well to give the film a really strong opening. I won't go much into the rest of the cast as a lot of them serve mostly as cannon fodder, but I will talk about Nick Castle. Castle's physical performance as Michael Myers is as good as ever, managing to strike a level of intimidation even in just the way he walks. He is big and brutal, and he does some strong acting with just his eyes at points in the film.
This film unfortunately has some flaws. Other than the storyline with the journalists the first half hour of the film kinda sucks. There is a lot of generic high school stuff that doesn't work at all, featuring some pretty weak writing and matched by bad acting. The opening scene is excellent, featuring the journalists attempting to speak to Myers. Unfortunately the great tone it sets is soured by this high school nonsense, in which Matichak is the only bright spot. Basically any time spent without the presence or fear of Michael Myers is weak. Luckily it doesn't take too long for him to escape, and when he does the film gets really good. The film as a whole isn't too scary, but is quite thrilling. It uses the neighborhoods and houses of Haddonfield as a playground for Myers' reign of terror, and captures it with some stunning cinematography. Gordon Green captures the tone of the original quite well. The only time he deviates is when he and McBride inject some comedy, which sometimes works really well, but other times distracts from the tension of a scene. The film's climax is luckily untainted, featuring some of the most tense movie moments of the year, and some awesome shots I'll be remembering for a while.
This isn't a perfect movie by any means, but is the best I've seen in the franchise other than the original. It is a thrill from start to finish and the generational element of Laurie and her family is developed well and has strong payoff. I'd be more than happy to see a follow up to this, but it also works really well on its own as a sequel that does justice to the original.
Rating: 3.9/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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