October 19, 2018

A semi-welcome return. Not the greatest horror film to hit theater screens this year but certainly not the worst. It unfortunately lacks the finality that the original had but still proves to be an effective entry in a franchise known for its inconsistency in quality.

I can’t call myself a fan of the franchise but I am a fan of the original film and this sequel transfers the formula made famous by said film pretty well to a Generation Z audien… read the rest.

A semi-welcome return. Not the greatest horror film to hit theater screens this year but certainly not the worst. It unfortunately lacks the finality that the original had but still proves to be an effective entry in a franchise known for its inconsistency in quality.

I can’t call myself a fan of the franchise but I am a fan of the original film and this sequel transfers the formula made famous by said film pretty well to a Generation Z audience. There are plenty of callbacks to the first entry (one of the victims even being a babysitter) and they all work incredibly well.

There unfortunately isn’t that much tension. Most, if not all of the scares are executed brilliantly but the fights between Michael Myers and his victims are pretty disappointing. The gore is awesome; can’t really complain much about that.

Subplots are handled poorly; despite already being in motion, they end pretty quickly which is a letdown. Writing is fine..good, not great. Humor is handled well though. Serviceable to fans new and old. It’s evident that Blumhouse knows how to make horror movies and that’s the big takeaway here.

The new score is brilliant. One of the best I’ve heard all year, in fact.

Enjoyable. Would recommend overall.

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October 31, 2018

The unfortunately named _Halloween_ has been released, and in doing so has created an entirely new **fifth** timeline in the _Halloween_ franchise. It's a decent timeline this one, makes a lot of sense. Not perfect, pretty expected run of events, but yeah, good.

Gonna throw myself under the bus once more by yet again mentioning my love for the Rob Zombie _Halloween_ films, but here goes anyway: Seems interesting that a decent chunk of the same… read the rest.

The unfortunately named _Halloween_ has been released, and in doing so has created an entirely new **fifth** timeline in the _Halloween_ franchise. It's a decent timeline this one, makes a lot of sense. Not perfect, pretty expected run of events, but yeah, good.

Gonna throw myself under the bus once more by yet again mentioning my love for the Rob Zombie _Halloween_ films, but here goes anyway: Seems interesting that a decent chunk of the same people who hate those Rob Zombie movies (99% of all horror fans), love this movie, despite some scenes in the 2018 _Halloween_ seemingly being ripped straight from Mr. Zombie himself.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

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November 10, 2018

So we're all totally just going to ignore Laurie had a teenage son twenty years ago?

November 23, 2018

"A worthy successor"

40 years after the events in ‘Halloween’ (1978) Laurie Strode faces off once again with Michael Myers.

Strode has been preparing for 4 decades for an eventual showdown with Myers. Of course Michael escapes and it’s only a matter of time before the 2 meet. Strode’s doomsday prepper storyline is a bit far-fetched but that doesn’t make it less entertaining. Jamie Lee Curtis makes a triumphant return as Laurie Strode. It al… read the rest.

"A worthy successor"

40 years after the events in ‘Halloween’ (1978) Laurie Strode faces off once again with Michael Myers.

Strode has been preparing for 4 decades for an eventual showdown with Myers. Of course Michael escapes and it’s only a matter of time before the 2 meet. Strode’s doomsday prepper storyline is a bit far-fetched but that doesn’t make it less entertaining. Jamie Lee Curtis makes a triumphant return as Laurie Strode. It also marks the return of Nick Castle as Michael Myers. And Myers lives up to his reputation. His killings are more brutal than ever.

Director David Gordon Green executes it almost perfectly. A lot of killings happen offscreen but you get to see the horror afterwards. And there’s of course the delicious tracking shot where Myers returns to Haddonfield. The camera follows him through a suburban home where he slaughters someone. The camera follows him back onto the street and into the next house to kill again. Michael’s introduction in the psych ward is also pretty memorable when all the psychos start to go… psycho. After that sequence we get the opening credits with the iconic theme. Brilliant.

Credit has to go to writer Danny McBride. He respects the original, as is obvious in the countless references (Laurie standing in front of the window, Michael missing an eye) but isn’t afraid to give it a spin. Who’s hunting who? There’s also the humor he brings to the story. And it works (the babysitting scene).

Of course it’s not all great. At times ‘Halloween’ falls victim to several genre tropes (girl falling when chased, questionable decisions). And although Strode’s been preparing for 40 years she doesn’t do a top notch job.
The biggest letdown was the character of Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer). He’s a poor man’s Dr. Loomis whose role is too expanded.

All in all David Gordon Green and Danny McBride finally make up for 40 years of mediocrity and less (Halloween: Resurrection says boo). Although the 2018 version will not achieve the same cult status as the original it’s a solid entry in a disappointing franchise.

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August 28, 2019

"Halloween" basically ignores all but the first movie. Think of the way that various Godzilla reboots worked. It's an interesting approach and does wipe out the atrocious "Halloween: Resurrection" from continuity, at the very least.

I really wanted to like this movie a lot more, being a big fan of John Carpenter's original, but I can only say it's okay or fair. It starts out pretty strong, with an unsettling opening scene and elements like the… read the rest.

"Halloween" basically ignores all but the first movie. Think of the way that various Godzilla reboots worked. It's an interesting approach and does wipe out the atrocious "Halloween: Resurrection" from continuity, at the very least.

I really wanted to like this movie a lot more, being a big fan of John Carpenter's original, but I can only say it's okay or fair. It starts out pretty strong, with an unsettling opening scene and elements like the title sequence being a direct homage to the original film ("Halloween III" playing on a TV is great call back to the first "Halloween" playing on a TV in "Halloween III") but some questionable choices get made and it seems to lose its way as the movie progresses. The characterizations of several characters are inconsistent, switching back and forth between badass and panicky. The lead teenage character who we think the torch is going to be passed to just doesn't cut it. And the end is quicker than I would have expected, feeling a little unsatisfying and reminiscent of "H20".

See it if you're a fan of the series. Other may be left feeling a little letdown.

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October 26, 2020

The best sequel/reboot of the Halloween series. John Carpenter returns as executive producer and sound director leaving the directing to David Gordon Green of "Pineapple Express" and "Joe."

The movie does a great job of connecting to and playing homage to the original (there are many easter eggs to find) while injecting an original story around the distraught Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Unfortunately, an unbelievable plot twist late… read the rest.

The best sequel/reboot of the Halloween series. John Carpenter returns as executive producer and sound director leaving the directing to David Gordon Green of "Pineapple Express" and "Joe."

The movie does a great job of connecting to and playing homage to the original (there are many easter eggs to find) while injecting an original story around the distraught Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Unfortunately, an unbelievable plot twist late distracts from the stronger main plot line. If you can forgive that one sin, you'll enjoy the Halloween reboot tremendously.

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June 20, 2022

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/guess-whos-back-backnbspagain-halloween-2018nbspreview<a>

It’s hard to justify the return of Michael Myers, the looming boogeyman who made his first appearance in 1978’s _Halloween_. In 2018, after ten _Halloween_ movies in that forty-year span (some outright sequels, others attempted reboots), Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back for _Halloween_. One would t… read the rest.

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/guess-whos-back-backnbspagain-halloween-2018nbspreview<a>

It’s hard to justify the return of Michael Myers, the looming boogeyman who made his first appearance in 1978’s _Halloween_. In 2018, after ten _Halloween_ movies in that forty-year span (some outright sequels, others attempted reboots), Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back for _Halloween_. One would think those forty years would have given the town of Haddonfield a sense of clarity or compassion toward Laurie’s enduring trauma, but that’s not the case.

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July 26, 2022

Uh... No.
What was this?
So damn boring I fell asleep.

January 13, 2023

We have yet another movie where it is getting high praise for reasons of politics...and possibly because Jamie Lee Curtis is back...but mainly for politics.

But it was really nice seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back, and nice in the "it doesn't really feel like a Halloween movie without her in it" kind of way.

Unfortunately that isn't enough to save the film, nor is the added over-the-top blood and gore that didn't really need a place in the first… read the rest.

We have yet another movie where it is getting high praise for reasons of politics...and possibly because Jamie Lee Curtis is back...but mainly for politics.

But it was really nice seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back, and nice in the "it doesn't really feel like a Halloween movie without her in it" kind of way.

Unfortunately that isn't enough to save the film, nor is the added over-the-top blood and gore that didn't really need a place in the first two movies.

But...the blood and gore seemed to replace real scares (though there were a couple) as if to say, yeah, they understand that they aren't making this horror movie frightening, so they might as well make it bloodier and hope that it's a decent trade off for actual scares.

The main issue, however, is that it is spread thin. It's like it was written in committee where everyone that there little plot be added to the film despite how difficult that would make actual story telling.

The results are so many tiny little subplots that you end up not even caring about the main plot as they try to cram them all into the same hole. You end up just not caring at all about any of it.

And then the characters shoved into the movie to accommodate the extra plot lines are just as thin and under-developed that it's really hard to care about what happens to them as well.

In the end there is so much going on that it never really focuses enough on anything to keep the audience emotionally invested and really you end up only caring about Jamie because she won you over in the first two good films and that kind of holds you just enough to actually finish a film.

If she weren't cast in it, even her character would be hard to relate to in any way.

It makes you want to take the director by the collar and yell "focus!" with the hopes that it would drop all the unnecessary story lines and just deal with what matters.

But, you know, there are the political signaling, and for a lot of people that matters more than story telling.

For everyone else, there is about 15 minutes, maybe, of actual focused plot and the rest is all tangential.

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October 31, 2023

2018's <em>'Halloween'</em> is... good!

It is hard to keep up with all the continuity (or the lack thereof) of this franchise at this point, though this apparently a direct sequel to the 1978 original as it practically nullifies every other sequel that preceded it. Not a big fan of that, I never am (I much prefer the <em>'Fast & Furious'</em> method of utilising every entry of the series, no matter how well receieved), but I guess in this mess… read the rest.

2018's <em>'Halloween'</em> is... good!

It is hard to keep up with all the continuity (or the lack thereof) of this franchise at this point, though this apparently a direct sequel to the 1978 original as it practically nullifies every other sequel that preceded it. Not a big fan of that, I never am (I much prefer the <em>'Fast & Furious'</em> method of utilising every entry of the series, no matter how well receieved), but I guess in this messy franchise it made sense to do so.

Michael Myers still doesn't set the world alight for me as an antagonist, he is perfectly serviceable and does the job but personally I like my villains to have more about them. As in Myers doesn't have any great lines, any varying expressions, a dull look and a repetitive MO... he just doesn't do anything for me.

In terms of onscreen performances away from that guy, Jamie Lee Curtis is a cut above any of her co-stars here. I wouldn't say she is at her best in comparison with her prior showings in the series, though I'd still put this one near the top in that particular regard. Elsewhere, Haluk Bilginer is decent.

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