When it comes to film franchises, one of the most prolific ones has to be that of "Halloween". And of all the horror film franchises out there, "Halloween" is probably the most intriguing possibly because of the bond between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers or that Myers simply won't die no matter how many films have been produced.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers (Nick Castle), the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
In this installment, Laurie's daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) is now raising her daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) in Hadonville, Illinois. It turns out that Michael Myers, being institutionalized for the past four decades, is being moved to another facility by his now doctor, Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer). Along the way the transport bus crashes allowing Michael to escape in which he heads to Hadonville just right before Halloween. One by one, Michael continues to pick off his victims it now being Halloween night while Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) and Laurie continue to search for Michael before their are any more deaths. Can Laurie save her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson before they too fall victim to Michael's psychosis?
Others to round out the cast are Toby Huss as Ray, Karen's husband, Rhian Rees as Dana Haines, Jefferson Hall as Aaron Korey, Virginia Gardner as Vicky, Dylan Arnold as Cameron Elam, Miles Robbins as Dave, Drew Scheid as Oscar and Jibrail Nantambu as Julian.
This was executed well by veteran director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express" '08, "Your Highness" '11, "The Sitter" '11, "Joe" '13, "Manglehorn" '14, "Our Brand Is Crisis" '15, "Stronger" '17) plus others and TV. Even though Curtis is the only existing actor to reprise her role as Laurie, this filmmaker was able to match the characteristics of the original Laurie and this takes a keen sense of direction and the ability to observe. A lot of Green's work is in the comedy genre, but in recent years, he has directed dramas which is a wise option since it opens up far more doors in Hollywood. It was interestingly written by Green ("Undertow" '04, "Snow Angels" '07, "Prince Avalanche" '13, "Goat" '16) plus others and shorts, Danny McBride ("The Foot Fist Way" '06, "Your Highness" '11, "The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter" '18) plus TV and shorts and Jeff Fradley (TV) based on characters created by John Carpenter And Debra Hill. I really believe that this installment is supposed to pickup where the original Halloween leaves off four decades later as advertised, because in "Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later" Michael ends up being decapitated, so how could he come back? But, then again, he was actually killed in the original as well. The one thing that has perplexed me with this franchise is the fact that Michael Myers just won't die. He's human, so I'm not sure why it seems to be impossible to kill him. Even in this one, does Michael really die? Plus this is very predictable as all horror, slasher films are--I believe this is an ingredient that these films are expected to incorporate. Actually, for a slasher film, this was a better written one than I thought it would be, but it's still a horror, slasher film replete with all the knives one will ever want to see for a while. Will there be another "Halloween"? Absolutely. As long as there is a profit with this, they will make many more so they can get those 18-24 year old single males in those seats. Ca Ching!
If you like horror films, especially with a slasher specialty thrown in, you will be in horror heaven. Hey, this even still has that eerie music as with the original co-written by John Carpenter. It's a walk down memory lane except Curtis is 40 years older, but if anyone had told me that the original film would last 40 years later, I would have said they were nuts. Who Knew?
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: R 106mins.
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