Halloween (2018)

Over the past eight years of blogging I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that Halloween (1978) is one of my favorite movies at least three dozen times. So as you can guess, I went to go see the newest edition to the franchise on opening day Friday. And I thought that I'd share my thoughts on it with all of you.

For those of you that don't know, this version of Halloween is supposed to be the sequel to the original 1978 film and that everything that happened throughout the rest the franchise is not supposed to exist. Including the mythos that Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are siblings, which is established in Halloween II (1981) and is apparently something John Carpenter regrets doing.

"Well, okay. Here's how it was. I made Halloween, and then Halloween was sold to NBC to show it. But it was too short---they needed it to be a certain length. So I had to go back and shoot some more footage to make it longer. And I was absolutely stuck. I didn't know what to do. I mean, the movie is the movie---I don't want to touch it. But everybody will be happy with me, and they'll make money, and that's great. So I had to come up with something. I think it was, perhaps, a late night fueled by alcoholic beverages was that idea. A terrible, stupid idea! But that's what we did." - John Carpenter

Personally, I am a fan of the mythos of Michael and Laurie being siblings. But I understand that if they continued with the mythos of them being family members, Halloween (2018) would just be a repeat of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). And without that family connection it leaves open a number of possibilities for the future of the franchise.

This new film focuses on Laurie and the obvious Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) she is suffering from forty years after the events of that Halloween night in 1978. And how it has affected her life, as well as the lives of those around her. And on how Michael has just been in Smith's Grove Sanitarium obviously biding his time until he goes back to Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.

I get it. I get what they are trying to do but it doesn't mean I like it. I have spent the majority of my life invested in Michael and Laurie being siblings and the idea that Michael for some reason is out to destroy his own bloodline.

Yes, the idea of totally random killings is terrifying. And the idea of that random person potentially (I say potentially because I am not sure Michael was out for Laurie throughout this film, or if he happened to stubble upon her due to circumstances) being fixated on killing you for forty years is extra terrifying. I understand what they were trying to do with this film but it wasn't satisfying to me.

In addition to not digging the approach of the film, I didn't really find this one to be scary. To be fair, I'm very hard to scare (Which anyone who has ever been to a haunted attraction with me can attest to). But when my sister who is a pussy tells you it wasn't scary, it wasn't scary. And she is afraid of Michael Myers.

I don't know... I'll have to watch it again when it comes out on Blu-Ray and see how I feel about it the second time around. But as of right now I can't sing the praises of this film and trust me, I wanted to love this movie.

Did any of you go see it? If you did, what are your thoughts on the film? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Are you indifferent? Do you think I'm crazy? Let me know!

Here's the trailer for those of you that might have missed it...

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #HalloweenMovie

Genre: Horror
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner & Nick Castle
Director: David Gordon Green
Writers: Jeff Fradley & Danny McBride & David Gordon Green
Based On Characters Created By: John Carpenter & Debra Hill
Produced By: Malek Akkad, Jason Blum & Bill Block
Executive Producers: John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, David Gordon Green, Danny McBride & Ryan Freimann
Release Date: October 19th 2018
Rated: R