Review of Halloween (2018) by Ian B — 09 Nov 2018

John Carpenter's Halloween is my all-time favourite horror film. Always has been, always will be. I've generally enjoyed most of the sequels, but everything after Halloween H20 has been a dumpster fire. When I heard they told Rob Zombie to fu*k off I was ecstatic. When I heard they were doing a direct sequel to the original I was excited. When I heard John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis were returning my expectations immediately became unrealistic. After months of anticipation, I saw the film twice opening weekend, and had completely different reactions each time. This review is a tale of two Halloweens.

The hype machine was building for a long time. Everything I'd seen and heard about the movie had me pumped...but when I actually saw it, I left the theatre disappointed. When I began to think about why, the answer was simple - I'd spent the entire time comparing it to the original. It wasn't paced the same, it wasn't edited the same, it didn't feel like a 1970s horror movie. I don't know why I expected this to be exactly like the original, but I did, and that was stupid. Needless to say when I saw it a second time and actually judged it on its own merits, rather than constantly comparing it, I completely changed my tune. The movie sure isn't perfect, but it's quickly become one of my favourites in the series.

There are two things that make Halloween work - it disregards all the sequels, and the Carpenter influence is felt for the first time in a long time. Let's just ignore all the ridiculous things that happened to Michael Myers in the subsequent films, and that stupid brother/sister twist introduced in Halloween 2 is finally gone! What this movie does with Laurie Strode is a far more satisfying continuation for the character than what we got in H20. Although the real surprise is the fact they actually made Michael Myers scary and interesting again. For the first time in forty years they've brought the mystery back to the character. Everyone has their theories about what makes Michael tick, but thankfully we're given no answers. Once you start to explain why (family, cults, abuse), you take away everything that made him scary in the first place. He's the boogeyman, plain and simple.

There really is a lot to love in Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis pours her heart and soul into the movie, John Carpenter's score is pure synth gold, and director David Gordon Green done a fine job re-creating the small town atmosphere and suspense of the original. It's gory, but not Friday the 13th gory, the humour (mostly) works, and there are plenty of nods to past Halloweens that longtime fans will appreciate. The story works well, but at times feels a little bloated, and certain characters are sadly underdeveloped because of it. Although the only thing I truly disliked about the movie was a five minute chunk in the third act that's just downright stupid. Otherwise this is a solid entry that puts the franchise back on the right track.

After more than a decade of crappy sequels and remakes, Halloween 2018 truly is a treat for fans of the franchise. It's a wonderful blend of nostalgia and evolution that genuinely feels like a continuation of the original Halloween, and not a copy. It rightfully brings the series back to its roots, while also giving the audience something new. The performances are strong, the characters are likeable, it's atmospheric, funny, tense, and surprisingly well-written. I guess it's a good sign when my biggest complaint about the movie is why they couldn't just call it Halloween Returns.