Halloween
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak
Director: David Gordon Green
Genre: Horror
Rating: 18
RUNTIME: 105 Mins
After decades of increasingly ludicrous sequels, the new Halloween is the movie fans of the series have waited 40 years for.
It’s a genuinely well-made and thrilling direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 original that honours its classic forebear while developing an identity of its own, thanks in part to an unexpected but much needed dose of humour.
This time around, the final girl is now the last line of defence. The trauma of Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) experience surviving masked serial killer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) in the first Halloween has fully consumed her these past four decades, making her obsessively security-conscious and beyond paranoid. It’s profoundly affected her relationships with both her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak).
Of course, it turns out Laurie was right to prepare for the worst all these years. Yes, Michael Myers has escaped – on the night before Halloween, no less – and is headed home to Haddonfield and to three generations of Strode women.
This leads to an almost High Noon-style build-up as anyone who could help the Strodes ward off this vicious threat to the community is hacked, smashed or choked into oblivion, leaving the Strode women to stand alone against Myers in a hugely satisfying and incredibly tense showdown.
Jamie Lee Curtis is fantastic in her return to the role that launched her film career, never softening this older Laurie’s edges or undermining her bloodthirsty convictions. Laurie is willing to be hated by her loved ones if that’s what it will take to keep them alive.
In many ways, Laurie has learned how to become a predator herself, and she’s not going to just sit back and wait for the hunter to come to her.
This makes Laurie a flawed character (always the most interesting kind) as well as an empowered one, someone willing to do what needs to be done even if it requires sacrifice.
Curtis combines intensity with vulnerability here as a broken soul who won’t ever be whole again until her monster is finally dead.
Greer and Matichak are both solid in their respective roles as the latter generations of Strode women who have responded to Laurie’s obsession in different ways. One is a middle-aged woman trying to find the light and goodness in the world for herself and her daughter, while the other is just a child trying to forge a relationship with her troubled grandmother, without the spectre of the past intruding on it.
This Halloween is a story about women confronting the abusive man in their lives and of how trauma can be passed down across generations. It’s part empowerment tale and part fairy-tale, with Michael Myers as the big bad wolf and Laurie’s fortified home as the literal grandmother’s house in the woods.
There are some characters here who want to understand what makes Michael Myers tick, what he’s feeling, who want him to just say something. But, as the movie makes clear and Laurie already knows, Michael Myers is simply a relentless force of evil. He’s not there to reveal what’s going on inside his mind any more than the shark in Jaws or the Xenomorph in Alien did.
In an era where genre movies, especially long-established franchises, feel the need to demythologise or over-explain iconic characters, it’s refreshing that Halloween simply has the boogeyman be the boogeyman in all his nightmarish, skull-smashing excess, and just as terrifying as ever.
This Halloween relies on its supporting cast and ancillary characters to provide comic relief and an escape from the general seriousness of the Strodes’ plight. The tautly paced, yet also darkly funny script does a great job of giving incidental characters distinct personalities and witty, memorable moments.
While many of them are clearly fated for grisly demises, that doesn’t mean they can’t still get some big laughs or sweet moments in before they’re slaughtered. This approach not only gives the actors cast in what would’ve otherwise been thankless, stock roles in lesser horror films something to actually play, it also makes the viewer care about their characters despite their limited amount of screen time.
While no entry in the franchise has surpassed the original film, this Halloween sequel is truly a cut above the rest and a great piece of horror entertainment even for those unfamiliar with the series.
Filmmaker David Gordon Green has infused his Halloween with a dark wit and a gleeful self-awareness, and Jamie Lee Curtis brings a fierce conviction to her iconic scream queen role. The tension is thick, the kills are brutal, the jokes are funny, and the performances are memorable across the board.
Now Showing in: Cineco, Seef II, Saar, Wadi Al Sail, Avenues
Kristian’s verdict: 5/5
