Michael Myers once again returns home after forty years in Halloween. After terrorizing the town of Haddonfield on Halloween Night 1978, Michael Myers was apprehended and has spent the last forty years at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, under the care of Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), the pupil of Myers’ former caregiver Dr. Loomis. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been unable to put her traumatic experience behind her, which has all but estranged her from her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). However, as Michael Myers is being transferred to a new facility, he escapes and descends upon Haddonfield once again!
Forty years after the release of John Carpenter’s original, director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and co-writers Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley move away from the comedic films they are best known and they return to Haddonfield for a new Halloween that picks up four decades after the original left off, retconning all the sequels that have come before. Laurie Strode has become a shut-in and has spent the last four decades preparing for the return of Michael Myers. When these fears come true, Laurie sets it upon herself to protect her family at all costs, with the assistance of deputy sheriff Frank Hawkins (Will Patton).
It has been nine years since Michael Myers last graced the big screen with the second film of the Rob Zombie directed reboots. It seemed like we were at a point where we would never again be terrorized by The Shape. That’s why it’s a bit of a surprise that Blumhouse Productions not only set out to resurrect the Halloween franchise, but make this film a direct sequel to the original. Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role of Laurie Strode for the first time since Halloween: Resurrection in 2002, with her new take of the character being someone who is unable to let go of a past trauma, which has all but taken over her life.
Despite being a direct follow-up to the 1978 original, Halloween can also be viewed somewhat as a soft reboot, as the film plays homage to many moments to the original, such as the pumpkin in the opening credits or the recreation of various iconic shots. In addition, while Halloween ignores the previous sequels, there are still some sly references, such as addressing incorrect rumors that Michael Myers is Laurie Strode’s brother and a group of kids wearing the Silver Shamrock masks from Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
While Halloween does work as a homage to series as a whole, it is not a perfect film. Many of the kills in the film happen randomly and seem somewhat uninspired, though there is one Michael Myers stalking scene in the second act that is full of tongue-in-cheek humor. However, any shortcomings in Halloween are eclipsed by the film’s incredibly suspenseful third act. I also have to praise the fact that John Carpenter has returned to do the score for this film, along with his son Cody Carpenter and Daniel A. Davies.
Altogether, I will sum things up by saying that Halloween is a film that is all about pushing nostalgia for the 1978 original, which is just fine by me.
