Released in 1978, the classic slasher horror film Halloween was such a cult hit that it propelled director John Carpenter, lead actress Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode) and the silent and masked knife-wielding character Michael Myers into becoming household names. Its popularity meant that it spawned nine sequels, some of which were watchable though most were mediocre, with none failing to capture the magic of the original. Now we have an eleventh film also called Halloween, confusingly enough being the third film in the franchise to be simply called Halloween.
Having been spooked by the original and even its substandard sequels in my youth, I was certainly intrigued by another volume in the franchise even if my expectations were low. But what piqued my interest was the strategy by director David Gordon Green and writers Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green to completely retcon all sequels. Yes, 2018’s Halloween is a direct sequel to the 1978 original and negates the other nine films. And for the most part, this back-to-the-basics film works by keeping things simple, avoiding the convoluted plotlines of the sequels and featuring a realistic and absorbing characterisation of its star, Laurie Strode.
Halloween is a direct sequel to the 1978 Jamie Lee Curtis original and is better than all the other nine sequels in the franchise so far
Here, she is played by the 59-years-young Jamie Lee Curtis as a survivor with post-traumatic stress disorder, whose life was defined by an incredibly stressful event, and who shows strength by confronting her fears head-on by developing skills she didn’t have in 1978. If there is an example for writing strong female characters, it is Laurie Strode right here in Halloween, who has been given a complete turnaround from her days as a clichéd damsel-in-distress.
The narrative is engaging for the most part. Set 40 years after the events of the 1978 Haddonfield murders, the film brings us up to speed with the plot of the previous film and what the characters have been up to since, by introducing us to British investigative podcasters Aaron Korey (Jefferson Hall) and Dana Haines (Rhian Rees) as a pair interested in the Haddonfield murders. The two initially try to interview Michael Myers at a sanitarium but, as his psychiatrist Dr Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) informs them, the mentally-ill murderer refuses to talk.
Laurie Strode is played by the 59-years-young Jamie Lee Curtis as a survivor with post-traumatic stress disorder, whose life was defined by an incredibly stressful event, and who shows strength by confronting her fears head-on by developing skills she didn’t have in 1978.
Next, they find Laurie and learn that she’s found it difficult to cope since then with two failed marriages and an estranged daughter, but she is finally moving on. Predictably, the antagonist makes an escape when a transport bus crashes, after which all hell breaks loose with plenty of bodies and gore for fans of the genre, though admittedly, the film is a slow-burn until the final act.
While this soft reboot is the best Halloween film in 40 years, it is by no means flawless. For one, the scares themselves don’t always work, mostly due to David Gordon Green’s inexperience as a horror director. Some sequences are confusingly edited and some plot threads come across as pointless. For the other, the jokes, clearly influenced by Danny McBride, aren’t particularly funny and feel forced. Other issues include uninteresting side characters with boring side plots that draw too much attention from the tale of Laurie Strode and the closure she’s been waiting for, for four decades.
Rated R for horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity
Published in Dawn, ICON, October 28th, 2018
Download the new Dawn mobile app here:
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.