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I kept putting off watching 2018's "Halloween" because every single Halloween movie with Michael Myers in it has disappointed and not once lived up the original. Though he is one of the most persistently popular characters in horror history, Michael Myers is also one so grossly misunderstood and misused that it has rendered every attempt at a sequel flawed or downright awful with Myers himself a pale imitation of the version we saw in the original.
As time passed it became a downright chore to watch a new installment or attempt to remake or reboot the series. When it was announced that there would be yet another attempt to correct the past mistakes and make a direct sequel to the first, I was not particularly excited. Not even when John Carpenter (writer/director/composer of the original) gave it his seal of approval did I warm up to the idea. As much as I love the man's work he'd also been partially responsible for the tragically flawed original follow up "Halloween II" (1981). In short, his approval meant nothing and I was burnt on the whole franchise. That being said, as a card-carrying horror fan it was inevitable that I'd have to see it and so I did just that, Years late perhaps but I did my duty.
The results? Well, after the chills subsided, I had to slap myself out of my delighted daze and admit that I was as shocked as anyone that at long last a "Halloween" sequel would at long last live up the standard set in the first film. THIS is the "Halloween" follow-up that I always craved.
Picking up four decades after the events of the first movie, we find ourselves facing Michael Myers as emotionally blank, disturbingly patient, and mysterious as he was when we first saw met him. He is set to be moved from one institution to another, a choice that deeply rattles the very woman he victimized that fateful night long ago, Laurie Strode (a returning Jamie Lee Curtis). Strode's trauma has rendered her a paranoid survivor but also as single-minded as MIchael in her goal to obliterate him. It has also alienated her from her daughter and her family and made her something of conundrum to many in the public eye, where views on Michael even show signs of softening. But Halloween night approaches and nothing can stop two old enemies from meeting yet again.
Such is our setup and what a riveting one it is. Michael, long stripped of his mystique and menace by a series of garbage sequels, is adamantly set in stone as an object of fear from the goosebump-inducing intro and the air of ominousness around him only increases as the movie moves along. This flick truly GETS Michael. This is no simple superficial emotionless killer. This Michael is the blank totem of unstoppable, inevitable fate with a motive so mysterious to all but him that there is no choice but to truly call him a boogeyman. Previous attempts at sequelizing the series cheapened the character, reducing him to just a series of kills, character quirks, and, worse, trying to explain the driving force behind him. This movie makes none of those mistakes. This movie brings that MIchael from the original roaring back into the lives of the denizens of Haddonfield.
The most important of those denizens is, of course, Laurie Strode who here has become something of the antithesis of Michael. Nay, a negative reflection of him. She too is single-minded, she too is deranged in her own special way, and she too is capable of inflicting tremendous damage. The theme of unavoidable fate permeates the original movie, here fate drives Michael and Laurie to their ultimate confrontation.
More than that, however, we have a theme of cause and effect binding this particular film together. Michael's actions caused Laurie to become the "anti-Michael". In turn, her drive to defeat him drives her daughter to estrangement and to purposefully be the "anti-Laurie" in every way possible (which naturally puts her in some dangerous cross-hairs). Interestingly, Dr. Sartain, who has been treating Michael in the interim, becomes something of the anti-thesis of his mentor Dr. Loomis. Where Loomis feared Michael and held him as a representation of true evil in the original movie, Dr. Sartain is drawn into the mystery of Michael's motive to the point of near adulation. (One of the most chilling scenes is an imitated voice cameo of Donald Pleasance as Loomis talking about the need to destroy Michael that does wonders for the flick). It's this cocktail of character work in conjunction with the theme that constantly kept me hooked in and teeming with anticipation for that final act.
In the end, this is Laurie's movie. It is her security and survival we root for. It is her opportunity to finally shake off the psychological trauma she's been burdened with for years that we want most. By God, we want her to kick Michael Myers' ass! This is yet another reason this movie stands head and shoulders above the slew of inferior attempts at sequels. It does not stoop into turning Myers into the killer we cheer for. it keeps him cold, blank, and ruthless...a true villain to fear and despise. The kills aren't something we crave to see but rather sit and watch agog or in shock. He is truly the villain and Laurie, in turn, is truly the heroine.
That is not to say that the movie doesn't acknowledge what came after the original. There are plenty of odes to the slew of sequels that were attempted previously (most notably "Halloween II"). Even the underappreciated (and non-Myers' related) "Halloween III: Season of the WItch" gets a nice tip of the hat. You'll see shots, sets, and setups that hearken to other movies and, in all honesty, do it better. Despite this, the movie never derails and becomes a lesser form of entertainment. It does not want to be those movies, it merely says to fans of them "we see you", a truly wise choice. When Michael begins his rampage those looking for their fill of blood will be sated, sure, but here it doesn't come off as exploitative and only serves to cement the truly fearsome shadow that Michael casts.
John Carpenter, his son Cody, and Daniel Davies compose one of the most stunningly beautiful scores in horror. Yes, the iconic theme returns but, more importantly, the new material is an absolute gold mine. Gorgeous work in that department. Additionally, horror set pieces are tense, effects are top of the line, cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is superb across the board, call backs are welcome and never overwrought, and, yes, Michael's mask doesn't look like shit like it did in the majority of the previous sequel attempts. In short, I found it impossible to find fault with the movie.
"Halloween" shares the exact name of the movie is is a direct follow up to. No numbers, no added words to designate it as a sequel. This choice kind of baffled me a bit when I first heard that but, having seen it, I feel it is so appropriate. "Halloween" IS "Halloween" in spirit and in form. "Halloween" is on par with the original material. "Halloween" is a truly amazing sequel that walks in lock step with its predecessor. A rare achievement indeed.
I never saw the day where I'd be happy at a sequel to Carpenter's classic, much less a day where I'd fall in love with one. There is no true sequel to the first other than this one, in my eyes. If the original classic gets a 10/10 then this one does too. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
