Halloween (2018 Review)
Halloween Features the Michael Myers We’ve Been Waiting For.
I’ve never been a huge Michael Myers fan when it comes to the holy trinity of horror, but damn if I didn’t love the new Halloween movie that just came out. For one thing, it’s one of those horror films that manages to do everything right. In other words, there is a tremendous lack of stupidity when it comes to pretty much every character in the film, especially the one that made Jamie Lee Curtis the official scream queen of, well, ever. Halloween manages to be one of the most unexpectedly great movies of 2018 and as a horror fan, I’m incredibly thankful for that.
I’m hoping that all of you know the lore that comes with Michael Myers and the Halloween franchise. If not, let’s just say he’s one of the most popular supernatural slashers of all time that lead to a ton of spin-offs since the original two tore through theaters in the late 70’s. While this film might be about 40 years in the making, I have to give some huge props to director David Gordon Green for paying sincere tribute to the mythology that came from the films that we all grew up watching during Halloween on cable access long after we were told to go to bed. Because of his keen take on the characters (and his nitpicking when it comes to what would remain cannon from the previous movies), I have to say that I’m now a pretty big Michael Myers fan.
Of course, Jamie Lee Curtis is back, but she’s also joined by a few other alumni from the original films including Nick Castle and Will Patton (as well Malek Akkad who worked on several of the Halloween films after following in his father’s footsteps). What I really want to take a moment to focus on is the fact that this new version of Laurie Strode is very much a full-blown feminist icon in the new Halloween film. While she might have been the prey in the original films, but this time around she is far from helpless. Of course, not many people in her life buy into the fact that the man who terrorized her all those years ago is very much the Boogy Man (or as the credits like to call him, “The Shape”). Instead, they want her to move on from her past trauma, and it’s that one aspect that got me thinking about just how relevant this movie is today.
I’m just a guy, but I think I’m starting to understand just how nightmarish men can be. Especially after the recent Brett Kavanaugh circus that hit this country. So many women are told to “get over it” or to “move on.” The thing is that when you know monsters are out there and can come for you at any moment, why the @#$* should you “move on?” Laurie Strode sure as hell didn’t and because of that, this is one of the best slasher movies I’ve seen in years. She’s a force to be reckoned with in Halloween and she puts her tormentor through the ringer when he thinks he can just waltz back in and pick up where he left off. It’s because of this that I think this incarnation of Laurie Strode is one of the strongest and best written female characters I’ve seen on the big screen this year.
Halloween stays true to its slasher roots, but never feels like it’s trying to outdo the recent Rob Zombie remakes when it comes to the shock value or the gore. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of truly shocking moments in the film and more than a few cringe-worthy gory moments in Halloween. They just feel very “natural” when it comes to the character of Michael Myers. He’s an unstoppable force and that fits his persona and methodology in this film to a “T.” While tough guys might say they could take any of this big screen slashers after a few drinks, I doubt anyone would want to throw down with this terrifying force of nature. While the Zombie movies might have used dirt and gore to get their point across, this version of the killer lets his actions speak for him.
Halloween has the hero and it has the villain to make for a compelling game of cat and mouse, but what won me over was its sense of humor. That’s the key to horror right there because all these terrifying moments need to have cool down periods between them in order to the audience to let their guard down. David Gordon Green is a director who might not have a lot of horror experience when it comes to filmmaking, but he grasps the intricacies of storytelling and that’s exactly what modern horror movies so desperately need. Because of everything I’ve mentioned, I view Halloween as a resounding success and one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in theaters all year. Fan of horror or not, this film is well worth the price of admission and certainly worth experiencing on the big screen. Honestly, it’s damn good to see this masked maniac back on the big screen.
