Halloween (2018) Review

So I’ve been away on my honeymoon and whilst over there in America we had a few hours to spare, so we thought why not go catch a movie? I must say the American audience in a cinema tends to react a lot more than us British do, sure we laugh when things are funny but that’s about it. Our American cousins seem to react to gory kills and stuff and are generally more engaged in the film. The film we watched was Halloween and here’s my thoughts……’

Director – David Gordon Green

Writers – Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green

Characters By – John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Stars – Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak and Will Patton

Run Time – 106 minutes

Budget – $10 million estimated

 

I’m not sure if you know but I kinda think all horror fans will, the new Halloween film erases all the others from the timeline bar the very first original one. I had re-watched the first Halloween before we went away as I knew there was a good chance we’d catch this one on our trip at some point. It’s a direct sequel to the first one and so far it has smashed the box office beating Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “bound to win an Oscar” film.

The slasher genre became a monstrous hit in the 80’s and to a certain extent it had a bit of a revival in the 90’s thanks to the Scream franchise. Sure there’s the odd ones that have popped up since like Hatchet and Charlie’s Farm but it’s a genre that’s been lacking recently. I am happy to report that this new Halloween really gives me what I’ve been missing.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode but she’s spent the last 40 years waiting to kill Michael Myers and it’s turned her a bit loopy. She lives in isolation and as a result her daughter and her granddaughter have suffered through their mum and grandmother being a bit nuts. She’s equipped her home with all sorts of booby traps and is armed to the teeth, awaiting His return.

Michael has been in a mental home for 40 years, he’s barely spoke at all, he just stands about looking crazy. The film does a tremendous job of showing us Michael without actually showing his full face during the first scenes that reintroduce us to him.
Things really go to pot when for some reason they decide to move Michael to another facility on Halloween night. You can guess what happens from here, he escapes and goes on a murderous rampage in his old stomping ground. Mainly chasing Laurie’s Granddaughter during a Halloween party.

During his rampage the film really takes off, I’m a sucker for nostalgia and Halloween wraps it around a bat and smashes you in the face with it and it’s wonderful. There’s all the kills you’d expect to see, some gory and some shown off screen and best left to the imagination. Obviously there’s several nods to the original film as you’d expect and in true slasher style it all leads to a final confrontation with our Scream Queen, however Laurie is ready this time.

The Good

• The pacing is fantastic.
• All the actors are very strong especially Queen Jamie Lee Curtis.
• There’s some decent kills in it without it ever going over the top.
• Once Michael starts to go on a killing spree it’s really great to watch.
• They give us just enough at the very end to believe that the story could see a sequel which I expect it will given it’s strong box office performance. But it still ends the story enough so that a single film makes sense.

The Bad

• Without spoilers the end battle between Laurie and Michael ends in a bit of a silly way, I found myself thinking why didn’t she do this? Or that? Or this? There were several other less elaborate ways in which the ending could have been dealt with. However this is the case with a lot of horror films as we know!
• There was one character I wanted to see die so much but they managed to get away with it

 

Other than that there’s not much else I’d change in this film, it’s a hit of nostalgia that takes you back to the good old fashioned slasher films we loved in the 80’s. I’m hopeful that given this film’s success it can fire a few more of the these types of films to be made. I’d love a Candyman film, I’d be over the moon if someone decided to give Robert Englund another Freddy film or we got to see Jason return in a decent movie. This is a must see for horror fans old and new alike.

Overall Rating – 8.5/10