There are a handful of iconic on screen killers with Michael Myers easily being at the top of the list. After his debut in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic it not only spawned a slew of sequels and remakes, but kick started the slasher genre as we know it. When it was announced that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green were teaming up to bring a new "Halloween" film to the fans it was met with some strange feelings until they announced that Jaime Lee Curtis was coming back. Now the Shape is back stalking screens once again, but is it a worthy follow up to the classic original or will it just be another throw away entry into the franchise?
"Halloween" follows Laurie Strode who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. This chapter is ignoring every film that came after the original to tell an all new story that that directly ties into that film. The film co-stars Judy Greer, Virginia Gardner, Will Patton, Toby Huss, Miles Robbins, and both James Jude Courtney and original Myers actor Nick Castle as Michael Myers. I cannot express how excited I was just to have a new "Halloween" movie in theaters, but even with the high praise I was hearing about the film I did not expect to love it as much as I did. There are some elements that initially bothered me in the trailers and even when watching the film, but as it unfolded it all made sense and worked way better than I thought it would.
Jamie Lee Curtis dives right back into the role but with a tortured and emotional persona that perfectly captures the victim mentality. Every decision she makes here is geared towards preparation or killing Myers. The rest of the cast do a great job as well, but this is all about Strode and Myers. Michael gets a lot of great moments and screen time that fully brings him back into the real world and getting rid of the supernatural element that was introduced in the previous entries. This grounds him in a more terrifying way for me and makes him all the scarier as a killer. His kills are even more violent this time around that makes all the more sense with his time locked away and fueled with more rage than ever.
As with the previous films the soundtrack adds so much to the tension with elements of the original music along with some new additions from Carpenter himself. The music is not the only familiar element as they did a brilliant job bringing in some classic sequences with new spins to give you the full feeling of the connection between the two films. From the moment Myers steps back onto the big screen you know you are in for a brutal good time like only he can deliver, but seeing him square off with a prepared pissed off and paranoid Strode is even better.
I love this entry and while I would love for this to cap the series once and for all there is still a side of me that wants to see this new direction for the franchise continue. Filled with some great twists and turns and homages to the original film as well as nods to some of the other entries this "Halloween" is fully worthy of the original.
Review by Bobby Blakey - Bobby reviews way more movies on his own website than the genre-specific ones I post here. Check out Bobby's awesome website and his live show he co-hosts with his wife, Drusilla, at Hollywood Matrimony.
