By Dave Wilcox
In 1978, John Carpenter made a modern day masterpiece with the original “Halloween”. Although it’s original sequel, Halloween II was serviceable, the following sequels throughout the 80’s and 90’s were, shall we say, less than desirable.
I grew up obsessed with the Halloween saga. I’ve seen them all, including the bad sequels more times than I could count. I was always dumbfounded why the film makers could not muster up better efforts with the follow ups to the original 1978 classic.
It almost seemed as if the film makers just didn’t care about the story and characters like I did.
I always wondered what would happen if people that had a love for the franchise like I did took a crack at making one.
My wonders had their answer with 2018’s reimagined Halloween. Filmmakers David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems had an idea to pretend all the sequels and bad storylines after John Carpenter’s classic would be treated as if they never happened and their version would pick up 40 years after. (And I thank them)
The story would focus on the mental trauma that Halloween night in 1978 had caused the baby sitter supreme, Laurie Strode and her family, played once again by the scream queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Although the movie wasn’t perfect and had a few what the hell moments, it brought back the magic of the original and respected what John Carpenter had created.
At the end of Halloween 2018, It appeared that Laurie, her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) had finally put an end to their mental and physical pain when they trapped Michael Meyers in the basement of Laurie’s Michael proofed house and set it ablaze.
Of course, they were the wrong and part two of the movie trilogy is now upon us.
Halloween Kills was scheduled to be released one year ago in October, but the pandemic forced the filmmakers to delay its opening until now. It’s been a long year of waiting, but I can now say I’ve seen the new film and it was worth the wait. The Strodes are back and they brought some old friends with them this time.
Kills opens at the exact moment 2018 ends with the Strode women in the back of the truck fleeing the scene relieved that they finally rid the world of “The Shape”
The fire fighters on the scene quickly discover Michael is alive and well and ready to continue terrorizing the people of Haddonfield, Illinois.
Once the news gets out in town that Michael is back, the citizens of Haddonfield decide to fight back. Leading the charge against Michael are the grown up kids from the original film.
In a cool casting move, Anthony Michael Hall takes the role of Tommy Doyle from Brian Andrews and at times steals the show. An even cooler move was the original Lindsey Wallace and current housewife of Beverly Hills, Kyle Richards reprising her role from 40 years ago. Other characters making their triumphant return to Haddonfield are Tommy Doyle’s old nemesis and now friend, Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet), Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) and good old Sherriff Bracket himself. (Charles Cyphers)
From here on out, all hell breaks loose in Haddonfield. The gore and violence in this movie were off the charts and quite honestly I was exhausted when the credits rolled. It’s nonstop with the carnage and mayhem. I thought Halloween Kills hit it out of the park.
Directed by David Gordon Green from a script written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems, Halloween Kills stayed true to the heart of the story line and made me feel like this is the progression Michael and Laurie would have taken on their journey together. They pay homage to moments in the original and even some of the sequels that add to the fun ride that is Halloween Kills.
I think any fan of the original will appreciate this effort in spite of some of its flaws.
On a side note, the flashback scenes might be worth the price of admission on their own.
Evil dies tonight (maybe)
