Image courtesy of themoviedb.org
Hello, everyone. I know it has been a long time since I put up my Tremors review, and there were a couple other movies that I had planned to come back with, but ultimately, given the timing of this review, this one I felt should come out first.
However, with one of those actually being a horror movie, I might put that one up next. There are four things this has in common with that: They’re both horror sequels, they’re sequels to horror movies I’ve already covered, they were affected by delays (the other more so than this one), and those involved were determined to keep them on the schedule for a theatrical release.*
This being the newest of the two, I’ll start here.
Despite this movie being one of many affected by delays, this was among a few that actually had the least amount of them, as it was really only delayed once. It was originally set for an October 2020 release, but was bumped back to October 2021, which in turn caused the conclusion of this planned trilogy to be bumped back to October 2022.
Now, after what was going to be two years since the previous installment, but ultimately became three years due to the pandemic**, we venture back to the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, for this review.
We also witness the return of slasher icon Michael Myers, as I present my review of Halloween Kills.
I will preface this one with a disclaimer, because there are a couple things I need to address. The first is that there may be some of what could be considered very minor spoilers for this movie, but they’re more like huge spoilers for the last movie. Therefore, I highly suggest the following: Watch the original 1978 film and definitely watch the 2018 sequel (in both regards, you’ll know why in a moment), read and keep my reviews in mind, watch this one, and then come back. Then you should be good.
The second thing is that this has become somewhat controversial due to a few aspects, one in particular I will try to tread lightly on, even if others might not be so courteous and spoil it anyway.
With that out of the way, on with the review.
Immediately following the events of the 2018 film, Laurie Strode, her daughter Karen, and her granddaughter Allyson, believe they’ve finished Michael Myers once and for all by setting the basement on fire. They rush Laurie to the hospital to recover from her injuries. Little do they know that not only has Michael escaped again, but also that Laurie has motivated the rest of the town, including fellow survivors of Michael’s original killing spree, to rally together in the hopes that they’ll bring him down for good this time.
What Worked: As always, I will start with the cast. The three leads in particular (Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie, Judy Greer as Karen, and Andi Matichak as Allyson, respectively) are still really good here.
Also returning from the previous film is Will Patton as Deputy Frank Hawkins, who is revealed to have also survived. One of my problems with the 2018 film was not being able to see at least a little bit more of him. Thankfully, that is rectified here.
One thing I actually loved here was how they reveal a little more about him. There, it was revealed that he was the deputy that recaptured Michael at the end of the original. Here, they expand upon that. There is also a flashback sequence to those events involving him and Loomis that ended up leaving him with his own trauma. As a result, he has his own reason to want to end Michael as well.
We also have more returning cast members from the original as well, along with new cast members playing characters last seen in the original.
We have Charles Cyphers returning as Leigh Brackett, the original Sheriff. Even though he’s not in it much, it is nice that they brought him back. The same can be said for Nancy Stephens as Nurse Marion Chambers, who was Loomis’s assistant in the original. Even so, they’re still good for the time they’re in it.
There is one other returning cast member from the original to mention, and that is Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace, who was one of the children Laurie babysat in the original. I was surprised with how much she was in it, because she ended up having a lot more to do than those two.
Now for my favorite of the new additions. Despite not playing the character in the original, the standout for me was Anthony Michael Hall as Tommy Doyle, who was the other child Laurie babysat that fateful night. I actually really liked him in this. Plus, he looked like he was having a lot of fun playing Tommy.
Similarly, James Jude Courtney looks like he was having fun playing Michael again, especially when he gets to go ballistic with the kills this time. I’ll get to the kills momentarily.
Not only did they bring him back, of course, but they did also bring back Nick Castle for a few scenes.
For this review, I’ll have to do something a little different with the format. I’m adding an extra segment.
I’ll be delving into some of the divisive elements here, starting with one involving Tommy.
What Might Not Work For Everyone: For some, Anthony Michael Hall’s portrayal of Tommy may seem a bit exaggerated and over the top compared to how survivors of traumatic events would really act. However, for others, like myself, it makes sense that he would want to confront the source of his trauma.
Going back to the kills, this movie is nothing short of a bloodbath. It’s not quite the craziest horror movie of the year in terms of kills, because that would go to another horror movie that came out not too long ago, which I also want to review pretty soon.
The kills are another point of contention. Some think it’s excessive with how brutal they are, but it’s another thing that makes sense. Michael can never truly be contained, because he is the embodiment of evil. He doesn’t care what type of person you are; if you get in his way, it’s your funeral.
That is particularly true for one moment with a couple of characters. Without giving too much away, there’s a certain aspect to these two characters that resulted in controversy claiming Michael is against that type of person.
While I can understand the reason for it, it is kind of blown out of proportion as well, because the reason why it’s there is what I just said. There was also another motivation for why Michael kills them, and if you have seen the original and the 2018 movie, you’ll have a pretty good idea what it is.
The two biggest complaints a lot of people may have aside from that are why Laurie is sidelined for the majority of the movie and the mob mentality that comes into play here (both of which were mentioned in the marketing, so it’s not a spoiler).
The reason why Laurie is on the sidelines is because she was injured in her previous encounter with Michael, and she needs time to recover before she can have another chance at bringing him down.
As for the mob mentality part, it shows how Michael’s killing spree affected everyone else. They chant “Evil Dies Tonight!” to show they’ve had enough of Michael as much as Laurie has. Therefore, it makes sense to have them more at the forefront this time.
In summary, what others may have issues with actually made sense for me.
There are a few more positives, so I’ll go back to them.
The aforementioned flashback sequence is really good. It stands out because of the attention to detail given to it, as it has that 70s feel to it.
I also really liked how they did the opening credits, too.
The score is still fantastic, having had John Carpenter contribute to it once again, and the changes made to it are pretty good.
What Didn’t Work: The humor here is not as strong as it was last time, but it still worked for me when it was utilized.
David Gordon Green’s direction and Danny McBride’s writing are not as strong as last time, either, but they do fine at keeping consistency with the tone set by the 2018 film.
My biggest issue with this was actually the ending. The best way I can sum up my thoughts on it is this: The problem wasn’t so much what they chose to end it with, but more so that they chose to end it with that. Narratively, it makes sense because the stakes need to be raised higher.
However, I feel it would have been more suitable to use that as the opening of the concluding chapter of this trilogy, appropriately titled Halloween Ends. It would have allowed the stakes raised in this movie to be raised even further right there.
Overall: Halloween Kills is not so much a step backwards from what preceded it, especially when what preceded it was so good, as it is a decent middle chapter to a story we don’t fully know just yet. For all its faults, and some understandably divisive aspects, it was still a solid sequel for me.
If you want a fun time with a horror movie in theaters right now, you’re bound to get that. If you want to see an even bigger kill count, you’ll definitely get that.
Regardless of where you stand on this movie, you’ll likely still be eager to see how Halloween Ends.
You’ll get that chance soon enough, you just have some waiting to do. You still have two good movies prior to this to hold you over.
*They also received a streaming release in some way, but that’s a different story. For more information, look at the Schedule Update posts where I’ve been tracking the delays and release strategy adjustments.
**Same with the other sequel I’m alluding to; the previous installments both came out the same year.