Halloween movie review

Movie Title: Halloween (2018)

Grade: B

Rating: R, 109 minutes

In a Nutshell: I’ve never liked scary movies, especially slasher horror flicks. The good news is that you can watch the original Halloween by John Carpenter and then watch this Halloween (2018) one, skipping all of the terrible sequels in between. There are a total of 11 of these gory scream machines in the franchise! Jamie Lee Curtis announced that she was really pleased with how Halloween (2018) turned out. It’s supposed to be the last movie in the franchise, although rumor has it that screenwriters are already talking about another one.

This satisfying sequel finale movie is timed perfectly to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Halloween and the American tradition of Trick-or-Treating on October 31st.

Tips for parents:

A lot of crude language, profanity, and tons of F-bombs.
Alcohol
Guns and knives
Bloody, violent, and gory with blood splatters and body parts (think The Walking Dead head smashes)
Stupid teenagers who have sex, drink alcohol, smoke weed, lie, have potty mouths, and cheat (same as the first Halloween)
Large body count with many scenes of policemen zipping up body bags (19 to be exact.)
Creepy manikins

Uplifting theme:

Persistence
Preparation
Letting go of the past
Family
Female empowerment
Resolution

Things I liked:

The expected jumps and scares that make scary movies fun.
I’ve always liked Jamie Lee Curtis and thought she provided a sense of realism to her role as the traumatized Laurie Strode.
Nick Castle is the third and oldest actor to play the role of Michael Myers. For a 70 year old actor, his size and movements are perfect for this larger-than-life creepy character. I’ve often wondered how comedian/actor Mike Myers (from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery ) feels about having the same name as this legendary murderer.

Things I didn’t like:

There are some dumb things that drive me nuts. For example, in the first Halloween movie, Michael gets put in prison at age 6. Somehow, when he escapes as a man, he knows how to drive a car. In this Halloween (2018) movie, he knows exactly where Laurie Strode lives and moved away from town.
Why do people check a house for spooky sounds without turning on all the lights?
Michael Myers never runs, but people still can’t outrun him. Ha ha

Funny lines:

“Instant karma.” – Karen Strode (Judy Greer)

Interesting lines:

“Do you know that every night I’ve prayed that he would escape?” – Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis)

“Why would you do that?” – Officer Hawkins (Will Patton)

“So I could kill him.” – Laurie

“Well, that’s a dumb thing to pray for.” – Officer Hawkins

“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time.” – Laurie
“He is a killer, but he will be killed tonight.” – Laurie
“Could it be that one monster has created another?” – Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer)
“There’s nothing to learn. There are no insights.” – Laurie Strode as she is being interviewed by some journalists. (Could the same thing be said of horror movies?)
“I don’t believe in the Boogyman.” – male journalist “Well, you should.” – Laurie

“It’s so much easier to talk to people when you don’t know who they are.” – Allyson (Andi Matichak)
“I would suspect the notion of being predator and the fear of being prey is what keeps them both alive.” – Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer)

References to the first Halloween movie:

That music! It’s the same tune in this movie as the original, but feels modernized.
Heavy breathing. SPOILER: Listen carefully at the end of the movie.
In the original Halloween movie, Jamie Lee Curtis’s character, Laurie Strode, is a teenager who sits in an English literature class discussing fate. In Halloween (2018), her granddaughter, played by Andi Matichak, sits in the same chair in the same classroom, listening to a similar lecture about fate. Rumor has it that a lot of young actresses really wanted to play the role of Allyson, but Danny McBride wanted to cast an unknown, just like what was done with Jamie Lee Curtis in the original Halloween movie. By the way, P.J. Soles plays the teacher in both movies.
“It WAS the Boogeyman.” – Laurie Strode says in the first movie, which carries on in all of the sequels
You actually see a few short clips from the original Halloween movie.
A kid accidentally walks into Michael Myers on Halloween night.
Michael Myers places dead bodies in similar ways he did in the first movie.
There is a lamp in the child’s bedroom that has a clown with a knife on it, a subtle reference to the first movie. Who on earth buys a lamp like that to put in a child’s bedroom?
The opening credits include a jack-o-lantern in both movies.
In the first Halloween, Michael gets shot off of a balcony and then disappears. In this movie, Laurie gets shot off the balcony and then disappears.
They both feature really stupid teenagers.