Early
morning, Fam…
So, David
Gordon Green resurrected Michael Myers from Rob Zombie’s abortions (We didn’t
need a cookie cutter redneck fam, abused kid backstory getting us off on the
wrong foot, but that’s another blog.) with John Carpenter’s blessing and on
board as producer and soundtrack remaster with his son with eyes to make a
direct sequel to Carpenter’s ’78 original, negating everything after. Today, we checked Halloween ’18 to see how they pulled it off.
Michael’s
been locked up for the last 40 years after getting caught after the events of “the
night He came home”. According to Dr.
Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), who’s looking after Michael since the late Dr. Loomis
(the late Donald Pleasence), Michael’s been docile. Then, a couple of true-crime vultures, Aaron
Korey and Dana Haines (Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees), show to try to make him
speak by using his old mask they “acquired”.
Back in
Haddonfield, Laurie’s (Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role that put her on
the map and made her one of the first scream queens) suffering from PTSD from her
friends’ deaths, alienating her daughter and granddaughter (Judy Greer and Andi
Matichak), in her incessant preparation for the day Michael comes for her. She’s literally made her pad a fortress.
First off, I
dug the movie while Joey didn’t. She
didn’t they explained enough to wipe away the sequels’ canon. I, on the other hand, thought they did it
pretty simply when Allyson, Laurie’s granddaughter explains that Laurie being
Michael’s sister was a rumor. That
statement negates Halloween II, which
almost erases everything after.
Given that,
Green didn’t want to completely throw them away, so he threw in Easter eggs eagle-eyed
fans will pick up on to give homage to the previous movies, including Season of the Witch. Listen for the allusion of the Thorn cult.
JLC steps
back into Laurie like she’s been Laurie for the last 40 years. She’s convincing in her PTSD like she’s lived
tormented for said 40 years, but in said torment, she’s vowed never again.
Green scored
another original with OG Michael actor, Nick Castle, having a cameo and doing
the breathing as The Shape while newcomer, James Jude Courtney, did all the
grunt work. Look for P.J. Soles (Lynda
in the original) as a teacher.
The mask,
which could arguably be considered more of a star than JLC, was meticulously
recreated based on the William Shatner mask the original was made from adding
age cracks to it.
Now, the selling
point of Halloween ‘18’s the fight between
Laurie and Mikey and whether Laurie can save her fam while redeeming herself. Carpenter’s stamp can be seen in some of the
movie, but with today’s sensibilities (i.e. over the top kills and gore). The pacing acts like a kid that tries to take
its time, but almost forgets after those first kills.
Don’t get me
wrong, I’m not shitting on Halloween ’18
by any means. It’s a fun ride even if we’ve
seen most of its like before. I still
love the faceless, methodical walk…and that straight-back rise. Another highlight is seeing Mikey mask-less
through a lot of the first act, albeit, in quick glimpses, but it’s more than the
original’s glimpse. The last act’s fast-paced
with the ending being fun.
There was a cool dedication to original producer, Moustapha Akkad, who died in the '05 Amman bombing with his daughter when she was supposed to be married.
Going into Halloween ’18, Green said this should
finish the series, but within the last couple weeks, he’s thrown out thoughts
of a sequel. If he does go on, let
Michael die off. The movie lends
itself to a sequel, but it could just be left hanging too. If he wants to tread new water, do an
original Halloween idea every movie like the series was supposed to do.
At any rate,
enjoy revisiting an old friend and escape for a little over an hour and a half…and,
be good to each other.
-J-
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