Halloween

If you would mention the name John Carpenter to movie nerds, i guarantee you that they will talk for hours. This is a true legend in Hollywood, who have made some really classic movies during the 70´s and 80´s. For me personally i have several favourite movies directed by John Carpenter. Let´s start with Escape From New York, released in 1981. This film gave legendary actor Kurt Russel one of his most iconic characters ever, known as Snake Plisken. The story takes place in 1997 in a maximum security prison in Manhattan Island. if you love science fiction movies and the style of John Carpenter, then you have to see Escsape From New York. Pick it up on Blu Ray if you can, and watch some really nice special features. Another really good Carpenter classic is the 1982 movie known as The Thing. This is actually a faithful adaption of the old cult film known as The Thing From Another World ( released in 1951 ). The Thing is a really well made Sci fi horror movie, that actually manage to use practical effects in a very effective way. Kurt Russel is in this film as well, and he gives another really good performance as the character R.J. McReady. The Thing is a must own on Blu Ray, and there are some really nice special features. One of the films that will always be seen as the biggest classic from John Carpenter, is of course the 1978 horror movie Halloween. This low budget horror movie is still today considered to be one of the best horror movies of the 70´s. The serial killer known as Michael Myers ( with a very special mask ) is still today one of the most iconic horror characters, and he clearly is hard to kill since we have a lot of sequels. Halloween also brought us another iconic character known as Laurie Strode, played by legendary actor Jamie Lee Curtis. Halloween is a very simple horror movie, but that is one of the reason why this is such a good horror film. John Carpenter used some really effective camera work, to make serial killer Michael Myers look very creepy. The sequels have turned out to be very divided on a film quality level. Some sequels are ok, while especially one of them is really bad known as Halloween: Resurrection. But it was in the year 2007 when we finally got a Halloween movie, that did everything right. Director Rob Zombie ( who have made some wonderful horror movies such as House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil´s Rejects ). If you have not seen the 2007 version of Halloween, you should. It is really brutal, and bloody, but so damn good. If you can try and buy the 3 DVD disc release from America, filled with severl hours of special features. When we got the news that Jamie Lee Curtis was going to come back to a new Halloween movie coming out in October 2018, fans were really excited. For me personally i was a bit skeptical, since i know that good sequels are not easy to make. After the first screenings of the film, i realized that people were being positive. Since i have seen all the films in the Halloween franchsie, i had to check out this one as well. Is this a really good sequel, or a sequel that the film studio should have cancelled a long time ago ?

On October 29, 2018, Michael Myers who have been locked up for 40 years in Warren County Smith´s Grove Sanitarium, is about to be transferred to a new facility. Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis is still living with the fear of being the only survivor of Michael´s brutal murders. She lives in a well protected house, still ready if he would show up. Laurie´s daughter Karen Nelson ( Judy Greer ) tries to communicate with her mother, that she must go on with her life and not worry about Michael anymore. To make something right, Laurie decides to try and have a better relationship with her granddaughter Allyson Nelson ( Andy Matichak ). At a family reunion to celebrate Allyson, Laurie breaks down in tears because of her emotional problems. Things are not about to get any better, when Laurie finds out that the transportation bus for Michael Myers is found crashed on the highway. Michael is out free again, and Laurie have no choice but to protect her family.

Since i heard some positive words about this sequel from movie critics, i had a feeling that this could not be a bad movie. And it is true, this sequel actually does have some positive twists and turns into this franchise. Of course, the traditional story is here as well, where we see Laurie Strode fight against Michael Myers, but this film also shows Laurie´s family, a new generation ready to fight against Michael. Another thing that this film also does, is make a surprise twist with Michael´s doctor from the mental institution that i did not expect. When you make a sequel to such a classic horror film as Halloween, you better have great characters. And this sequel actually manage to do this correctly. Of course, it comes to no surprise that legendary actress Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurel Strode is the strongest character of this film. She has a lot of trauma and pain inside of her, and she is prepared to meet Michael again. But we have some other names that we have to mention. Allyson, granddaughter of Laurie, is played by actress Andi Matichak ( who can be seen in TV series Orange Is The New Black ). This is my first time seeing her in a bigger role than usual, and she does a good job with her performance. Actress Judy Gear ( who you might remember from Jurassic World ) as Lauries daughter Karen gives a solid performance as well, and she have a lot of personal issues with her past. The plot is simple but still effective, as this feels like a sequel that pays respect to the franchise. I also love some of the brutal kills, when we get to see some close ups on victims found after Michael escapes the mental institution. Now, let´s get to some negative details. Even if this is a well made horror film, you miss out especially one important detail. There should have been some kind of backflash scenes to legendary actor Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Lois. There is a scene where you hear his voice, but with such an iconic character in this franchise as Halloween, we should have had glimpses of Donald Pleasence more than just his voice. The beginning of the film at the mental institution is not very interesting, and i would rather have seen a different beginning. Apart from these details, i would say that the latest chapter of the Halloween franchise is a good horror film. Director David Gordon Green have directed several really good films in the past, especially the independent film Joe ( one of the best movies i have seen Nicolas Cage do for many years ). I have to say that he have made a Halloween sequel that should be respected, since this feels like a homage to the classic original movie. If you love the Halloween movies, i know you are going to enjoy this one. Sometimes you need a serial killer to make sure that the party never ends.

Rating: DDD