The BRWC Review: Halloween (2018)

16th October 2018

Halloween has always been a conundrum as far as Horror franchises go. The original is an absolute classic, but the sequels suffer numerous inconsistencies in both narrative and tone. Franchise creators John Carpenter and Debra Hill took their concept of the babysitter murders and with the deft use of talents such as cinematographer Dean Cundey, editor Tommy Wallace and “The Shape” himself, Nick Castle, infused the original Halloween with a sense of autumnal foreboding. Despite both 2^nd and 3^rd franchise entries retaining at least some of the DNA of the original, the diminishing returns that followed would include a convoluted lineage of psychically connected nieces, rune markings and an increasingly exasperated Donald Pleasence. In fact, when Jamie Lee Curtis returned to star as a barely-holding-her-shit-together Laurie Strode in Halloween H20 back in 1998, the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th instalments were more or less ignored.

And it’s with that grand tradition of narrative canon lobotomising, this selective sequel ignores all but the original movie. Michael Myers is no longer related to Laurie Strode, Danielle Harris and Josh Hartnett were never the gorgeous offspring of Jamie Lee Curtis and there’s nary an occultist in sight. Much like Rob Zombie’s own remake duology, David Gordon Green infuses this forty year old campfire tale with his unique concoction of thunderous l bludgeoned violence and razor sharp humour. This is a story of two halves. On the one hand you’ve got survivor, Laurie Strode barely holding on to the tattered threads of her emotionally raw relationship with her daughter and granddaughter. On the other hand, you have an escaped, relentless, singularly minded murderer, making his way through town like a homicidal landslide. Both sides of the movie work (mostly) independently of one another but there’s some tonal dissonance as these elements intersect.

Respectful but not slavish to the original, DGG’s Halloween culminates in a rewarding final act, where a gripping intensity looms over three generations of the Strode family. As with Steve Miner’s 20th anniversary undertaking, Laurie Strode is a survivor, suffering the guilt, fear and anguish that comes with that. Here her PTSD is conveyed with a tangibility that resonates with her chequered relationship with both her own daughter and granddaughter. However, there are some beats that don’t feel earned, a twist that doesn’t quite work and the film works best when it’s either concentrating on “Babysitter Murders 2018” or the Strode family legacy.

For fans of the franchise, Halloween 2018 is a blast, filled with winks and nods to earlier lore, without being bogged down in muddied motives, pagan rituals and extraneous sororicidal silliness. For those hoping for some sense of finality, you’ll be fooling yourself to you think that this sequel could spell the end for “The Shape” in his tattered, silver Captain Kirk mask. The bogeyman is a perennial evil made tangible by storytellers like John Carpenter and David Gordon Green. If this re-reimagining proves successful, expect Blumhouse to return to Haddonfield in the near future.

Halloween (2018) is released Friday 19^th October.

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