Second films have never been kind to the Halloween franchise. You see, after John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece, no-one, including Carpenter himself was really interested in making a sequel – no-one that is apart from producer Irwin Yablans.
The original story, in which Myers tracks down Jamie Lee Curtis in her new high-rise apartment building was switched out for the 1981 film set on the same evening at Haddonfield Hospital. Halloween II was fine, if a little rushed into production and it shows in the finished film.
Fast forward to 2009, and Rob Zombie releases his version of Halloween II following a reasonably successful 2007 remake. Zombie’s sequel is an absolute mess from start to finish, with the series going back into hiding for almost a decade following backlash from fans – his third film, Halloween 3D never saw the light of day.
In 2018, Halloween was released to widespread critical acclaim from reviewers and fans of the series – who praised it for being beautifully filmed and genuinely thrilling. I think most of us were nervous about the prospect of this film becoming the first part of a trilogy (see above for why) – nevertheless following release date push backs, Halloween Kills is here and Michael is back for more.
The nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode’s trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.
Halloween Kills suffers from being the middle chapter of a trilogy, and as such, doesn’t really advance the plot in any significant way. What we do get however, is another gorgeously shot slasher film with committed performances and some surprisingly poignant moments.
As with any slasher sequel, the death count is upped considerably, and Halloween Kills is no exception to that rule. Michael literally rips his way through Haddonfield, with characters left, right and centre being mercilessly dispatched in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable.
The opening of the film, a nicely directed flashback to Halloween night 1978 retcons a couple of story threads and provides a little more backstory for some of our characters. This section of the film is so well done that it’s difficult to understand how certain characters were included – I’ll leave that to you to discover who.
Once again, director David Gordon Green and cinematographer Michael Simmonds masterfully use light and shadow to create some stunning shots that help play on the audience’s fear – is he there or is it just a trick of the light? The Shape has never been as menacing as he is in Halloween Kills with actor James Jude Courtney being by far one of the best people to don the iconic mask.
Judy Greer, Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak all return as the Strode women with Greer in particular getting a much more fleshed-out role than she did in the film’s predecessor, and that can only be a good thing. It’s great to see some of the franchise’s original characters return too, with Nancy Stephens’ Marion Chambers reprising her role as Dr. Loomis’ assistant.
“Halloween Kills is a stylish film that uses a great blend of CGI and practical effects to make Michael’s kills more brutal than ever”
The acting from all concerned is one of the film’s highlights and elevates both of these Halloween movies above not only their predecessors but also many other films in the slasher genre.
The script however, is less successful. Not only does it have to contend with being the middle part of a trilogy, but the character decisions are daft to the point of being inexcusable. The 2018 Halloween was good because the characters were smarter than your average horror movie knife fodder. Here, it seems all that good work has been thrown out of the window as nearly every single character in the film makes questionable decision after questionable decision. Go into a house alone? Sure that sounds like a plan when a killer is on the loose!
Thankfully though, Halloween Kills doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there are nice moments of humour peppered throughout the runtime which break up the deaths well. Should a horror movie be funny? Probably not, but as audiences become desensitised to characters like Michael Myers, their innate fear begins to subside, and writers have to use a variety of different tactics to keep people engaged.
Is Halloween Kills scary? Not really. The scares are forced onto the audience by the use of loud music, but this is more to do with the fact that it is very difficult to create a genuinely scary film nowadays, rather than through a fault of the film itself.
Overall, Halloween Kills is an engaging middle chapter that is incredibly well filmed for a slasher flick. The cast are on point and The Shape remains one of the most iconic villains in movie cinema. It’s not perfect, and the script lets it down, but on the basis of this latest instalment, the Halloween series is very much alive and well. Good news for us, not so good for the people of Haddonfield Illinois…
Bring on Halloween Ends.
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