Halloween 2018 is a textbook 2010s "requel", as I call them (i.e. a belated sequel/reboot that selectively ignores previous material), in a franchise that has already experienced a couple. Confusion about bloated horror movie timelines aside, this entry is competently made but like many of its brethren, it lacks heart or any lasting impact. That said, while I am a self-admitted Carpenter elitist, 2018 is one of the better non-Carpenter sequels. (Ooh, but he produced it so it counts. No.)
The film has a very strong opening as we catch a back view of an elderly Michael Myers, still totally mute after several decades, in an uncomfortably geometric mental hospital. A couple of obnoxious "true crime" podcasters goad the emotionless serial killer with his old mask. Meanwhile, we meet a hardened, Ripley-fied Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode estranged from her family because of her insane preparedness for the inevitable return of Michael. This film notably ignores every other sequel, including the original Halloween II which infamously revealed that Laurie is Michael's sister, a plot thread that has plagued the lore of the series for better or worse. So for the first time since the original, Michael is just an evil serial killer with no connection to any of his victims. He doesn't need baggage to be intimidating, and I'm glad the makers of this instalment understood this.
Unlike other slashers, this film goes to serious effort to make the teenagers of Haddonfield likeable, fleshed-out characters. While the same old stereotypes are present, the added depth in writing is appreciated. I enjoyed the meta aspect of the teens initially finding Michael to be small fry since his murderous feats in the original were less gratuitous than those of modern slashers, only to be proven very wrong when the Boogeyman comes a-knockin'.
2018 falters in its lack of ambition. As with other requels that desperately try to "get back to the roots" and homage the classics that inspire them, it's mostly the same old schtick followed rigidly. It's as plain vanilla as Michael's mask, but hey... sometimes you need a sweet palate cleanser.
Say something, Michael
Halloween 2018 is a textbook 2010s "requel", as I call them (i.e. a belated sequel/reboot that selectively ignores previous material), in a franchise that has already experienced a couple. Confusion about bloated horror movie timelines aside, this entry is competently made but like many of its brethren, it lacks heart or any lasting impact. That said, while I am a self-admitted Carpenter elitist, 2018 is one of the better non-Carpenter sequels. (Ooh, but he produced it so it counts. No.)
The film has a very strong opening as we catch a back view of an elderly Michael Myers, still totally mute after several decades, in an uncomfortably geometric mental hospital. A couple of obnoxious "true crime" podcasters goad the emotionless serial killer with his old mask. Meanwhile, we meet a hardened, Ripley-fied Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode estranged from her family because of her insane preparedness for the inevitable return of Michael. This film notably ignores every other sequel, including the original Halloween II which infamously revealed that Laurie is Michael's sister, a plot thread that has plagued the lore of the series for better or worse. So for the first time since the original, Michael is just an evil serial killer with no connection to any of his victims. He doesn't need baggage to be intimidating, and I'm glad the makers of this instalment understood this.
Unlike other slashers, this film goes to serious effort to make the teenagers of Haddonfield likeable, fleshed-out characters. While the same old stereotypes are present, the added depth in writing is appreciated. I enjoyed the meta aspect of the teens initially finding Michael to be small fry since his murderous feats in the original were less gratuitous than those of modern slashers, only to be proven very wrong when the Boogeyman comes a-knockin'.
2018 falters in its lack of ambition. As with other requels that desperately try to "get back to the roots" and homage the classics that inspire them, it's mostly the same old schtick followed rigidly. It's as plain vanilla as Michael's mask, but hey... sometimes you need a sweet palate cleanser.