Film Review: Halloween (2018)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Cert: R-rated (18 certs)
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriter: (screenplay) David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley, (characters) John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Will Patton, Rhian Rees, Jefferson Hall, Toby Huss, Virginia Gardner, Dylan Arnold, Miles Robbins, Dave, Drew Scheid, Jibrail Nantambu.
Running time: 1h 46min
Parents advised reading before viewing the film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.
Sex & Nudity:
Violence & Gore:
Profanity:
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking:
Frightening/Intense Scenes:
Story: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Likes: I'm gonna be seriously blunt and to the point, I was concerned this would happen when they said they were scraping the original 10 films and keep the 1st original start of the Halloween films and setting it 40 years after with a sequel I couldn't help but notice things were off.
I'm no stranger to Micheal Myer iconic brutal inhuman murder spree as I grow up in the 80s, a lot of the horror film back then became Cult classic Villain like Freddy, Pinhead, Leather face, chunky, Jason many of the famous horror icons of the 1980's.
Micheal Myers became one of those iconic evil presents when he hit the cinema screens in 1978, year after I was born, I didn't get to see Halloween until I was at least 18. After watching Halloween, I could see why this become such an iconic character, with an unstoppable man that just will not die (just like Jason Vorhees) which go to a point with everyone thinking how the hell is this man still alive after being shot, stab, blown up and set on fire?
well, this was answered in Halloween 6 the curse of Micheal Myers when we found out that a cult had brought forth some demonic spirit that resides in Micheal giving him this soulless look in his eye and brutal murdering strength especial when the body pile's up.
But after a few films, the Halloween film start to be a bit stupid and lost it an image and what Halloween movie was meant to be. Now Blum house studio which has made some great horror film took over the mantle to handle the Halloween films, they scrapped the original films but kept the first film, to make a direct sequel to the original.
But does it live up to the hype which is on everyone one's mind, well for those that have never seen the original Halloween movies, yes I would say they would hype the film up? The biggest issue is for those have seen and grown up on the originals, not saying all will be like this but I can see a few fans or a lot of fans being a little disappointed with this film.
That said this film does have some good point, the film manages to keep somewhat of the flare that the original had with the utter brutality of the way Micheal kills without mercy, even though a lot of scenes is off camera, it these scenes that play with your imagination as you think about the victims last moment being brutalised by a psychopath.
With a few on-screen Brutal moments with a few nods to the original when you see the bloody bodies, you can see that the director and writer have still kept that vicious reality of Michael Myer when he kills.
The moments with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee) and her Daughter Karen (Judy Greer)you can see dysfunction between them both which did come off believable, as Karen character doesn't truly understand her mother until she comes face to face with reality.
This Performance between these two was great for the film, what some of you may known Actor Nick Castle was the young kid in the original film that Laurie strode babysit for, he got a returning role as Loomis apprentice, learning everything and studying Myers year after Loomis deaths.
James Jude Courtney played Myer perfect still give then a dark creepy soulless killer vibe that Myers had in the original, Especial like that they kept the continuity of Myer with attention to detail, with a brief second you see Myers turn his face, you see a damaged right eye, which if you remember from the first film Laurie stab him in the eye twice once with a knitting needle and then with a coat hanger so im glad they add that touch here.
Along with great acting and brutal scenes yes this film does have its moments, but I have a few issues with the way the story is being told, which brings me to the bad point in dislikes about the film.
Dislikes:
1. The whole teenage drama with the school and love issues, this was the pointless and unnecessary scene to be put in a horror film, Holloween was never about teenage drama, it was about teenage struggling to stay alive against a psychopath soulless killer that will brutally kill you any way he can.
I found these scenes were slowing down the film pace and atmosphere, see the original kept that dark creepy atmosphere all the way through, I found with this film this scene didn't mix with what the film was trying to be.
2. There was less focus on Jamie Lee character Laurie Strode since these film should be focused more on her character with Michael, I felt the film was too much focused on the teenage drama with the boyfriend, which should have been more with Laurie and Micheal's killing spree.
3. The film as a whole feels like lazy writing, with the scene by scene that seems the same as we've seen before in other Halloween movies. Which is why the film is predictable, I know it hard to recapture what the original had, but this is what concerned me, instead of making a brand new unique sequel to Halloween, it kind of rehashed scenes just to make a film.
This is film could've been so much better with better writing on script of the story, if you never watch a Halloween film ya, you might find this a great film, but sadly im not new to this series of films, to me taking away the hype for the film, its really bad writing in areas with pointless scene that didn't need to be in the film.
To me this should have just been Micheal and Jamie Lee character with Michael escape the body count mounting up, to the final showdown, I felt the film was lacking in death scene although some were brutal, I feel the film could've pushed this film further with the body counts.
4. The atmosphere of the film there is an area in the film that seriously brings the atmosphere down with intense moments, I feel Micheal was too much on screen, this may have brought the tone down as well, as it was a little predictable
Overall: Yes the film is great in areas, but overall, it's overhyped and slighty lazy written using a rehashed scene from various other Halloween films
Rating: 5 out of 5 Entertainment / 7.1 out of 10 for New sequel
Cert: R-rated (18 certs)
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriter: (screenplay) David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley, (characters) John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Will Patton, Rhian Rees, Jefferson Hall, Toby Huss, Virginia Gardner, Dylan Arnold, Miles Robbins, Dave, Drew Scheid, Jibrail Nantambu.
Running time: 1h 46min
Parents advised reading before viewing the film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.
Sex & Nudity:
- A couple straddles one another and makes out. No nudity or sexual movements. It's over as quick as it began.
- The occasional sexual banter between teens. Talk of "being horny" or "having a chub" Most of the dialogue is played out for laughs.
- A young topless woman is shown brushing her hair about half an hour into the movie. It's not prolonged.
Violence & Gore:
- A man's severed head is carved out to make a jack o' lantern, the kill is offscreen but the body is discovered. Very brutal.
- A woman in a bathroom stall sees bloody teeth dropped in with her
- A man is strangled to death with a chain
- A teenage girl opens a closet and is then stabbed numerous times with a kitchen knife, she attempts to run and crawl away, only to be dragged back into a bedroom and stabbed again. Her body is then propped up underneath a white sheet, cut like a ghost costume.
- A young boy is viciously strangled until his neck snaps
- A teenage boy is impaled on a fence through his chin.
- A woman attempts to crawl out from a row of bathroom stalls but is caught and brutally strangled to death.
- A man attempting to save a woman trapped in a toilet stall is seized and has his head bashed against the toilet stall until he is dead. (Extremely violent and bloody).
- A woman is bludgeoned to death with a hammer (Off screen but body seen)
- A woman has a knife graphically stabbed through her neck
- A man has his head violently stomped on. Blood and brain matter are present. Arguably the most graphic scene in the film.
- A man has his jaw dislocated and teeth ripped out offscreen
- Many bloodied dead bodies are discovered throughout
- A man is seen propped up with his neck graphically disfigured from being broken
- A man has a penknife stabbed viciously into his throat multiple times
- A man is found with a penknife jammed into his head
- A teenage male is found impaled to a wall with a knife through his neck
- There is a flashback of Michael stabbing his sister to death
Profanity:
- Multiple uses of the word "fuck" "fucking" and "motherfucker" other words such as shit, hell and damn. Not used too often.
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking:
- Teens can be seen smoking marijuana. Talk of teens planning to smoke marijuana also present.
- Laurie is shown to have a problem with alcohol, drinking a miniature bottle of vodka and later chugging a glass of wine.
- A man mentions buying peyote from a friend. Very humorous.
Frightening/Intense Scenes:
- Will be scary and violent.
- While it is Rated R, this will very likely be okay for teenagers to watch.
- Some of the deaths can be quite gruesome, others happen off the screen quite a bit leaving the violence to your imagination.
- The Shape has some very effective jump scares. Many of them involving darkness and shadows. Can be quite frightening.
Story: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Likes: I'm gonna be seriously blunt and to the point, I was concerned this would happen when they said they were scraping the original 10 films and keep the 1st original start of the Halloween films and setting it 40 years after with a sequel I couldn't help but notice things were off.
I'm no stranger to Micheal Myer iconic brutal inhuman murder spree as I grow up in the 80s, a lot of the horror film back then became Cult classic Villain like Freddy, Pinhead, Leather face, chunky, Jason many of the famous horror icons of the 1980's.
Micheal Myers became one of those iconic evil presents when he hit the cinema screens in 1978, year after I was born, I didn't get to see Halloween until I was at least 18. After watching Halloween, I could see why this become such an iconic character, with an unstoppable man that just will not die (just like Jason Vorhees) which go to a point with everyone thinking how the hell is this man still alive after being shot, stab, blown up and set on fire?
well, this was answered in Halloween 6 the curse of Micheal Myers when we found out that a cult had brought forth some demonic spirit that resides in Micheal giving him this soulless look in his eye and brutal murdering strength especial when the body pile's up.
But after a few films, the Halloween film start to be a bit stupid and lost it an image and what Halloween movie was meant to be. Now Blum house studio which has made some great horror film took over the mantle to handle the Halloween films, they scrapped the original films but kept the first film, to make a direct sequel to the original.
But does it live up to the hype which is on everyone one's mind, well for those that have never seen the original Halloween movies, yes I would say they would hype the film up? The biggest issue is for those have seen and grown up on the originals, not saying all will be like this but I can see a few fans or a lot of fans being a little disappointed with this film.
That said this film does have some good point, the film manages to keep somewhat of the flare that the original had with the utter brutality of the way Micheal kills without mercy, even though a lot of scenes is off camera, it these scenes that play with your imagination as you think about the victims last moment being brutalised by a psychopath.
With a few on-screen Brutal moments with a few nods to the original when you see the bloody bodies, you can see that the director and writer have still kept that vicious reality of Michael Myer when he kills.
The moments with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee) and her Daughter Karen (Judy Greer)you can see dysfunction between them both which did come off believable, as Karen character doesn't truly understand her mother until she comes face to face with reality.
This Performance between these two was great for the film, what some of you may known Actor Nick Castle was the young kid in the original film that Laurie strode babysit for, he got a returning role as Loomis apprentice, learning everything and studying Myers year after Loomis deaths.
James Jude Courtney played Myer perfect still give then a dark creepy soulless killer vibe that Myers had in the original, Especial like that they kept the continuity of Myer with attention to detail, with a brief second you see Myers turn his face, you see a damaged right eye, which if you remember from the first film Laurie stab him in the eye twice once with a knitting needle and then with a coat hanger so im glad they add that touch here.
Along with great acting and brutal scenes yes this film does have its moments, but I have a few issues with the way the story is being told, which brings me to the bad point in dislikes about the film.
Dislikes:
1. The whole teenage drama with the school and love issues, this was the pointless and unnecessary scene to be put in a horror film, Holloween was never about teenage drama, it was about teenage struggling to stay alive against a psychopath soulless killer that will brutally kill you any way he can.
I found these scenes were slowing down the film pace and atmosphere, see the original kept that dark creepy atmosphere all the way through, I found with this film this scene didn't mix with what the film was trying to be.
2. There was less focus on Jamie Lee character Laurie Strode since these film should be focused more on her character with Michael, I felt the film was too much focused on the teenage drama with the boyfriend, which should have been more with Laurie and Micheal's killing spree.
3. The film as a whole feels like lazy writing, with the scene by scene that seems the same as we've seen before in other Halloween movies. Which is why the film is predictable, I know it hard to recapture what the original had, but this is what concerned me, instead of making a brand new unique sequel to Halloween, it kind of rehashed scenes just to make a film.
This is film could've been so much better with better writing on script of the story, if you never watch a Halloween film ya, you might find this a great film, but sadly im not new to this series of films, to me taking away the hype for the film, its really bad writing in areas with pointless scene that didn't need to be in the film.
To me this should have just been Micheal and Jamie Lee character with Michael escape the body count mounting up, to the final showdown, I felt the film was lacking in death scene although some were brutal, I feel the film could've pushed this film further with the body counts.
4. The atmosphere of the film there is an area in the film that seriously brings the atmosphere down with intense moments, I feel Micheal was too much on screen, this may have brought the tone down as well, as it was a little predictable
Overall: Yes the film is great in areas, but overall, it's overhyped and slighty lazy written using a rehashed scene from various other Halloween films
Rating: 5 out of 5 Entertainment / 7.1 out of 10 for New sequel
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