Halloween Kills – Film Review

The nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle) escapes from Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Illinois, to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women  – Laurie, Karen (Judy Greer), and Allyson (Andi Matichak), as well as other survivors, form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.

I am one of those people that, like others, groan whenever I hear that Hollywood is trying to remake or reboot a popular film or a series. It just kind of makes you go “What’s the point?” and I think most of us can agree that you simply should not mess with the classics. Can you imagine a 2022 reboot of Back to the Future or Jaws? Wouldn’t that just be so strange and unnecessary? (P.S. please don’t try to make either one of these, directors).

But when it was announced that John Carpenter‘s Halloween would get a sequel in 2018, retconning all the films that took place after the events of the 1978 original, I actually became ecstatic. Halloween has always been a major part of my life, and if that film had never come out, I legitimately don’t think I would be the film fan I am today. When I first watched that film, I was probably about nine years old (I know, very young) and I was absolutely transfixed the entire time.

There was something so oddly comforting and terrifying about it at the same exact time, and ever since my first watch as a nine-year-old, I’ve probably seen the movie over twenty times now. The sequels… the less said about them the better, for the most part. I really enjoy Halloween II, but a lot of the others simply didn’t do it for me, and a large portion of the storylines felt forced and shoe-horned in.

But David Gordon Green‘s 2018 sequel to the 1978 classic slasher impressed me in so many ways. It not only found clever and emotional ways to bring back fan-favorite characters such as the most iconic final girl ever, Laurie Strode, but it also managed to propel the story forward and pass off the torch to the new generation of Strodes as well as the new audience. I absolutely love Andi Matichak as Allyson. She is, in my opinion, a criminally underrated actress and in that first film, she stole every single scene she was in.

And of course, that 2018 film came complete with plenty of kills to go around but it ended on a note that teased a sequel, and fast-forward three years later, we finally have one in the form of Halloween Kills. Because of how huge a fan I was of the one that came before this, I had extremely high expectations for this follow-up. Oftentimes, having such high expectations can often lead to fans hating the final product because it wasn’t what they expected (I’m looking at you The Last Jedi haters).

However, I am extremely happy to report that I adored every second of Halloween Kills, an incredibly clever, blood-soaked, eerie, and riveting slasher that finally dares to go places that the franchise has never gone before. It explores grief in such powerful ways while also serving as one of the bloodiest and most brutal movies I’ve seen in years. It’s not only one of the best movies of the year, but it just may be the best Halloween movie yet. Simply put, it’s Michael Myers’ finest hour.

If you’ve seen the 1978 classic (and let’s be real, chances are you have), you know that Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode has gone through some genuinely terrifying stuff over the course of her life. She survived a pulse-pounding encounter with serial killer Michael Myers as a teenager, barely managing to make it out alive. But even as an adult, she has never gotten over the incident from the 70s.

As shown in Green’s 2018 film, Laurie suffers from PTSD and continuously believes that Michael is going to get her and her days of freedom are numbered, which is why she spent years building traps and training with weapons in order to prepare for the day when evil escapes. At the end of that film, Laurie, Karen, and Allyson are able to trap Michael in a basement that locks underground, before setting the entire place on fire.

But, because it’s a horror franchise, we all knew Michael wasn’t actually going to die. So, in Halloween Kills, we pick up right where the previous installment left off with Michael escaping the house and wreaking havoc on all of Haddonfield, Illinois, once again. And this time, he is well and truly mad. Gone are the days of him killing people by simply stabbing them once. This time around, he shows no mercy whatsoever, resulting in some of the most devilishly fun and bloody kills I’ve seen in a slasher, period.

Luckily though, Halloween Kills is so much more than just a bloodbath with nothing else to say or do. One of my favorite things about this film is how it talks about grief and how it focuses on the survivors of Michael Myers from years past. Perhaps the best addition to the cast this time around is Anthony Michael Hall as Tommy Doyle, who you may remember from the 1978 film as a child that Laurie babysat.

Even though he was so little when he first saw Michael, it never left his mind and as an adult, he still has the mental scars from having to experience something so genuinely terrifying at such a young age. The film never once shies away from getting serious when it comes to topics of mental health and the grief that goes on in the community of Haddonfield.

We are shown multiple times throughout this movie that, even the people that weren’t directly affected by Michael’s actions, are nevertheless traumatized because he essentially struck fear into the hearts of all Haddonfield residents forever. He hasn’t shown up in town for a long, long time, but the innocent civilians are, much like Laurie, waiting for the day when Michael comes back home. For the day when evil comes back home.

Aside from the absolutely terrific story and its handling of grief and loss, the film also boasts some truly incredible performances. Jamie Lee Curtis takes more of a backseat this time around and serves as more of a side character this time around, but I actually didn’t mind that too much because of her circumstances and plus, her scenes in the hospital were the epitome of emotional. Anthony Michael Hall is a revelation as Tommy Doyle, delivering a nuanced and layered performance that I truly didn’t know he was capable of delivering.

But probably my favorite performance here is Andi Matichak as Allyson. She is in many ways, the heart of this story, and she often has some of the best and most memorable scenes here. There is one extremely gut-wrenching sequence in the final ten minutes involving her character that truly blew me away. It takes a majorly talented actress to pull that scene off, and yet against all odds, Matichak rose to the occasion.

Of course, the cinematography here by Michael Simmonds is truly a thing of beauty and quite possibly the best-looking film of the year so far. He previously shot the 2018 film and he improved the camera work quite a bit here. There are so many gorgeous wide-shots as well as subtle shots that harken back to the original 1978 film. In fact, Halloween Kills is sprinkled with many moments that call back to the franchise’s roots, and yet it never comes across as tiresome or nostalgia-bait. It’s done in an extremely smart and poignant way.

And what kind of Halloween movie would it be without an eerie and atmospheric score? John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies all teamed up to compose the score for this film, and it’s absolutely haunting in all the best ways. There were so many moments in this film that legitimately gave me goosebumps because of how well-executed they were, and the score was just the cherry on top.

This is exactly the type of movie that I can see so many people hating on simply because it’s the middle chapter of a trilogy and as a result, we don’t know the full picture yet. We have yet to learn the entirety of the Halloween reboot trilogy, and that’s okay. It’s kind of like when The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980. When it was released, of course, we didn’t have Return of the Jedi out yet so we couldn’t experience the big picture yet.

But we can rest assured that, yes, it’s coming – next year as a matter of fact. However, what I love so much about this film is that it still works tremendously well as a film even though it doesn’t give us a sense of closure by the time the credits roll. It’s still a hugely entertaining film and one that is so rich in its themes.

Halloween Kills is a devilishly bloody and riveting film that takes the franchise to extravagant new heights with huge emotional payoffs throughout.