Halloween Kills

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Dylan Arnold, Jim Cummings, Robert Longstreet, Anthony Michael Hall, Charles Cyphers, Scott MacArthur, Michael McDonald, Michael Smallwood, Carmela McNeal
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her family thought they finally killed Michael Myers, but he survived and begins a new killing spree, spurring the residents of Haddonfield to take up arms to end his evil.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed 2018's Halloween (although the title was annoying). It wrecked havoc on the sequels in the franchise, but it did feel like it made the story more straightforward. David Gordon Green's film also delivered the most entertaining entry in the franchise in over 35 years. So, while there were legitimate complaints you could make, overall, you had to feel pretty good about the franchise's direction. There was a sense of general excitement about where Halloween Kills would go, as it picks up immediately after the events of the last film. 3 years is way too long between these movies, but the world has been dealing with some stuff.

So, going into this sequel (and impressively, the 12th film in the franchise), I was quite excited to see what Green would do. Unfortunately, this movie is a step back. I think it was directed with care and the visuals are impressive, but the story is where things fall apart. The previous film felt like it was story-centric. It was about Laurie and her family, coping with the aftermath of the Michael Myers rampage, even decades after the event. This one jettisons most of the story elements. For most of the movie, it's just a series of random kills. We're introduced to new characters, given a scene or two as background, and then watch as Michael murders them. It gives the film a chance to showcase a series of grisly and gruesome kills, but the story element is missing. The big story emphasis that eventually emerges is that the townspeople of Haddonfield take up arms against Michael. I actually loved this aspect of the story, although Green does fumble the execution a bit.

This idea of the mob and mob mentality felt unique within the context of the Halloween franchise. I really liked the idea of the senseless mob, out for justice, logic be damned. The movie does a decent job of spinning this up, how a mob reacts, without much forethought. Green doesn't quite hit these scenes out of the park, but they are at least decent. By the time this plotline picks up steam, I was so desperate for any kind of meaningful story that I clung to it. It's odd how Laurie, Karen, and Allyson's story feels like it takes an obvious backseat here. Laurie is injured and does almost nothing the entire film. It's always a bummer when your biggest star is sidelined, but I suppose I get it, in light of the events of the previous film, Karen and Allyson have scenes and they do things, but it's fairly minor and not very compelling. Will Patton is likewise out, mostly spending the film in bed with his eyes closed. The mob itself, led by Tommy Doyle, becomes the main focus from a character perspective. It's an interesting decision, but not one that fully pans out. By the time Karen and Allyson get more involved in the story, it's almost too late. Still, I faulted the movie some for this, but I found it's focus on the scared residents of Haddonfield an interesting and courageous decision.

I mostly felt disappointed that Jamie Lee Curtis didn't have much to do here. She gets to be scared and show some emotions, but she's really a supporting character here. Same with Will Patton, bedridden most of the film. Judy Greer is solid, a worthwhile replacement for Curtis, but her scenes are limited, too. Andi Matichak didn't get nearly enough to do, and her character made a series of stupid decisions. I liked seeing Thomas Mann as the young Hawkins, he was well-cast there. Anthony Michael Hall was a delight as Tommy Doyle, really stepping into a main role here. It mostly worked. Scott MacArthur and Michael McDonald gave good supporting performances, although their story was predictable. Michael Smallwood and Carmela McNeal felt a bit forced in their roles, but otherwise were decent. I'm not a fan of Dylan Arnold- I thought his acting was mostly bad. I wasn't very interested in his character, either. The cast here is surprisingly large, but that means no character really gets enough screen time.

I mostly felt disappointed that Halloween Kills didn't offer a better story. It's not all bad, though, and I'm probably more forgiving of this movie than most critics. I did like that the same characters from the previous film were carried over. This feels like a much better approach to horror than introducing a bunch of characters you don't care about because 90% of them are going to be dead by the end of the film. I liked the connections here back to the original film, including showing actual footage from that movie. It ties this film closely to the original and it makes it feel like a logical part of the same story. The deaths were too unnecessarily gruesome, but I understand. Michael Myers himself was excellent, brought to frightening life by James Jude Courtney. He coveys so much through body language. I thought his performance was excellent and it's a big reason why I didn't completely dislike this movie.

I'd call this a decent movie in the end, but I recognize I'm being a bit forgiving. The story is absolutely terrible. But, Courtney's Myers is chilling, there's plenty of expected bloodshed, the music is excellent, and the mob plot was intriguing. There's also still some goodwill left over from the previous film. So, a decent film. However, it does introduce some risk- was the 2018 just an aberration? Or, is this film the misstep before this new trilogy ends on a high note? We'll have to wait and see.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Halloween (1978), Halloween (2018)