Halloween Day By Day: Halloween (2018)

As a lifelong fan of John Carpenter's Halloween and the franchise it inspired, catching David Gordon Green's direct sequel to the 1978 original was a bit of an overwhelming experience. Possibly even more so for this critic than seeing The Force Awakens.

Suffice to say, that's why my review on our latest podcast was brief, and my thoughts on the Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show even more so.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. Fuck no! I loved the shit out of what Green, co-writer Danny McBride, executive produce John Carpenter, and star Jamie Lee Curtis did with this Halloween. But it kept me up most of the night processing my thoughts.

Shawn, that bastard brother of mine, summed it up best when he said it does nothing new, but does it well. I agree. You want a really good Halloween movie? One that discards the baggage of inferior sequels (1998's H20 aside of course) and Rob Zombie's remake? You got it!

Green, Carpenter and company have given us a true sequel, one that follows up events from the 1978 original 40 years later, and asks what impact that night would have had on its survivor and her family. At one point, a character tells Laurie Strode to "just get over it," something many survivors of trauma hear from those who haven't lived through it themselves.

Easier said than done, dicks!

But this new Halloween isn't just an exploration of trauma. Oh no. This film takes Michael Myers back to his basic, terrifying roots. He's a motivationless, faceless killer again. No more evil brother or Druid cults. He's a killer, and that's what made him so frightening the first time around.

Halloween was never about the gore, so this still isn't as gruesome as a Friday the 13th or other slasher film. But it's still pretty darn brutal, with some solid clomp-and-kill set pieces. I particularly like a sequence involving motion-sensitive lights. And the ending of course.

We get lots of nods to, and riffs on, sequences from the original. I have no complaints about any of them. In fact, they helped bring us back to the basics, in my biased opinion.

And yes, Jamie Lee Curtis fucking owns Laurie Strode. She always has, she always will. A great performance here. Ditto Judy Greer as her long-suffering daughter, and Andi Matichak as the granddaughter and new, would-be victim.

This is a Good in every sense of the word, and brings Halloween back in grand style. Call it Halloween Triumphant!

Miss our audio review? Check it: