Halloween

We’ve waited 40 years for this. That’s how long it has been since that fateful Halloween night when Michael Myers unleashed his reign of terror on the inhabitants of Haddonfield, Illinois. Now he’s back having been incarcerated in a maximum-security mental health facility for all that time. There have been 7 sequels to that first film, a Rob Zombie remake (2007) which was also followed up with its own sequel (2009). Jaime Lee Curtis has appeared in three of the previous installments: Halloween II, Halloween H20, and Halloween: Resurrection. Despite all that, this current incarnation conveniently disregards everything that has happened before. Halloween (2018) purports to be a direct continuation to the 1978 feature ignoring 4 decades of convoluted and sometimes conflicting backstories. The takeaway is, you don’t need to have seen any of the previous installments to appreciate this production. In fact, it’s probably better if you haven’t.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) didn’t endure the events of that fateful night very well. She has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  Sporting long wild unkempt hair, she lives in a remote area on the outskirts of town. Twice divorced and having lost custody of her daughter, Laurie believes the world is an evil place. Her estranged daughter Karen (Judy Greer), now an adult, isn’t convinced of that.  She resents the way she was brought up.  Karen is married to Ray (Toby Huss) and they have their own teen daughter Allyson (Andi Matichak).  Allyson is more sympathetic to her grandmother’s trauma.  Laurie has built a heavily fortified home equipped with booby traps.  She has prepared for what she believes to be Michael’s (Nick Castle) inevitable return.  Of course, her suspicions are correct.  The bus transporting Michael and several other patients from the facility doesn’t look secure enough to hold a class of kindergartners.  It certainly isn’t strong enough to hold violent mental patients.  Naturally it crashes and of course Michael escapes.

Halloween essentially takes the bare bones plot of the 1978 classic and simply reproduces it for an audience that is primed to feel nostalgic for the 1978 picture.  I mean even the title is exactly the same — not even a number to differentiate it from the original.  Over the years, slasher flicks have developed their clichés.  Typically oversexed teenagers are the victims.  In the new film, however, Michael begins his serial killings with the murder of a couple of podcasters (Jefferson Hall & Rhian Rees) who want to study him.  Director David Gordon Green also co-wrote the script with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley.  They liberally sample from the first movie.  When police officer Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) discovers a body sitting in a ghost-sheet costume — it recalls the same one Michael wore just before he killed babysitter Linda (P.J. Soles) in the first Halloween.  Hawkins goes downstairs to find someone pinned to the wall with a knife in the identical way that Linda’s boyfriend Bob (John Michael Graham) was slain in the 1978 Halloween.

Director David Gordon Green relies heavily on the spirit of the original. Even John Carpenter’s iconic score is heard. It’s only slightly modified with the help of collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.  Slasher films aren’t generally known for their complex plots and this one keeps things refreshingly simple.   When the picture deviates from the blueprint of Halloween (1978) is when this version becomes satisfying.  The most innovative addition is that the hunted Laurie isn’t a helpless victim, but rather a tenacious woman ready for her adversary.   In the past, the killer’s point of view was voyeuristic.   The Boogeyman preyed on promiscuous young teens.   However, this is a horror film for the #MeToo era.   The audience never doubts for a second that Laurie isn’t able to take care of herself.   She is like Linda Hamilton in The Terminator or Sigourney Weaver in Aliens.   The narrative develops into a revenge thriller depicting a powerful heroine that is perfectly capable of handling herself, thank you very much.   As such, it’s not particularly scary.   It’s more like a catharsis for fans of the original.   Still, there is a winking sense of tension that recalls the earlier movie.   Fans will call it an homage. Critics might say rip-off.   I kind of fall somewhere in the middle.

10-18-18