Halloween (2018) – Film Review
The Halloween franchise has defined my idea of schlocky slasher since I was a kid. AMC’s FearFest is where I first discovered Carpenter’s 1978 classic, and it’s been a close, personal favorite, ever since. The new David Gordon Green (dir. Pineapple Express, Stronger) sequel/reboot is respectful to the original, without being pandery to the fans. Also, like this September’s The Predator, it’s a good jumping-on point for new fans, without being too jarring, story-wise.
Killer did his thing, got arrested, breaks out of prison, does thing again. Simple…but it works.
Time and again, we see this same set-up in horror flicks. Each time, though, we are entertained. Why? Because—as the master, himself, put it—we all have the same fears. Laurie’s fear of the past coming back. Her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer; Jurassic World, 13 Going On 30)’s fear that she was right about the boogeyman, all along. Fear of that creak in the floorboards being a result of an intruding footstep in the night. That the shape in the shadows may be a man with a really, really long knife… Our fears are inborne, inherent to our nature as the “top of the food chain”; a king is always paranoid he’ll be knocked from his throne by those he lords over—the “lesser”. What we fear is that we’re not all—or the best, or the strongest—there is.
All those fears were embodied in the original Halloween. Forty years later, it still lingers, and I’m so glad Jamie Lee Curtis was onboard, once again.
Laurie (Curtis) is still haunted by what happened on Halloween Night, all those decades ago. Rewriting over everything that’s happened in the installments since, this shows us a colder, more removed and fractured Laurie than we saw in the ’78 film. She’s basically become a doomsday prepper, but for this returning serial killer. I like her. She’s got even more of that Ellen Ripley attitude, but, like, an Aliens-era Ripley that will go to any lengths to rescue her family from the same danger, despite what they, or anyone else, think of her. Laurie stands, actually, as one of the only non-expendable characters in this film—save, of course, her daughter and granddaughter. Greer and Andi Matichak—in her first “big” role, looking at IMDb—do well in playing their parts as Strode women. Here we have three generations facing down a decades-old haunter upon their household, and it works beautifully. None of them are incapable, but I couldn’t see any one making it out alive without the help of the others. That interplay is key to believability.
James Jude Courtney as “The Shape”—and Nick Castle still giving the haunting vocal performance (if we can even call it that)—is truly haunting; I got actual chills when Michael put on the old, decaying mask again, for the first time. It’s a silent scene, where only Carpenter’s theme is playing, lamenting—sad, yet effectively-horrifying after all this time. Again, though, I could’ve done with a little less face-time with Michael. I still feel he’s a horror that is more effective the less we see of him, although a friend and co-worker I saw this with brings up a good point: Michael is more terrifying because we do know it’s a human being under that mask, and that human beings are capable of this kind of destruction is just as scary as him being a faceless, voiceless, emotionless bringer of death. Still, though, that Lovecraftian sense of Michael, essentially, being an “unknown” to all these newer residents of Haddonfield is felt, as some are seeing him for the first (and last) time, when they do encounter him.
With revered call-backs to the original, as well as other cult, seasonal entries, Halloween’s strengths lay in its return to roots. Carpenter set out to weave a scary tale about a serial killer on Halloween Night, and that concept was perverted over many, many installments by directors who had only monetary gain in-mind. Green is different—he and his crew have made a sequel that plays up everything good about the classic, while carving new ground for other, fresher, more ironed-out outings in the future. Like Transformers, I’ll watch well-made Halloween films until the end of time.
The score, too, is rebooted, remixed, and given so many new faces in this as to be its own character in the film. Like the new mask—which was hand-crafted to look amorphous and “different” from every angle, each time Carpenter’s theme is used or rehashed is a treat—the one, unsullied, thematic bone that has withstood the test of four decades’ time. It’s cool to see his name still attached, too, alongside the executive producers—that he was all-go with this new imagining is a sign of something good, as he wouldn’t sign on for a garbage re-telling of his tale. The opening credits, too, are something to behold: That retro-style, re-used from the ’78 film, but with a twist to the iconic backdrop. A fan treat, for sure.
As I said, I could’ve done without a few characters—the “new Loomis” (shameful) brought me out of the film, to be certain. The special effects are, for the most part, practical and very well-done. This is definitely a more intense entry than its inspiration, and a lot has already been released online, speaking to theories and general fan hear-say. It’s created a neat atmosphere—one that fans, new and old, and critics seem to be agreeing on as phenomenal. The attention to detail with set-builds is great, and some old looks and little nods return in the backgrounds—a film one could pore over for hours, and still not find everything in each shot. Kind of like a bloodier Ready Player One. Some dumb jump-scares, but a lot of the same Halloween atmosphere remains—that of skulking, always-approaching terror around every corner. It inspired the same kind of paranoia, as an audience member, in me as the 1978 film did, with Michael being present, even when he’s not on-screen.
Overall, I’m satisfied. This film didn’t go over-the-top with trying to explain or retcon itself, and I’m glad. It’s a slasher flick, through-and-through.
Final ‘Risk Assessment: ****/*.
Next review: Terrifier (2017) – HallowRewind Review
