HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021)
MY HALLOWEEN FANDOM
The Halloween franchise is one very near and dear to my heart. It was my gateway into modern horror cinema. I think it was when I was twelve years old that I first rented HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS and began my fascination with modern horror. From there I dove deeper and deeper into the genre. John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN from 1978 became one of my top ten favorite films and I became obsessed with the story of Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis, the Dracula and Van Helsing of this saga. For me, the true Halloween canon are films one through six. The series doesn't get any better than these six films. Everything after those films feels like "What if...?" stories to me. It's been a long time since a new Halloween film felt like it was true canon. But this is just my personal opinion.
Over the years the franchise has been rebooted and retooled again and again. The number of Halloween fans out there is ever-growing and evolving. Each fan has their own preferences and, given the multiple continuities, their own timeline they prefer. Maybe that's the strength of the series. While we fans may vehemently disagree on the best films in the franchise, perhaps we can all agree that Michael Myers is the core of the franchise. As long as Michael is treated well, we'll all be happy. Right?
THE BLUMHOUSE TRILOGY
HALLOWEEN KILLS is the sequel to the 2018 reboot simply titled HALLOWEEN. The twelfth film in the Halloween franchise has come, now tied with the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise with twelve films each. And once the sequel to Halloween Kills comes, there'll be a new slasher king in town! And Halloween Kills feels like the gauntlet has been thrown in the face of Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees.
Halloween 2018 was born in the conceit that Michael Myers and Laurie Strode were no longer connected as brother and sister, but rather connected through a random act of violence. In addition to this the filmmakers stated they wanted Michael Myers to be less supernatural and more human. All of the previous films were ignored with the exception of the 1978 original. All of these decisions were met with varied responses from fans. Some fans only enjoy the first film and, for these fans, this all sounded wonderful. Speaking for myself, I felt the filmmakers were shedding too much of the mythos.
Interestingly the filmmakers walk back these statements. And they should. Why bring back Laurie Strode if you're going to remove the whole reason why she's integral to the story? Why reduce Michael Myers to a simple human serial killer when even the original film threw his humanity into question? All of it was head-scratching to say the least.
Like I said, Halloween 2018 didn't exactly do everything it said it was going to do, which I felt was a good thing. It was a mix of homage and fan-service, boarding on too much homage and fan-service. As I stated earlier, Halloween 2018 was just another "What if...?" story for me. Ultimately I thought Michael Myers was done well and that right there was enough for me. Was it perfect? Hell no. Was it a heaping pile of trash like some movies in the series? Hell no. It doesn't come close to touching the original six films, in my opinion. But I do feel it was perhaps the best of the films to have come after the original six.
THE HYPE AND THE DELIVERY
Leading up to Halloween Kills' release, I fell aboard the hype train and became pretty excited. This is a dangerous thing to do with a franchise one holds so near and dear to their hearts. Rarely do such films fulfill your expectations. I know this from experience, in recent memory as well.
So, how did Halloween Kills live up to my expectations?
Well, the verdict is still out. I'm still processing it all. But, if I had to go with my gut reaction I'd have to say this movie is a mess. There's things I liked and others that I felt missed the mark. Overall, I think there's slightly more to like here. Ultimately it all fell on the shoulders of Michael Myers' portrayal. And while I do have gripes with elements of The Shape's portrayal, I feel the filmmakers did right by their charge.
I'm going to call Halloween Kills a success, if only by the skin of it's teeth.
THE SYNOPSIS
Laurie, her daughter Karen, and granddaughter Alison, are being taken to the hospital while Michael burns in the basement of Laurie's compound. Unbeknownst to them, Michael Myers has survived. After escaping the blazing inferno, Michael carves a bloody swath through Haddonfield. Mob mentality takes over the citizens of Haddonfield as they take the law into their own hands. Determined to kill Michael Myers, it's Haddonfield's last stand. Will it be Michael Myers' head on a pike? Or will the masked killer turn the entire town into a graveyard?
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
As I stated above, I am largely still processing this movie. And there is a lot to unpack, nuanced feelings to analyze, and plot points to dissect. Just a forewarning, there won't be a definitive opinion on this movie by the end of this post. Subsequent rewatches will be required as well as discussions. My gut reactions are mixed, neither filled with love or hate (as of now).
Like the previous film, there is a metric ton of fan-service and homage here. For some this will be easily too much. For others it will be applauded. For me it dances on the edge of being too much but not quite to the obnoxious point (although some choices feel cringe-worthy). This is in line with Halloween 2018 though.
THE MISSING PIECE
At the core of Halloween there are three elements: an incredible woman, an obsessive hunter of evil, and Michael Myers (evil on two legs). Since Donald Pleasence's passing the films haven't recaptured this triumvirate. Malcolm McDowell's Dr. Loomis was okay in the 2007 Halloween reboot but was written as a douche bag by 2009 sequel, ruining anything positive about the character. And Jamie Lee Curtis has been doing double duty carrying both roles, both the incredible woman and hunter of evil. And, for me, it doesn't quite work. Halloween 2018 lacked a competent male figure a la Dr. Loomis. And Halloween Kills fares no better. A suitable replacement for Donald Pleasence has still yet to be found (although Paul Rudd was the closest one to achieving this in my opinion).
THE 1978 FLASHBACKS AND MICHAEL'S REASON
But Dr. Loomis does make an appearance here. Halloween Kills revisits 1978, in particular what happens immediately after the ending of the original film. This is a source of confliction for me. A part of me wishes that no one touch or tamper with the original film. Leave it be. But, there were moments that I thought worked. I thought Michael Myers looked picture perfect. And the Myers house was brilliantly recreated. But the Donald Pleasence impersonator didn't work for me. It felt just off enough to feel wrong to me whereas Peter Cushing's lookalike in Rogue One felt just close enough to work. I didn't care for the retconned emphasis on the police, though I loved the idea presented during these scenes: Michael staring out the window overlooking Haddonfield. The question presented being: What was Michael really seeing?
This query was one of the more intriguing aspects of the film, one I found most fascinating. To be perfectly transparent, I never liked the idea of giving Michael Myers a backstory a la Rob Zombie's take. Conversely I love the slow reveal of the Curse of Thorn and the Druidic origins. I also love how it is never fully explained, much remaining shrouded in mystery. I think that is why I felt this "Staring out the window" treatise so interesting. It's never fully explained yet piques the curiosity. On the flip side of this is Laurie's "Loomis soliloquy" at the end about transcendence. I felt that speech was out of character coming from her, not to mention sounding utterly ridiculous (yet something tells me that, were it spoken by Donald Pleasence, it would flourish).
LAURIE STRODE AND THE CITIZENS OF HADDONFIELD
I feel that the 2018 version of Laurie Strode is off somehow. She's far too "Sarah Conner" and today's cliché strong female character. Hollywood doesn't know how to do different kinds of strength anymore other than blunt physical force. What happened to Laurie's intelligence and booksmarts? She still maintains her resourcefulness but is far more bullish in her personality, like she would get in a fist fight with anyone at any time. Anyway, I was glad Laurie was sidelined for this movie and didn't shrug off that lethal wound of hers. The film could've easily gone in the direction it was seemingly heading by making Laurie an "invincible action hero" (hell, the trailers kind of led us to think that it was). Other than the speech at the end, I thought Laurie was handled better in this film than the last. Bringing in Officer Hawkins was a nice touch that I thought worked as well.
I'm torn on all of the guest spots, from Tommy Doyle, Officer Brackett, Lindsey Wallace, and Marion Chambers. Retconning Lonnie Elam as an important character seemed a little superfluous, but not in an off-putting way. I liked Lindsey and was glad she survived. They wasted Marion in a overdone bit of fan-service. And Tommy was fine until he went batshit crazy. I prefer Paul Rudd's Tommy, a man taking on the Loomis mantle better than anyone else in the series. The whole "mob mentality" allegory/social commentary was WAY overdone and too on the nose, to the point of parody rather than poignancy (but subtly does seem lost on must online commentators nowadays). And lastly, I didn't need Officer Brackett at all. Repeating his classic line didn't make much sense to me either, feeling jarringly inappropriate even.
The social commentary on mob mentality in today's world felt a little on the nose and beaten to death. I liked seeing how the town was effected as a whole and I felt a lot of it rings true to today's social media/online forums/comments sections. But ultimately it felt like a step too far. Halloween 4 handled the mob justice more cleanly. But then again, maybe that's exactly what this movie was going for, an over-exaggeration befitting today's social media outrage. Personally I prefer a gentler touch with my social commentary in films and television (or none at all). Again, this veers a little too close parody not poignancy.
THE SCORE
John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies' score once again steals the show in my opinion. It is one of the shining aspects of this film and is a soundtrack worth owning. The track Unkillable is one of my favorites. Listening to the soundtrack by itself, I can hear so many elements of Carpenter's work at play here, motifs that recall the soundtracks to Escape From New York and Prince of Darkness as well as other beloved scores. To me this makes the soundtrack all the richer, feeling Carpenter is pulling from his entire repertoire. The Halloween scores have always been a key element in the success or failure of these films, second only to Michael himself, and I feel this particular score is a big positive here. I need this soundtrack added to my collection!
THE SHAPE
And speaking of unkillable, let's talk about the one thing that matters most in these films: Michael Myers. Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing and she is one of my favorite actresses. It's great having her return to the series. But she has not been a consistent element in this series. This series has survived and will continue to endure after she's leaves (for the third time at that). This series isn't about Laurie Strode. It's about Michael Myers. He's the reason people go to these movies. He's the reason why these movies succeed. Obviously there's a combination of elements on top of this, but at the end of the day, this is Michael Myers' show, not Jamie Lee Curtis's or Laurie Strode's.
As such, I'm the most critical of how Michael Myers is portrayed in these films, to the point where my enjoyment of the films can hinge on Michael's portrayal. I've always been of the opinion that there is a difference between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, subtle sure, but a definitive difference. Jason, to me, is like the shark in JAWS. Jason is a beast with little to no thinking involved. And he's wonderful as such. But Michael Myers, to me, was always more calculating, cunning, and mysterious. Michael is observant and waits for the right moment to strike.
That said, I feel this movie took Michael's character a little too far at times to where his characterization felt more in line with Jason Voorhees. It didn't go so far as to make me feel I wasn't watching Michael Myers anymore, rather Jason instead, but it came real close. Michael was angry in this movie, the filmmakers dancing close to the Rob Zombie level of violence. But perhaps there's no going back after Rob Zombie's depiction. I guess he would be angry after getting beaten in the last film.
The one part where I feel they didn't get his character right was near the end when he was led into a trap. The character of Karen tricked him in the previous film, and I can allow that. But getting tricked again by the same character, being drawn into a trap yet again (and a far more obvious trap at that) felt like a disservice to Michael's character. C'mon, he's smarter than that! It didn't stop him though which makes it feel less egregious. Sadly though, that scene culminates in one of the worst filmed set-pieces (in my opinion) in the film. It's shot rather artistically which I felt diminished the impact. I would've rather seen a straight-forward approach, showing Michael's brutality and the fear and chaos spreading through the crowd. Anyway, I liked Michael Myers' depiction in this film overall and, for me, that's the most important element to get right in these films.
THE ENDING
FULL SPOILER ALERT!
Michael doesn't die in this film. He even gets a few big kills like Tommy Doyle, Sheriff Brackett, Marion Chambers, and Karen. The big reveal at the end is that Michael is seemingly unkillable. One of the announcements for the 2018 film that had me leery was that the writer and director stated that they were removing Michael's supernatural characterization, in effect, making him a normal human. This was a huge source of contention with me, feeling that such a depiction was incongruous with even the original film.
Well, it seems David Gordon Green and Danny McBride lied to us (unless there's a clever explanation in the next film). This is a lie I'm happy to have. I feel making Michael Myers a normal human is wrong and diminishes his character (although it did make me anxious that he may die, which I NEVER want to see). The reason I go to these movies and watch them over and over is for Michael Myers, just like I watch Frankenstein for The Monster, not Dr. Frankenstein (unless he's played by Peter Cushing that is), Godzilla for Godzilla, and a Nightmare on Elm Street for Freddy.
Karen's death at the very end and Michael standing triumphant left me with a positive feeling as I exited the movie theater. There's a shot just before then of Karen looking up into the Myers house, seeing a glimpse of Michael as a child in his clown costume staring out the window. That quick shot was haunting and subtle and wonderful. Soon thereafter an adult Michael kills Karen and is seen staring out of the same window. I thought that worked wonderfully and was a great way to end the film, canceling out Laurie's cringe "Transcendence" soliloquy and the terribly shot crowd massacre from a moment prior.
While this film stumbles at parts, it soars in others. As a Halloween fan since the early 90's (before Halloween 6 even!) I felt this film committed no cardinal sins and gave Michael an outing the scope of which he'd never had before. And ending it with Michael the victor was perfect.
THE VERDICT
I started writing this post three days ago. At that time I was still actively processing the film, unsure of my precise feelings towards it. Truthfully, the film is a mixed bag (like most Halloween films). There are some great moments and some dumb moments (as with many Halloween films). Nowadays whenever a classic or beloved property from the past is resurrected by Hollywood or Netflix there's a strong degree of trepidation, and with good reason. In this era so many classic properties have been rebooted and disastrously mismanaged. And no one is safe, from the highest of the high like Marvel and Star Wars, to niche favorites. To have one where I feel no grave sins were committed against the history of the franchise is now a miracle to me.
Halloween Kills had some missteps but it also had some successes. After letting the film simmer with me for a few days I feel the positives outweigh the negatives (if only just). Reading reactions online this weekend, there are many levying massive grievances upon it. I welcome any civil discourse about the film because I feel this movie generates a lot of discussion. But this is 2021. My hope for civil discourse (online at least) is low. But I'd love to discuss this film further.
I still need to see it again and I will later this week. With me wanting to see this movie a second time in a theater, I feel that's worth noting, especially nowadays where I feel that way about so few anymore. So, I still reserve my right to change my mind upon subsequent viewings. As of right now though, I'm sitting somewhere in this ballpark:
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Before going to see Halloween Kills I watched Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 again. More on those films coming soon. For more of my feelings on the Halloween franchise, check out these other posts. And for more of my horror reviews, check out the posts linked further down!
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