Halloween (2018)

Directed by David Gordon Green [Other horror films: Halloween Kills (2021)]

Disregarding everything but the first Halloween from 1978, the newest addition to the Myers mythology is pretty solid, though I don’t know if it’s overly special, and it certainly doesn’t possess the same charm of the original.

Story-wise, everything’s basically fine. The idea of an uber-prepared Laurie just waiting for Michael to come back seems a bit much, but Curtis gave a good performance, so I can live with that. Admittedly, I didn’t care much for the whole Sartain sub-plot, because it didn’t really go anywhere or add anything to the movie aside from a small twist (which is rendered ineffective just minutes later).

Overall, though, the story’s good. I was a bit bothered by the fact that they felt the need to add as much gore as they did. Make no mistake, the gore’s well-done, and there are some rather brutal kills here, but at the same time, the original managed to become a classic without gore, by-and-large, and given this one has that almost-retro feel (just look at the opening credits), it’s just somewhat disappointing they went the route they did.

Like I said, Jamie Lee Curtis’ performance here is pretty good, and I’ve nothing to complain about regarding Will Patton or Haluk Bilginer (despite not personally caring for where the movie took him). Judy Greer (who, believe it or not, I know best from the charming romantic fantasy 13 Going on 30) and Andi Matichak, who played Curtis’ daughter and granddaughter, didn’t really add all that much, in my opinion. Neither was particularly important toward the end, and it just felt somewhat wasted. Dylan Arnold, who played Matichak’s boyfriend, just disappeared half-way through the film (though there were reasons), and I was sort of expecting him to pop up again, but to no avail.

There are plenty of positive things about the movie. The gore, though I personally thought they should have tried without, was pretty solid. I also liked the sequences focusing on Curtis’ life after the 1978 original, and there was a bit of psychology involved with her character (naturally so). More so, there were a decent number of more subtle, creepy scenes (I liked the jack-o-lantern head, along with Michael’s walk to grab the hammer) that added a more traditional feel to the movie.

I guess my biggest problem is with Bilginer’s character (who played the Loomis-type doctor in the movie). His actions just didn’t really change anything, and they didn’t really add anything. It just seemed sort of pointless. If they had changed that up a bit, I could see myself giving the movie a better rating.

As it is, if you’re a fan of the Halloween franchise, I think you’ll enjoy this addition, as there’s plenty here to be happy with. A few mishaps aside, this is a good slasher with an occasionally pretty retro feel, and is generally enjoyable. It’s just not quite amazing.

8/10