All the elements fans had hoped for were present. A deeper look into the psychology of life after the night HE came home for Laurie Strode, a modern score at once nostalgic and unsettling, and The Shape was as terrifying, if not more so than it had been in 1978. It was marketed as a showdown four decades in the making, and Halloween (2018) does not disappoint.
At first glance, diehard fans of John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s masterpiece may feel a bit disappointed in Blumhouse’s effort, this writer included. It’s not to say humor has no place in a Halloween film, but on first pass, perhaps there was too much, and one wondered if the script leaned a bit too much in the direction of Danny McBride’s sensibilities. Some of the dialogue felt cheesy, and there exists a character that certainly didn’t seem necessary, but by the time the credits roll, they were merely blemishes on a picture that is not only a worthy sequel, but doubles as a companion piece to the original classic.
Forty years after Michael Myers’ initial return to Haddonfield, he is found incarcerated at the Smiths Grove Sanitarium where a pair of podcasters from across the pond have ventured to be in the presence of pure evil. Myers is to be transferred to a new facility, and of course, makes his escape, setting into motion the breakneck events of the film.
Jamie Lee Curtis towers in her reprisal of the role that has defined her career, delving into the murk of post-traumatic stress disorder that has dominated her life since the night she was nearly murdered. Twice divorced, estranged from her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and desperate to connect with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). Curtis’ tortured existence is dominated by tunnel vision, only able to focus on survival and preparation for the “horrors of this world,” while subjected to brief interludes of contempt of “get over it” from those closest to her. Strode’s hardened countenance only changes when pierced with reminders of that night, a pain made palpable through both Curtis’ expression and voice inflection in an award-worthy turn as persevering survivor.
Make no mistake, however, it is the Strode women and not The Shape who leave audiences wanting more. The strained relationship between Laurie and Karen rings true with stellar performances from Curtis and Greer. One can’t help but wish that Blumhouse had allowed another 30 or 40 minutes of run time to further explode the dynamic between the two, a relationship that clearly trickled down to Allyson, played to absolute perfection by Matichak, who may well pull a Curtis, and springboard Halloween into stardom.
Curtis is exactly what we remember as babysitter from 1978, a courageous protector who’s not about to let anything happen to those she cares about, even if they don’t believe her safeguarding to be necessary. Where Strode had left off forty years ago however, has not matured. Though Laurie’s ability to protect remains steadfast, she is incapable of nurturing, a point that both Karen and Allyson struggle with. For Karen, that struggle has turned to resentment, while Allyson is just as desperate to raise her grandmother from her abyss as the elder Strode is to avoid the same mistakes with her granddaughter. The disconnect is clear, however, because Allyson never refers to Laurie as “grandma,” only grandmother.
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While the interactions between the Strode women works, the other characters dispersed throughout don’t as much. Though some are likable and the actors capable of fulfilling what had been asked of them, some of that humor that felt out of place arises with them, which only left audiences yearning for more of the familial angle all the more. That said, Jibrail Nantambu is a scene-stealer as little Julian, a boy being babysat by Allyson’s friend Vicky (Virginia Gardner).
Will Patton is his usual, reliable self as Officer Hawkins, and while it’s understandable that he played no larger a role than Charles Cyphers had in the original, there was a detail to his backstory that felt needless. This writer had hoped that Will Patton would be left to do Will Patton things, but even though he was underutilized, there was nothing disappointing about his performance.
Which brings us to The Shape. It’s difficult to identify the moment when Nick Castle, the original Michael Myers hands off to James Jude Courtney, but for the first time in a very long time, The Shape is bloodcurdlingly terrifying. Courtney’s walk and pace are certainly akin to Castle’s initial take, but as with Carpenter’s score, it is ramped up. Courtney spoke of Myers’ energy, and certainly channeled the best of a character that had appeared in nine previous films. With the grace of Castle and brutality of Tyler Mane’s Shape from Rob Zombie’s two offerings, James Jude Courtney is chilling.
In fact, the finest scene of the film blends Courtney with a music cue from Carpenter that will make the hair on your neck stand on end.
Carpenter’s ominous new take on the score, fashioned along with his son Cody and Daniel Davies, offers the recognizable synth we’ve come to know and love, but there is a bone-rattling electricity to the final product that would instill a sense of unease even if nothing was happening on the screen. In this writer’s estimation, it is the finest Halloween soundtrack to date. And that is truly saying something.
As previously stated, the script offered a bit too much humor, there were moments of cheesy, borderline cringe-worthy dialogue, and at times the references to the original were a bit overt, but the writing is strong and the performances stronger, as is David Gordon Green’s direction. While Green was unable to create the claustrophobic feel of Carpenter, his framing and track work with Myers, along with the scintillating cinematography of Michael Simmonds makes audiences forget the slow burn and cool blue light of the original, because this is a new Shape. Myers is no longer slowly stalking, he is hell bent on making up for lost time, and presented in such a way that on occasion, we get just that, a shape, which makes Myers all the more blank, pale, emotionless, and horrifying.
Despite a few hiccups, the film builds to a pulse-pounding, unforgettable climax, and thanks to the powerhouse performance of Curtis, Courtney taking the original Shape to the next level, and the dynamic of the Strode women, the new Halloween is a welcome addition to the franchise and proved well worth the wait.
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