Halloween destroyed its continuity faster than Star Trek and DC Comics combined. While that only bothers me the analytical part of my mind, the rational side was super curious to see what could happen in this brave new world. What resulted was a film that couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be an examination of survivor’s guilt or a legit attempt to revitalize the franchise. There has been talk that were plans to shoot a sequel back to back with this one. Plus, one never knows what to make of the negative test audience reactions to the initial preview cut of the film.
Jamie Lee Curtis does the best she can with the role that keeps following her throughout the years. I appreciate any actress getting multiple takes on a key performance, but one wonders why the world won’t let her move past the Laurie Strode. My words from October still stand below.
David Gordon Green is an immense talent. George Washington, All the Real Girls, Manglehorn and Joe are all incredibly character driven movies. What those films didn’t have to do was balance 40 years of cultural weight into 90 minutes. Danny McBride has been on record discussing the plan to shoot two Halloween movies at the same time. While I get the desire to wait to judge audience response, this film’s finale seems to require that commitment.
The fan push to have John Carpenter involved in the film feels almost meaningless. He works on the soundtrack with his son and gets to take some sweet executive creator money off the top. That’s great, but it doesn’t get a Black Moon Rising Blu-ray in my hands any faster. At this point, I can feel everyone whining that I’m not talking about the film. Well, it’s hard to cover a 90 minute movie that hits the ground running fast.
The nature of the 70s slasher movie and its subsequent successful revivals hinges on its understanding of tempo. Timing is the horror movie’s enemy and Halloween (2018) understands that. Nothing shows off bad design, terrible scripting and plot holes like lingering on a moment. This film was no different, as it went through a heavy edit period after negative test audience reviews to the original ending. While I didn’t like what was in the theatrical cut, I worry about what could have been worse.
What does it mean to have Jamie Lee Curtis return yet again to Laurie Strode? This is her 5th time at bat as Laurie. Honestly, I don’t feel like she has much to say. Maybe it’s because I felt Laurie’s story was done in 1981. Hell, I could stand to see what Tommy Jarvis or Nancy Thompson is doing now before Laurie Strode. Even then, the horror nostalgia trips to the well keep annoying me.
Each generation needs its monsters. The constant push to recycle old hat, while ignoring solid new efforts bugs me on a deep level.
Halloween (2018) arrives on Blu/Digital/Home Video on January 15th
Michael Myers says these screenshots will make you Schwing courtesy of AndersonVision.
