Movie Review – ‘Halloween’

Do you still believe in the boogeyman?

 

 

40 years have passed since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from the infamous Michael Myers. Though he has been safely locked up in an institution for all these years, Myers manages to escape when a bus transfer goes horribly wrong. The madman then returns to his home of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night. Though Laure Strode may face a terrifying showdown with Michael, this time she’s ready for him.

 

Though there have been nearly a dozen installments in the Halloween franchise, Halloween (2018) manages to feel like a true successor to the original 1978 film. Director David Gordon Green successfully captured the spirit and tone of John Carpenter’s original movie – which is something that not every sequel or reboot was able to do. Though this new installment ignores every previous entry in the franchise, fans should be excited to know that this return-to-form is the best Halloween film since 1978.

 

In order to emulate the tone of the original film, the filmmakers involved tried to stick to basics and reuse whatever material they could. Carpenter’s Halloween soundtrack was obviously recycled, props from the first film were recreated, similar themes were reutilized for the script, Carpenter’s directorial style was recaptured, the film’s title remained unchanged, but more importantly, the two stars of the original film returned. And though its nice to know that Nick Castle is once again underneath the mask of The Shape, the best aspect of Halloween is undoubtedly Jamie Lee Curtis.

 

 

Curtis is excellent in her return as Laurie Strode. She is no longer the same Laurie that we used to know. She is an old, scarred, and broken down individual. Michael’s attack on Laurie has clearly left her with some psychological damage. In fact, with the horror elements aside, Halloween is really an exploration of Laurie Strode’s psyche. I was surprised to see just how much of a character driven film this movie was. And that character is brought to life with the clear passion that Curtis is able to bring to the table.

 

Curtis also bounces off of Nick Castle (and James Jude Courtney) extraordinarily well. Castle and Courtney just give Michael Myers this great sense of weight. He has this physicality to him, which just makes his very presence intimidating. Michael is frightening not because of some silly supernatural causes, but because he is just some guy that we can project our fears onto. Fears that live on through Laurie’s character and her perception of the boogeyman.

 

Seeing Laurie Strode reunited with Michael Myers just felt satisfying. The two characters have a nice dichotomy in this film. They are essentially two opposing forces, representing good and evil, or yin and yang. I love how their relationship was explored in this film, and how Laurie Strode essentially turned into Sarah Connor because of her traumatic experience with Michael. I’m not sure if I believe the motivation behind some of Laurie’s actions, but I certainly believe Curtis’ portrayal of Laurie. She essentially loses herself in the role, delivering one of her best performances to date.

 

 

Unfortunately, for how great Jamie Lee Curtis is, I was unimpressed with the other actors involved. To be honest, I didn’t care for any of the teenage actors in this film. Their level of acting just felt horribly juxtaposed to Curtis’ fantastic performance. But the adults aren’t that great either. Most of the characters just seem to be in a tonally different film. The Strode family, along with certain podcasters and police officers, often felt like they were in a cheesy parody instead of a gritty continuation of the story. Haluk Bilginer was interesting as Dr. Ranbir Sartain, but his character takes a very bizarre turn near third act that I don’t think was necessary at all.

 

I’m not sure what happened with these characters, but I imagine it comes down to the script. Though he has worked on other genres before, Danny McBride is best known for his comedy – he even worked with David Gordon Green before on Pineapple Express. So it doesn’t surprise me that Halloween (2018) attempts to have some humor, but I don’t think that weed jokes and stoner comedy really meshes well with the more dramatic tone. Halloween (1978) was a straight horror film that took itself seriously, so I’m not sure why McBride decided to include more comedy than any audience member would be expecting to find in a modern slasher.

 

Halloween (2018) is also a very self-referential movie. Though the previous films have been erased from continuity, there are several lines of dialogue (and even entire sequences) that allude to earlier films in the franchise. And while winking to fans in the audience isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Halloween just isn’t a movie that I expected to be self-aware. Especially when that self-awareness is mixed in with poorly developed characters and odd moments of levity. Perhaps I should clarify a statement I made earlier; David Gordon Green successfully captured the spirit and style of John Carpenter’s original movie, but the tone is a bit jarring.

 

 

I enjoyed Green’s directing for the most part, but mainly in certain segments. Long, uninterrupted takes where Michael walks around the Haddonfield neighborhoods were excellent. These scenes especially captured the feel and the atmosphere of the original film. And seeing as how modern audiences are a bit more accustomed to horrific imagery, Halloween (2018) features some incredibly great death scenes. The film finds the perfect amount of violence and gore to include without being gratuitous.

 

However, for every scene that features a well-done slow take, there is another scene that has frustratingly rapid editing. One particular car crash comes to mind as a perfect example. I’m not sure if Green’s directing or Tim Alverson’s editing is to blame for the jarring pacing of the scene, but the sporadic sequence stands out when compared to other, slower, better scenes in the film.

 

On the subject of pacing, the first act of Halloween does drag a bit. I understand that the audience needs some time to catch up on 40-years worth of exposition, but it’s disappointing to have such an iconic horror franchise open its soft reboot with such a boring lull. I honestly think the movie should have just started when Michael’s bus crashes. There’s no real explanation as to how or why the bus crashes in the first place, so it could have made for an exciting and chilling opening sequence. Because once Michael Myers is on the loose, then the movie really begins. And the tension from that point on is excellent.

 

David Gordon Green and Danny McBride clearly have great respect for Carpenter’s original film. They even worked with Carpenter to ensure that their movie was giving the source material the reverence it deserved. And the duo mostly succeeded. But when artistic liberties were taken, and characters were underwritten, and performances felt cheesy, and attempts at humor were jarring, Halloween (2018) ended up being something of a let down. That being said, it is still much better than any of the sequels that have ever come out before it – including Halloween II. But with the positive word-of-mouth spreading, and the current box office success, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we hear the announcement for another Halloween sequel.