Halloween
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton, Andi Matichack
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Rated: R
40 years after the horrific Halloween murders, Michael Myers has escaped again. The crazed killer is on the hunt to find Laurie Strode, the babysitter who escaped him so many years ago. The two prepare to square off in a game of cat and mouse. Who will survive?
What worked so well about the original Halloween was the tension built throughout the movie. Michael Myers stalked characters creepily, giving the audience a very unsettling feeling. We knew he was dangerous, but it took time for him to actually do anything. Unfortunately, the new Halloween has a complete disregard for building any kind of tension. Instead of taking its time, it dives headfirst into violent killing sequences. Michael kills so many people in the first hour that none of it is surprising. The second you see a person on screen, it's completely obvious what will happen to them. It doesn't help that these are some of the dumbest people to exist in cinematic history. Instead of trying to make things tense or scary, Halloween just makes things gross. I ended up looking away from the screen out of disgust, not fear.
Director David Gordon Green is all over the place in this sequel. There are so many storylines going on here! At its core, the film follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) attempting to reconnect with her family. However, there are side plots that serve no purpose to the movie. One involves a podcast team "investigating" Michael Myers. Another revolves around a high school Halloween dance that feels like it was ripped straight out of a CW show. The first two acts meander from plot line to plot line without a strong sense of structure. A major problem with that is the awful editing. Scenes will cut at pivotal times to a pointless moment that has no use in the final cut of the film. This happens several times.
Jamie Lee Curtis is the best part of Halloween. Without her, this would be a complete disaster. She carries the movie, reprising her role as Laurie Strode. Laurie has been estranged from her family because of the PTSD she has suffered from the Michael Myers attacks. She has spent years as a prepper getting ready for Myers' return. I'll give the film credit, the last act has a decent action sequence involving Laurie and Michael that contains many homages to the original Halloween.
Another highlight of Halloween is Jibrail Nantambu, a young scene stealer. He plays Julian, a boy who is spending Halloween with a babysitter. As Michael Myers finds his way into the house, Jibrail's dialogue is hilarious. His scenes had the whole theater cracking up. It's a shame he isn't in more of the movie because he is very entertaining.
Unfortunately the rest of the characters are poorly written and weakly acted. Judy Greer, who plays Laurie’s daughter is a one-dimensional and deeply unlikeable character. I’ve found Greer to be good in many other roles, but this is not a good performance. Haluk Bilginer plays Dr. Sartain, the doctor in charge of Michael Myers. At first, it seems maybe he’ll give the audience a bit of psychoanalysis on Myers’ himself, but that’s too much to ask. He’s only in this for a cheap twist that derails the plot.
Halloween is a poorly written and repetitive sequel that is more focused on gory imagery than building a decent storyline.
My Rating: 5/10