Halloween (2018) (SPOILERS)

Happy Halloween, Michael...

John Carpenter's Halloween is my favorite horror film of all time. Over time, however, the franchise has experienced so many sequels, retcons, and reboots that it became a completely convoluted mess, so it was practically inevitable that it got canned for a while, but now, 40 years later, David Gordon Green and Danny McBride have decided to breathe new life into the franchise. At first, I, like many, was incredibly skeptical. However, things took a turn for the better with three pieces of news: it was a direct sequel to the original and discards all the convoluted ideas of most of the sequels, Jamie Lee Curtis was returning to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, and John Carpenter himself voiced his approval as well as provided the score for the film. It was almost to good to be true, so did it live up to the hype? Let's find out:

UPS

1. Jamie Lee Curtis' performance. Past the first film, Jamie never got the spotlight she deserved in this franchise. The closest she's ever come was with H20, only for that to be undermined by that ridiculous retcon in Resurrection. Thankfully, this new film has done the character the most justice out of any of the films, and Curtis delivers one of the best performances of her career. She really captures the essence of a broken but hardened survivor, and it is really easy to root for her as she learns to rise above the trauma and repair the broken pieces of her life. All in all, she was a welcome return to the series, and with the news that she may return for another movie, it's all the better.
2. Michael is in top form once again. Like so many other elements, Michael got thrown through the wringer the more the series continued. He went from being a crazed psycho who could easily embody the essence of pure evil to the pawn of a cult, a punching bag for Busta Rhymes, and even to a grunting hobo. It didn't bode well for him, and while he never scared me that much at first, the sequels did nothing to make that any better. Thankfully, this movie returned Michael to his more grounded roots, and this time, he's actually pretty terrifying. He's more brutal and random in his killings, his mask is probably the best one since the original (probably my personal favorite in fact,) and the fact that he just won't stop is really put into focus here. Overall, it's nice to see my favorite horror icon done justice again, and even better to see that play out on the big screen for the first time.
3. John Carpenter's score. Holy shit, this music KICKS ASS!!! Composed by Carpenter, his son, Cody, and Daniel Davies, it is a truly epic composition that perfectly sets the mood as well as the original score did. Take a listen here...
4. The nods to the sequels. Though things got really out of hand the more they kept being made, there were still a few decent ones and some that were outright good! I felt it was nice to see a few call backs here and there to acknowledge that they did exist. Special shoutout goes to the Silver Shamrock kids. 
5. A true return to form for the franchise. The crew making this movie were really keen on making sure this movie was as true to the original as it could possibly be, and they did not disappoint. Laurie and Michael were back and better than ever, the atmosphere was there, the music fired on all cylinders, basically everything (well almost everything) that was great about the original was re-captured here, and I can't thank them enough and would hope that if another film is made, they are the ones producing it. 

DOWNS

1. The infamous Dr. Sartain twist. Now personally, it didn't bother me as much as it did many other people (though I'd rather not see anyone else wear Michael's mask except Michael,) but I do feel that it still had no business being there and was underdeveloped in the end. Again, it's an interesting concept to see someone so desperate to understand a person like Michael that they would go to whatever lengths they felt necessary to achieve that, but it is unfortunately one that we could do without in the long run.
2. Though we did get a nice nod in a voiceover, it still hurts to not have Dr. Loomis with us anymore since Donald Pleasance has passed. May he rest in peace. 
3. The ending was a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was immensely satisfying to watch the three Strode women kick Michael's ass, but I think more clarity was needed in regards to their victory. Specifically, we should have seen a clear picture of Michael being engulfed by the flames so that Laurie at least thought he was "dead" as opposed to leaving without a definitive answer. The audience could know that Michael was alive, but at least give Laurie some true closure if this be Jamie's last movie. 

OVERALL

Halloween was the best movie since the original, and the best sequel it could've asked for. I know there were a few gripes I had with it, but overall I was satisfied with the final product and couldn't have asked for anything better. 

And that is it for this post, guys. Tune in for more on the way and of course...