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“Halloween” isn’t the first time the franchise has decided to shift gears,
attempting to rework the brand name for a fresh run of sequels. Heck, it’s not
even the first time Jamie Lee Curtis has been involved in long-time-coming
installment, popping up in 1998’s “Halloween: H20” to complete her arc as
battered babysitter Laurie Strode. After four decades of strange creative
decisions and wacky character arcs, the new “Halloween” hopes to link arms with
the old “Halloween,” with co-writers Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley, and David
Gordon Green (who also directs) bringing back Curtis for another
long-time-coming showdown with the masked monster, hoping to give fans a proper
continuation after they’ve sat through a few rotten ones. The Shape is back, in
a proper killing mood, but the writing isn’t pushing for a fresh take on old
holiday business, playing to the faithful with a formulaic endeavor that only
colors outside the lines for a few brief scenes.
True-crime podcasters Aaron (Jefferson Hall) and Dana (Rhian Rees) are trying to
crack the psychological code of the imprisoned killer, Michael Myers. Doing an
episode on the 1978 Haddonfield Murders, the duo attempts to make contact with
Myers, who’s about to be transferred to a new facility and buried in the prison
system. They also reach out to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who was wrecked
by the carnage she witnessed decades ago, spending the rest of her life
preparing for a rematch with Myers, destroying her relationship with her
daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), in the process. When the bus carrying Myers is
smashed open during a car accident, the event sets the silent monster free on
Halloween, taking him to Haddonfield, where he restarts his reign of terror.
Caught in the mix is Allyson (Andi Matchiak), Laurie’s granddaughter, who’s
hanging with her friends during a high school dance, unaware that Myers is out
in the wild.
Joining the reboot cause is producer Jason Blum, who’s known for making horror
films on the cheap, ensuring greater profit. His influence is noticeable in
“Halloween,” which, despite the horror icon showdown, feels very small, keeping
the action regulated to a handful of characters, while most of the feature takes
place in Haddonfield on Halloween night. The tighter scope doesn’t always
inspire a richly cinematic experience, but it does remain on Laurie’s nervous
breakdown, which is the most inspired addition to the effort. In the new
“Halloween,” Laurie is an older woman, ruined by trauma and controlled by fear,
living her life in preparation for a reunion with Myers. She’s lost her daughter
while trapped in paranoia, and she’s secretive with Allyson, trying to maintain
contact, hoping to correct the mistakes she made with Karen. Curtis is game for
anything the screenplay offers, creating a genuinely intriguing direction for
Laurie that does away with everything that’s come after the 1978 John Carpenter
classic. I’m sure some will be distressed with a grand erasing of continuity (in
Green’s movie, Laurie and Myers are not siblings), but Curtis enthusiastically
runs her fingers through the fresh dramatic soil, and while Laurie isn’t the
primary focus of the screenplay, her scenes are the highlights of the picture.
The podcasting angle is timely, and it does offer an organic way to reunite
Myers with his mask, restarting his evil engine as the monster stalks his way
back to civilization. Once “Halloween” returns to Haddonfield, there’s not much
in the way of newness, watching as The Shape wanders through the old
neighborhood, picking off neighbors. To match up the old and new, the writing
introduces a younger generation of prey, bringing back a babysitter, marijuana,
and plans for a sexual experience, teeing up Myers to do his deadly thing. The
slasher sequences are violent, but it’s hard to shake the dullness of such
attacks, which offered more punch and style from Carpenter 40 years ago. Green
is merely tracing over old news, which slows the movie down. Obnoxious
adolescents don’t help the cause, with far too much screen time devoted to their
inflamed loins and broken hearts, revealing a larger push to make Allyson a key
figure of the new franchise.
In a weird way, “Halloween” is similar to "Star
Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens," which
also recycled iconic conflicts to help reacquaint the audience with a film
series they once loved. However, there’s also a downside with this type of fan
service, as “Halloween” feels a little fatigued at times, with even Laurie
openly challenging deja vu, referring to Myers’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ranbir (Haluk
Bilginer), as “the new Loomis.” “Halloween” comes off simple in design and
abyssal in anguish, but the killing spree eventually takes top priority, giving
the faithful a new opportunity to see “Classic Myers” in motion, brought to life
via a masterful score from John Carpenter (joined by Cody Carpenter and Daniel
A. Davies), who delivers a righteous synth-n-shred sonic pummeling to secure
screen tension. Green wisely brings the master back into the fold, gifting the
eleventh chapter in the ongoing series (or its first real sequel according to
the producers) a grander presence than it often deserves, but the helmer isn’t
inspired to do much more than provide a functional, fuss-free “Halloween” movie,
and that’s exactly what he achieves here. |
