Premise: It’s been 40 years since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from crazed killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. Locked up in an institution, Myers manages to escape when his bus transfer goes horribly wrong. Laurie now faces a terrifying showdown when the masked madman returns to Haddonfield, Illinois. — but this time, she’s ready for him.
What I Didn’t Like: Sigh. It’s really hard to capture some of what made the original so great. I’ll capture what didn’t work for me and say what did.
As openers go, this one didn’t work. It feels nonchalant. There’s too many emotions and perspectives to keep track of. The original opening of the 1972 predecessor focused on one POV and that of his unsuspecting prey. It worked. You can’t jump from several povs. It doesn’t work make horror. It’s distracting.
We’re introduced to characters that don’t necessarily stand out aside from being in the orbit of our main protagonists. Laure Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her estranged daughter and granddaughter (Judy Greer and Andi Matichak). So little do you care for these characters that we know they will die, because that’s how slashers work.
Laurie has become a Sigourney Weaver-esque Ripley creation. She’s moved from scream queen to final girl, which makes no sense when moments later she’s an alcoholic emotional mess as the sight of the truck moving Myers to another facility. She’s a bad ass and then fearful of Myer and than reverts back to hunting him with the skill of a predator. It just didn’t fit.
We couldn’t gotten more of the the film if it was from the narrative of Laurie’s estranged daughter, Karen. There just more depth to mine there. She goes from unaware, frightened wall-flower to skilled killer. That’s our scream queen and they ignored her.
Also it took nearly 30minutes for another to happen.
What Works: There’s some really creative kills here. I won’t take that away, and the last act of the film when Myers and the Strode brood reunite is great suspense and action.
Verdit: This sequel expands the universe but pales in comparison to the source material. It’s still worth watching (streaming on Hulu with subscription), because Halloween Kills (2021) the sequel to this remake drops this weekend! Be one the lookout for that and other reviews as we near closer and closer to Halloween.
Stay ghoulish!