The boogeyman returns! Turns out, Michael Meyers is still haunting Laurie Strode 40 years later, but this time, Laurie is ready to fight back. 2018’s version of Halloween is probably the best sequel entry into the Halloween canon, but it is still a pale comparison of the transcendent 1978 original.
We reengage with Michael (Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney) through a pair of bloggers (Rhian Rees and Jefferson Hall) obsessed with serial killers. Though tempting the chained up Meyers with his old mask, The Shape gives them nothing, forcing the pair to try to engage Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to “reconnect” with the man who completely destroyed her life, which she obviously refuses. But, as fate would have it, Michael, on Halloween night (come on, bureaucrats, how about March 3, or July 17, any OTHER date), is set to be transferred to a new hospital. I think you know what will happen on that bus ride. So Michael finds his way out, and goes back to haunt Haddonfield, Illinois, and it’s various residents, including Laurie’s daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). Laurie, justifiably horrified by these events, enlists Officer Hawkins (Will Patton), who in turn uses Michael’s psychiatrist Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) to help him find out where The Shape might be going.
Pineapple Express, believe it or not, probably helped deliver this new version of Halloween back to the big screen. David Gordon Green is the director of both movies, and Danny McBride, a star of Pineapple Express, helped write this movie. Those two have a genuine affection for the original, so much so that they employed the reboot angle du jour: use the same plot points but with slightly different character spins. The most interesting parts of this reboot have to do with the modernization of the story. This Laurie Strode is more determined and obsessed than the H2O version Jamie Lee Curtis played. Here, Curtis plays Strode as a woman completely defined by this giant tragedy, so much so that she’s alienated her daughter so much that Karen keeps her family away from her mother. However, Laurie’s steely resolve and mental fortitude has rubbed off on Karen, who’s ready for the horrors of the world, and Allyson, who is prepared to deal with boy troubles and dangers. #MeToo has hit Haddonfield for sure, with the women taking control of every awkward, tough situation they are put into for the most part. The best parts of the movie come after Michael has murdered all the men, leaving these badass women to come clean up the mess and rise to the occasion despite the fear and trauma Michael has caused them.
And yet, audiences are flocking to this movie to see The Shape himself, Michael Meyers, go on a murder spree on Halloween night. McBride/Green’s killer here is not meta killing like in previous serial slasher films; here he is just a silent relentless force, murdering because that’s what he does. Green especially deserves credit for making these kills feel different but still kinda scary, using some great camera tracking shots from various perspectives to make the audience want to yell to the people “Watch Out!” or “He’s coming”. In addition, the creative team smartly doesn’t show every kill either, giving the audience a chance to think about the horrors Michael must have done to some poor helpless soul. And yet….I couldn’t help but feeling bored a great deal of the time, and I think that’s because time hasn’t been kind to Michael Meyers for many years now. The barrage of sequels have demythologized the The Shape, rendering him just as a silent killer, who doesn’t stop killing. While that is scary, the first movie made him seem like a malevolent force of nature, relentless and unkillable. Here, the writers make clear he is a powerful man, but a man nonetheless, and a silent man killing people just isn’t that interesting to be spending a great deal of time watching him “work.” The serial killer genre has gotten almost creepily creative, with people like Freddy Krueger, the Conjuring monsters, the It Follows monster, and Pennywise creating much more horrifying things for us to be scared of, yet entertained by. A quiet guy who’s goes about his business simply isn’t scary enough if we know too much about him, like we know too much about Michael Meyers.
The best way to see the new Halloween is if you’re going in fresh and new to the series, without having seen any Halloween movie but the first. However, if you’re well versed in the films, this Halloween will be a semi-nostalgic return to the power of the original, while not quite living up to the hype. By the way, please don’t tell Michael I wrote this. Last thing I need is a relentless homicidal monster following me around everywhere.