Halloween Kills

Every year, all over the world, peole love to celebrate Halloween. It is that time of the year when especially horror fans can dress up as their favourite horror character, and embrace the power of horror icons. This is a massive industry, especially in America, where they sell costumes, Halloween candy, Halloween comic books, horror films and much more, for a lot of money. You could basically say that this weekend is like Jim Bakker´s Miracle Blanket, you can never get enough of it. As well all know, Halloween is the weekend of horror films, and a lot of people watch their classics, or try some new films as well. No matter what horror film you are into, this weekend is the perfect moment to enjoy a moment of fear. Since we are speaking about Halloween weekend, there is of course one specific film that a lot of people connect this weekend with. Is it Notting Hill with Hugh Grant? Perhaps that is the film that they prefer in England, since i hear it´s still quite popular there during Halloween. But here in Sweden, i think most of us think about the 1978 film Halloween from director John Carpenter. Most of you are probably familiar with this film. Just in case you have not seen it, let me tell you a little bit about the story of Halloween. On Halloween night 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, 6 year old Michael Myers stabs his sister Judith Margaret Myers ( Sandy Johnson ) to death with a kitchen knife. For the next 15 years, Michael is incacerated at Smith´s Grove Sanitarium. On October 30, 1978, Michael´s psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis ( Donald Pleasence and his colleague, Marion Chambers ( Nancy Stephens ), arrive at the sanitarium to escort Michael Myers to the court hearing. Michael escape and steal their car, steal a white mask and head to his home. Halloween is one of those slasher films from the 70´s that still works really well, no matter how many years go by. Director John Carpenter knew exactly how to deal with this genre, and especially managed to create his own unique horror icon Michael Myers. The sequels have been ok ( at least some of them ), while we also had Halloween: Ressurection, the desperate attempt to make Michael Myers more modern through a live interenet show ( it´s really bad ). I really enjoyed the 2007 Halloween remake from director Rob Zombie, and i can still defend that film today since i know this film have been critisized by some fans. It´s a hell of a lot better than both Halloween 6 and Halloween: Resurrection. 3 years ago we got a new film simply known as Halloween, with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as the iconic character Laurie Strode. I actually enjoyed the film, for trying to move the Halloween franchise in a different direction, with a clever twist. So here we are, with the sequel to the 2018 film called Halloween Kills, where Laurie Strode once again return to face Michael Myers. Is this sequel surprisingly effective, or should they leave this franchise alone for good ?

Tommy Doyle ( Anthony Michael Hall ) celebrates the 40th anniversary of Michael Myers imprisonment along with fellow survivors Marion Chambers ( Nancy Stephens ), Lindsey Wallace ( Kyle Richards ), and Lonnie Elam ( Robert Longstreet ), all having encountered Michael in 1978. Firefighter´s responding to Laurie Straude´s ( Jamie Lee Curtis ) burning house, where they find out that Michael Myers ( James Jude Courtney / Nick Castle ) is still alive. Michael kill all of them and continue his killing spree through town. But the citizens of Haddonfields have decided to gather as many people as possible, to make sure that Michael will be killed.

I was hoping that Halloween Kills would be a good sequel to the 2018 film Halloween. Unfortunately, this is the kind of sequel that deliver no surprises, or take the Halloween franchise in a positive direction. Halloween Kills feels more like a sequel made to cash in on horror fans, that does not really feel necessary to see. There are some issues that i have with this film, and let us start with when the film takes place in 1978. The scenes when Michal Myers attack inside his home ( at this specific year ), are not very impressive. I have seen all the Halloween films made so far, and there are sequels that are bad ( who remember Halloween: Resurrection ? ), and even if Halloween Kills is not one of the worst films, i don´t feel like this film use all the right tools to be an effective horror film. This film does become a little bit better when we go forward into present day ( or should i say where the 2018 film ended ), as we find out what happened after Michael was trapped in Laurie´s house. But there are still issues here as well, that i could easily discuss. In the Halloween film from 2018, it felt like they at least made an attempt to take the story of Lorie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis ) forward, instead of going back to too much traditional ground. Sure, the classic elements of Halloween was still there, but they also managed to bring in a different interesting perspective of how Lorie Strode have tried to move forward, while she is stuck in her past. In Halloween Kills, it feels more like a revenge horror film, where the basic plot is just to see Laurie Strode and the whole town to attack Michael, and that´s pretty much it. A slasher film does not have to be intelligent, but if you want it to be effective, you better make it look good. Now to the positive sides of this film. The brutal kills of this film have some fun moments ( not every single one, but most of them ). I do like the idea that the whole town goes after Michael. But here we come to one problem with this idea, that some of the characters hunting Michael is not very good. You can´t really connect with their characters, and it would have been better if they would have developed them more, before finishing the scenes. Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode is of course the highlight of this film, and she saves this film from falling apart. Director David Gordon Greene ( who directed the 2018 version of Halloween ) have made a brutal Halloween film, and that´s good. But he also lost some of the power that the 2018 film had, and replaced it with some forgettable characters, that was supposed to feel connected to the past of Michael Myers. This is not a horrible horror film ( there are certain details i do enjoy about this sequel ), but it is definetely weaker than i expected. Halloween Kills is just for really big fans of the Halloween franchise, while the rest of you might as well enjoy the original film instead. I really hope the next sequel Halloween Ends deliver something more than Halloween Kills does. Sometimes, it´s better to leave certain horror franchises alone, and let classics age with dignity. 

Rating: DD