Halloween 2018 is a difficult film to discuss. You may be asking why. The simple answer is that this was a really solid film and yet it was completely unnecessary in its execution.
I want to get through the nitpicking first so I can end this on a positive note. I really dislike that this film ignored Halloween 2. I can totally understand ignoring the other 8 films. But Halloween 2 is one of the all-time greatest horror sequels. I gave the film an 8.0 and that is super high for a horror film, nonetheless a horror sequel. What made it great was that it was a direct continuation from the first film, like it was still the same night. So why act like it didn’t happen? Simply make a few minor alterations to this film’s script and you could have easily accomplished that. I don’t care how good this film is, it’s important to make this point.
With all of that being said, this movie did a lot of positive things. They actually took the time to make sure to have a nod to every single Halloween film that came before it. That is awesome and yet frustrating to me. For the sharp-eyed fans of the franchise, this was good fan service.
I hate to give Blumhouse Productions credit because they got famous for that garbage called Paranormal Activity. Still, they have done a lot to help keep horror relevant and have provided us with some of the best horror flicks over the past 15 years. Films and franchises like The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy, The Purge: Election Years, The First Purge, The Purge TV Series, Sinister, Oculus, Creep, Unfriended, Insidious 2-4, the remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Mockingbird, Mercy, Ouija, Exeter, The Lazarus Effect, The Gallows, The Gift, The Visit, Curve, the garbage remake of Martyrs, Hellevator TV series, Hush, The Darkness, The Belko Experiment, Split, Ouija: Origin Of Evil, Incarnate, Get Out, Stephanie, Amityville: The Awakening, Happy Death Day, Upgrade, Truth or Dare, Glass, Us, Ma, Black Christmas (2019), Fantasy Island, The Invisible Man, The Hunt, You Should Have Left, Black Box, Freaky, Nocturne, Evil Eye, The Craft: Legacy, and some that I left out and more to come in the future. Look at that list. I have reviewed a ton of their films!! My point is that they seem to know what they are doing and although I may not like everything that they put out, they are helping keep horror in the mainstream pop culture.
Not only do I have to give Blumhouse Productions props but also Danny McBride, surprisingly. Who would have thought that he would have such a major hand in this film being made?
I have gone on and on without really talking about the film. Laurie Strode is a little edgy and has a bad relationship with her daughter, Karen, played by Judy Greer. Karen and Ray, played by Toby Huss, have a daughter named Allyson, played by Andi Matichak. It should be noted that some well known actresses wanted the role of Allyson, like Emma Roberts, but they wanted to create a new star in the same way that John Carpenter helped make Jamie Lee Curtis famous. Will Patton is also in this as Officer Hawkins and his connection is pretty interesting. Laurie’s relationship with Allyson is definitely better than with Karen, but not very good.
We also have two people doing research on Michael Meyers, Aaron and Dana. We also get a new doctor, Dr. Sartain, who happens to be a big fan of Dr. Loomis’ work. As you can imagine, Michael escapes and things go from there. I honestly didn’t care much for Allyson’s storyline with her useless boyfriend and the other guy. But they were definitely trying to give her more screen time. It provided Michael with more victims and to give Andi more screen time.
The final 30 minutes or so are really solid with a great climax. I don’t want to ruin it, but I found it quite satisfying and I would imagine most fans would. Using the house as a weapon was really fun.
The film did well enough that we will be getting two more films so we can have a trilogy. I’m not complaining but I also hate that it was announced. We now know that Jamie Lee and Allyson will survive the next film, and most like Karen, although that could change. In horror, the one thing that you don’t want to do is make a character safe. If there is no fear of Jamie or Allyson dying, it takes away some of the tension. The Walking Dead did the same thing by announcing that Daryl and Carol would have a spin off. Now we know that they won’t be killed moving forward. The same principle is applied here.
Rating: 7.1 – The bottom line is that if you like the Halloween franchise, especially the earlier films, you should feel at home with this one. And since everybody can’t control themselves when it comes to nostalgia, I think this was a very easy film to like. I should also say that I absolutely loved how they portrayed Michael in this one.
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:
- Blumhouse Productions
- Miramax
- Night Blade Holdings (copyright holder)
- Rough House Pictures
- Trancas International Films
- Universal Pictures
Please go find a copy and support the creators.