TIME TO SEND MICHAEL MYERS INTO SPACE

It’s 40 years later and Michael Myers has once again proved that the only 100 percent guaranteed way to prevent unwanted teenage pregnancies is by introducing them to the pointy end of his massive kitchen knife.

After much thoughtful deliberation, genius Hollywood executives have decided to call this quasi-sequel/reboot “Halloween”, making it the third film in this series with that title.

Directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Danny McBride, Halloween 2018 is the latest in this classic horror movie franchise.

Retconning all previous films in the series and continuing on as the true spiritual sequel to the original 1978 “Halloween”, this movie takes place in modern-day Illinois and follows the granddaughter of a now much older Laurie Strode.

Suffering from severe paranoia and a list of mental health issues, this hardened Laurie Strode follows in the footsteps of Sarah Connor (of “Terminator 2” fame) and is out to kill Michael and protect her family after learning of his escape.

Initially this proves to be an interesting idea, and to an extent, it definitely pays off in the ways you might hope. But ultimately this movie’s downfall is its slavish adherence to the well-explored world of slasher movie tropes.

This is not to say that this is a bad movie, because it’s not. But it’s also not a good movie. In fact, it’s most certainly disappointing if you’re a dedicated fan of the Halloween franchise.

There clearly is a lot of love put into this new iteration, such as the multiple homages to the original and callbacks to the other films in the series, which make for fun fan-service. But in the end, this movie provides nothing horror fans haven’t seen before.

If you’re looking for a fun date night movie, or just something spooky to go see on Halloween itself, this movie is just fine, however.

There are some genuine moments of tension and, with a comedian writer at work, there are some legitimately funny scenes laced throughout this film.

Some of the kills are fairly entertaining, and Jaimie Lee Curtis, reprising her iconic role, puts on a fantastic performance and a pretty entertaining third act fight.

These moments come at a cost, though.

While this movie might not be “Halloween Resurrection” levels of bad, there are still plenty of unintentionally funny, awkward, or just plain illogical moments.

It’s no spoiler to say that Michael has to fight for his own life this time around, but in the process he becomes superhuman, and quite comically so at times. If Busta Rhymes couldn’t kill Myers with his crazy kung fu skills, then apparently there’s just no hope for anyone.

This movie also has a tendency of setting up pointless characters who are often reduced to simple plot devices and clichés, or just meat to be carved up on screen.

While Allyson, the granddaughter of Laurie, is given the role of protagonist, the screenwriters really seemed to struggle to remember this fact. They bounce around between her and Laurie, as Myers menacingly stalks after them at the speed of a snail.

Logical inconsistencies also plague the movie.

Apparently two decades later, horror movie teens are still inconceivably stupid and unobservant, playing into the classic tropes and adding nothing new. About the only surprising thing that happens in this movie is a third act plot-twist, lived out for a mere two minutes of screen time before it’s resolved, making the scene utterly superfluous.

While this new installment may be plagued with issues, just like the rest of the movies in the series, Halloween 2018 still ranks as the second-best film in the franchise, alongside the 1978 original.

The movie still provides enough fun moments and a genuinely interesting new take on the story of Michael and Laurie that I believe it to be good enough to warrant seeing it in theaters, if you’re itching for to see something horror-related.

If this franchise – or horror films in general – aren’t really your thing, then I’d say wait until this movie is on Netflix to see it. Halloween 2018 gets a 3/5.

Advocate Staff