Review: Halloween Kills

 Introduction 

Halloween Kills is the eagerly-awaited followup to Blumhouse's new timeline in the Halloween series. People called it a "reboot," which it wasn't, and I absolutely hate when that term is misused. Halloween 2018 was a sequel to the original 1978 film. It was not a reboot, except that it ignored the ensuing 7 films and 2 Rob Zombie remakes (and those were reboots). 

I wasn't sold on H2018 when it came out. I didn't like that they ignored Halloween II, that they ditched Laurie being Michael's sister, and that, in my eyes, they turned Michael into just another Jason Voorhees--a mindless killer who murders for no reason. I found it less compelling and less scary. I also personally preferred the PTSD take on Laurie presented in H20 back in 98. I thought Danielle Harris got short-shrifted by not being cast as a different version of Jamie Strode and being replaced by Judy Greer's Karen. That being said, I did like Greer's character and "Gotcha!" is one of the greatest horror movie moments ever. 

I also couldn't argue, however, that H2018 absolutely revitalized this franchise and showed these young horror movie makers who overdo it on EXTREEEEMMMM horror just how it was done in the old days. I looked forward to this one. I eagerly devoured every scrap of info I could get when it was delayed due to the pandemic and kudos to the cast and crew for keeping the secrets locked down tight. 

So, in the end, despite my problems with it I did very much enjoy H2018, and I really dug seeing a different take on a PTSD-riddled Laurie Strode. 

Now we're into 2021 and Halloween Kills has finally been released. What did I think of it? 

It was brilliant. Critics who said it didn't bring anything new to the table, frankly, are idiots who know nothing about Halloween, and should never be allowed to review a film again. It's NOT "more of the same," and I think the different is what is turning some folks off. As the middle chapter of a story, this is huge. I mean Empire Strikes Back Huge. The most horrifying portion of the film isn't even Michael Myers, but I won't spoil it. 

One of the big problems is a problem with fandom in general these days: nobody has any patience to let a story play out. It's probably because nobody bothers to read books anymore. This is the long middle part of the novel, the part that leaves everyone in the lurch as it leads to the climax. The funny thing is, everyone calling it "uneven," and "more of the same," are the ones who celebrated the 2018 Halloween as a "return to form," which is another term for "more of the same." What they really mean to say is, "It's not more of the same, when I wanted more of the same." 

Suck it up, princess. This is the new Halloween for 2021, and it's freaking horrific. 

The Good

The writing in this film is brilliant overall. Most of the characters act exactly the way people really would when put in a situation like that. Fans like to complain that people act unreasonably stupid in horror movies. The truth? People love to think they're better than others and that they would do the reasonable thing, when in fact, terrified people do stupid things, and here's the truth: you'd probably act the same stupid way. You just don't want to admit it, and accusing horror movie screenwriters of being bad writers is your way of making yourself feel better about how embarrassed you are that you'd probably drop the gun and run, too. 

In any case, as you'd expect, one or two horror movie stupid mistakes creep in, but you have to expect that. 

This film takes Michael Myers to a new level of brutality and rage unlike anything we've ever seen in this franchise. It's shocking, and it's brutal, and it restores him to being more than just another Jason Voorhees (though he takes on a few Jason qualities at the same time), which fixes a flaw of the 2018 film that I addressed earlier. It draws deep parallels all the way back to the 78 original. There's a surprise cameo that is crazily well done which to my surprise wasn't done with CGI, but using a combination of an uncanny lookalike and a talented voice actor. It even references Halloween II and Halloween III, though II is a "blink and miss it" moment. 

It's tightly written, fast-paced, and is a chilling examination of what happens when an entire community is gripped by terror. Michael does his thing in this movie in a big way, but he's not the star of the show. 

Haddonfield is the star of the show.

There's plenty of jump scares, plenty of gut-wrenching moments, and a lot of great character beats. It may not be the best of the Halloween franchise, but man, did it take the series in a new direction and it's worth praising for that. I cannot wait to see how it all ends next year. 

The Bad

Is this a perfect film? No, certainly not. No film is (well, except maybe The Princess Bride and Clue). There's too much exposition to take people who haven't seen the other films by the hand, when in truth nobody who isn't a fan of the franchise is seeing this as their first Halloween film. 

There's too much gore. That might seem odd to say for a slasher film, but the Halloween movies have generally kept the actual GORE to a minimum before now. There's a purpose to it, which I got as the movie went along (it's not much of a spoiler to say that it's all tied to Michael being driven to be more and more brutal the longer he goes on--they imply that he's going through an apotheosis and state that the more he kills, the more he "transcends."). I just thought it went a step too far into gratuitous territory. 

The Ugly

There's not much to discuss in terms of the look of the film when you're talking about a horror film. The gore effects are shocking and so realistic they will make your gut churn. The film does a good job of unmasking Michael without letting you see his face, though you get an impression of what he probably looks like. 

The cinematography is good. It's not mind-blowing, but then, this is your basic slasher flick, so you can't expect Dances with Wolves. The look of the movie overall is great: it's atmospheric, it's moody, it shifts between harsh, bright white lights and moody shadows to create different modes of horror (which a lot of stupid critics dismissed as "uneven," but was actually quite deliberate and effective if you actually know what you're talking about, or even have half a brain in your head). The direction is solid, again, save for a bit too much hand-holding exposition and a bit too much unnecessary gore (one scene that serves as the climactic moment of the hospital subplot comes to mind immediately). 

The sound is good, and as it should be, actually makes some of the kills even more disturbing. 

Overall, it's a Blumhouse film. These guys generally know horror, and they know how to execute. Not every movie of theirs has knocked it out of the park, but when they do get a hit, it's usually a grand slam. Halloween Kills is a grand slam. 

Summary 

Overall, this is a brilliant follow-up to the 2018 film, well-executed, and much like Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 made me look at his remake in a different light, this one sheds a lot of new light on the 2018 Halloween. Good stuff. 

I give it 4.5 out of 5 tubs of popcorn.