There’s been so much hype about the newest installment in the Halloween franchise, “Halloween (2018)”. I watched it on Saturday night. Was it worth it? Read below.
There will be a few minor spoilers.
The first thing to realize about Halloween (2018) is that it’s a direct sequel to the original Halloween (1978), Halloween II, or Halloween:H20 (thankfully). It erases all familial ties between Laurie Stroud (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (played by Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney).
Halloween (2018) – abbreviated “H18” for the rest of this post – mainly takes place in Haddonfield, Illinois, the same place as the original. It is set 40 years after that fateful night. 2 podcasters are in Smith’s Grove, IL (also one of the original settings), trying to get an interview with Michael Myers. Meanwhile, in Haddonfield, we meet Laurie Stroud, her family – which she isn’t exactly on speaking terms with some of them – and her “house”. The podcasters meet Myers and indirectly set off the chain of events that leads to the rest of H18.
There are quite a few nods in H18 to the original Halloween. For starters, Laurie’s granddaughter, Allysin, is walking to school with her friends, when they pass by the “old Myers place”. One of Allsysin’s friends then goes on a speech about whether or not her grandma is related to Myers, why it was an issue in the first place, and all of the ‘crazy’ rumors that he’s heard about Halloween. Another small nod happens in the beginning credits – I’ll let you see that one on your own.
The Halloween franchise features Michael Myers, his ability to kill almost everything, and his inability to let mortal wounds…. well, wound him. In H18, Myers kills a lot. In the original, he killed 5 people, 3 on screen. In H18, he killed at least 16 people, one of them a kid (under 13 years old), and most of them were fairly violent. Also in H18, Myers gets wounded – how much and by whom, you’ll have to see for yourself.
The music, the “look”, and the overall vibe makes H18 feel like it was made in the mid-80s, opposed to the late 2010s. This is not a bad thing.
I do have one minor grumble about the movie: while suspenseful, it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. This could be due to high expectations in my part. Make no mistake, however: opening a door or coming around a corner, and seeing Michael Myers standing there, that will spook just about anyone. Just don’t go into the movie expecting a 2-hour fright fest.
So, go to your nearest movie theater, buy a ticket for Halloween (2018) – and buy one for the original Halloween, if you can – and enjoy the return of Michael Myers to the big screens!
The Nexus 