Michael Foster-Sanders
senior producer
The slasher genre has had its share of killers, but not like Michael Myers.
He is a void of a man whose sole purpose is to kill. The franchise started as a one-off idea from John Carpenter and the late Debra Hill but then became a convoluted, greedy mess because of its success, which brought an unnecessary amount of sequels. Myers was reduced from an apex predator into a dummy for rappers to do kung fu moves on.
“Halloween Kills” undoes the malarky and brings Michael Myers back like a prime Mike Tyson out for blood.
People may be confused about the “Halloween” series’ timeline, but there are only three movies that are officially canon now. “Halloween 1978,” “Halloween 2018” and “Halloween Kills.” Other movies that have been omitted from the timeline are honored in the movie with Easter eggs that fans will geek out over once discovered.
Critics say the first trailers gave away too much of the movie, but that was just a ruse because it was only a snippet of the carnage Myers inflicts on Haddonfield — the fictional neighborhood the film is based in.
The movie starts at the end of 1978’s “Halloween” as the sheriffs are looking for Michael after he survived six gunshots to the chest by Dr.Loomis. “Halloween Kills” answers how he landed back in a mental institution on “Halloween 2018.”
The movie brings viewers back to the present — the night of Halloween after the Strode family trapped him in the burning family compound. The town of Haddonfield isn’t aware of the new killing spree that Myers did, so Halloween festivities are still going as normal. The survivors of Myers’ first string of murders from 40 years ago are in a pub commemorating the fallen with their hero Laurie Strode when phone alerts start pinging, and a newscast alerts them that a new reign of terror has started.
The original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode for her second showdown with Myers. She is a grandmother, and a mother, who wants to protect her family and town but is sidelined in the hospital with injuries as the town seeks mob justice when finding out Michael is still alive.
The reason this movie works is because of the character development that makes you feel for the characters afflicted by Myers’ evil — especially with flashbacks for certain characters. Thus giving people old enough in the town to remember the first murders he committed PTSD, and the new generation an uneasy feeling, contemplating whether or not the boogeyman is really real. But make no mistake, they will know evil is real by the time the movie is over.
There are two standout actors in this movie. Judy Greer plays Karen Strode, and she plays the daughter and mother role to a tee. She lies to her mom, reassuring her that Michael is dead so she could heal, and tries to stop her daughter Allyson from joining the mob to kill Michael. Anthony Michael Hall plays the grown-up Tommy Doyle with such conviction that the viewer feels his past childhood trauma with his encounter with Myers.
Michael is mean in this movie. There is no other way to say it. His brutality is cranked up to the max, making each kill feel like a personal vendetta. The camera angles intensify the rage that Myers has and could make a veteran horror movie viewer say “holy shit.”
No horror movie is complete without a score, and “Halloween” creator John Carpenter and his son update the classic theme two more times to creep out the viewers. The supplemental tracks throughout the movie will keep viewers on the edge of their seats with suspense. No cheap jump scares here, only pure terror.
Viewers can catch the movie as a same-day release in theaters or on NBC’s Peacock.
