After a transport bus crashes and mental health patients escape, Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle) is one of the patients escape. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) finds out what happens and prepares for what she hopes to be a final showdown.
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Will Patton
MPAA Rating: R for horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity
Fun Fact: David Gordon Green’s first horror film.
I will admit when this was announced I didn’t know what to think about it. The big thing in Hollywood now is that we have to erase entries in a franchise and go with new direct sequels. Halloween 2018, retcons everything you have seen after the first film. So it will all depend on what time line you would like to follow. When Jamie Lee Curtis announced she was coming back, my hopes for it rose because I wanted to see what they would do with her and took my skepticism down a bit.
Halloween 2018 ( I hate that I have to do that to differentiate which one I’m talking about) is a mix of good and bad that the good stuff outweighs the bad that had me highly enjoying this one. John Carpenter was a producer on this one and he did a good job of guiding David Gordon Green in his first horror feature with the material. The atmosphere is eerie and I felt at the edge of my seat through a good portion of the feature. It didn’t rely on silly jump scares and noises to get a reaction and I loved how they used the shadows to bring Michael Myers. The best parts of the film are when Laurie is hunting Myers in the house as the tension is shot nicely. It brought back fond memories of watching the 1978 film all over again. While some might think it’s stupid but, I loved the nods to the other films in some scenes. Especially when they showed the kids in masks that looked like they were from Halloween III: Season Of The Witch.
Jamie Lee Curtis was outstanding as Laurie Strode but, I wish they would’ve done more with her. She’s tough, brave, and wants to end Michael Myers once and for all. I just wish they would’ve spent a more time on what happened to her in the 40 years from her first encounter. They briefly mentioned it with her family but, it’s Laurie Strode and that’s why we spend money on a ticket to see this. That leads to my biggest gripe with the film….
There are way too many unnecessary characters and sub plots that go no where. It’s like they needed to put this high school dance in there just because that’s typical studio horror films now a days. We get this sub plot with Laurie’s granddaughter Alison and her boyfriend. Something happens and it ends with no further explanation. All the characters that got killed off, I could care less about. They all suffered from the same cliches we have seen before and you won’t care about it in one bit. The doctor character was the worst of them all though. I can’t stop laughing about the whole ordeal and I don’t want to give it away but, he has this supposed big moment that didn’t really work with me. You have a movie with a returning Jamie Lee Curtis and the supporting characters are the main focus. It should have been the other way around.
Overall, Halloween 2018 has some weird cliches to it but, the stuff I liked outweighed them. I loved the atmosphere to it and the stuff with Jamie Lee Curtis is great. Seeing Nick Castle back as Michael Myers in some scenes was a treat as well. If you can get through the weird and cliché moments I think you will enjoy it like I did. The production value is high and having John Carpenter as a producer really helped this film.
Verdict: Hit
Henry's Movie Reviews 