Halloween (2018) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Forty years after the original "Halloween," Michael returns to Haddonfield to kill babysitters once more.

Review: After re-watching the entire series in preparation for this installment, I'll admit, my hopes were high. AND...surprisingly, this movie mostly delivers the goods--the first legitimately, satisfying entry in 30 damn years! To quickly put things into perspective, I'd rank it alongside part 2 for different reasons, but it's nowhere near as good as the original or part 4. Essentially, there is a lot to love and appreciate here, yet, there was a lot I didn't like--things that I believe hardcore fans will also be annoyed with. Now, without further ado, let's dig into...uhh...what do we even call this movie? So we have the original, the remake, and the reboot(?) all with the same title? This isn't working for me. Fuck it...we are calling this part 11.

So what makes part 11 actually fun is seeing Michael return to classic form. And I don't mean that lightly. Mikey is straight up back to killing babysitters without abandon. None of this chasing after Laurie shit...or family members...or idiots living in his house...or babies...or working for cults...or playing on a TV at the Silver Shamrock factory. Goddamn this franchise sure lost focus over the decades! Anyway, going back to basics appears to work wonders since part 11 has successfully removed Michael's familial motive; he's simply a crazed killer again. As such, this is the best depiction of Michael since part 2. He looks perfect and moves about flawlessly. The attention to detail is quite remarkable in capturing what made the original's portrayal so iconic. And that scene when Michael gets his original mask back...wow...that was amazing. Needless to say, if you just want to see Mikey come back and slice and dice then you will not be disappointed one bit.

The other major aspect that is a success is the tone and pacing of the film. I thought the running time felt short since events move quickly. The presentation of Halloween as a holiday is a bit lacking, but it worked in a practical sense with no one paying much mind to Michael. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the many nods to the original and toying with expectations. For example, Laurie and Michael switch roles a few times as with Laurie thinking Michael was in the closet or Laurie falling over the balcony. But it's not just in the plot details since we have little things like the Silver Shamrock masks; part 11 definitely won't be lacking replay value due to these additions. Lastly, though I do prefer the original's soundtrack, I did like these new pieces and how they enhance many of the scenes.

On to the faults. I can accept ignoring part 2 and every other sequel, however, what I can't ignore is the complete lack of resolution to the events of 1978. Uhh, you can't just say Michael was taken into custody and not explain how. Loomis shot Michael SIX TIMES, Michael ran off into the night...AND THEN...what...? It's as if the filmmakers struggled with deciding whether or not Michael is just a man or something more. Furthermore, a huge, glaring flaw created by ignoring all sequels is that Michael no longer has that allure to him. Oh, sure, the audience knows Mikey's exploits, but, in this new universe, Michael only killed a couple people total. Would he really be the subject of such fascination when you could boil him down to merely a mental patient who escaped on Halloween and killed a couple people before getting arrested? Why would anyone care about his story or still try to create a story about him 40 years later? At least with part 2 in the mix, Michael has a richer backstory and body count to warrant that kind of infamy.

More importantly, the film feels contrived. So many chance elements are occurring that force the audience to continually suspend their disbelief. Yeah, it could be implied Michael's doctor set many of the events into motion, but Michael magically went after Laurie's granddaughter and her friends on his own. And, as for that doctor, he's a lame addition to surprise the audience, yet, who couldn't tell he would be a bad guy? Plus, the doctor forcing Michael and Laurie to cross paths again kind of creates an entirely different outlook on the franchise as a whole. I mean, this really would give Michael a new motive: he just wants to perpetually recreate his first kill of a babysitter on Halloween night. That's it. He really is just crazy. and Loomis was the one who exaggerated his evil. Laurie is simply seeing what she wants, because she has failed to cope with the night after forty years. This outlook cheapens the franchise in my opinion since I think fans always defer to Loomis' description of Michael as "simply and purely evil," waiting patiently for 15 years to escape in '78.

I guess too much of part 11 feels like a more brutal version of "H20." And rather than Laurie and Michael clashing naturally, we come to find out Michael is sort of single-minded, Laurie is the one obsessed, and their paths only cross due to outside forces making it happen. The way the events unfold is satisfying, including Michael's defeat, but you have to ignore the way fate goes out the window and that Michael's "pure evil" is in doubt. I think the problem with every sequel is that the filmmakers constantly write it with an ending that leaves Michael potentially dead or alive based on the box office numbers. This is why part 4 works better still since it's the only entry to imply Michael won in a way. I would have liked this installment to have went further with this idea that Laurie is a monster too--maybe making her the one to break Michael out in the first place. Oh well. Just sucks that they didn't create the ultimate fan service and cast Danielle Harris as Laurie's daughter. Then we could almost tie everything together with part 3's anthology concept except we are seeing alternate realities of Michael Myers and crew. Man, oh man, that would have been awesome.

Overall, part 11 is pretty good, but I can see it being divisive--erasing so much of the existing lore while still trying to depict Michael in his iconic state despite stripping him of everything. The look, tone, score, cinematography, and general presentation of Michael is excellent. The other characters can be hit or miss with too many comedic-types chiming in. Likewise, some characters are introduced only to be written out which is some sloppy editing. The pacing is solid and keeps the audience fully engaged, however, you may find yourself further removed the more you realize everything we've come to know about Michael and the franchise is altered now. Nevertheless, I'd still recommend going out and watching this entry this Halloween...maybe marathon all the movies!

Notable Moment: When Michael puts back on the mask after all those years. This was done incredibly well and felt powerful.

Final Rating: 6.5/10