'Halloween Kills' Movie Review

Picking up mere minutes after the events of Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills follows the three generations of Strode women, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and her granddaughter Alyson (Andi Matichak), as they recover from the slew of murders committed by the returned Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney). In the wake of said murders, the town becomes restless, and a mob led by a now-grown Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), the young boy whom Laurie was babysitting back in 1978, is out for blood.

2018’s Halloween, which was a sequel to the 1978 horror classic, divided fans. Some found it a refreshing return to form, while others saw it as disrespectful to the original. I was very much one of the former, but I totally understood some of the gripes people had with that one. It was no surprise that Halloween Kills received a similar split reception. Once again, I’m in the camp that liked it. It’s got plenty of issues, and I will address them, but I had a great time. The idea of eliminating the increasingly convoluted timeline(s) from previous sequels was a smart move, in my opinion, and I like the way we really see the traumatic effect the prior events had on both Laurie and the future generations of the Strode family in the 2018 film. This movie expands on that notion by also showing the toll those events had on the other residents of Haddonfield. It was really interesting to see that ripple effect explored a bit more.

This film has quite a large cast. In addition to Curtis, Greer, Matichak, and Courtney returning for this film, Will Patton and Dylan Arnold also reprise their principle roles as Officer Hawkins and Alyson’s boyfriend, Cameron, respectively. Cameron didn’t get a ton of info development in the first film of this new trilogy, other than the reveal that he was cheating on Alyson. We get some more character development this time, as he seeks to patch things up and tries to protect her, and Dylan Arnold proves that he definitely has the potential to evolve into a solid leading man. This also leads to some great moments of drama between him and Matichak, who also does a solid job. As always, Curtis and Patton are outstanding, and most of their scenes are opposite each other (Laurie and Hawkins spend most of the film in the hospital, but they still manage to pack a punch.) Anthony Michael Hall is a new addition to the cast, and he really shines as a rage-filled grownup Tommy Doyle. Doyle isn’t the only character from the 1978 original to resurface in Halloween Kills. We also get Lonnie Elam (played here by Robert Longstreet), Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), former Nurse Marion (Nancy Stephens), and Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), now retired from being the town Sheriff. The latter three were all played by their original actors from the ‘78 film. Longstreet and Cyphers absolutely deliver, Stephens is fine, but Richards is a bit inconsistent. She’s a bit melodramatic, which works in some scenes, but comes off as amateurish in others. Unfortunately, Judy Greer has the same problem. She does a good job in some of the more intense moments, but when she’s trying to be subtler, she comes off as flat. Greer is most commonly known for comedic roles, so hopefully her dramatic acting will continue to develop, because I definitely think she has it in her. We also get some really good moments from Omar Dorsey as Sheriff Barker that add some more weight to the mix, particularly one in which he’s just sitting in silence (but I won’t spoil that).

This is quite possibly the most brutal film in the series, maybe even more so than the Rob Zombie films. (I haven’t seen them in a while, but I’m kind of indifferent towards them.) It for sure has the highest body count. The Halloween films have never been focused on how inventive Michael’s kills are, but this film managed to have a few that really stood out. This Michael Myers is pissed off, and we finally get a little bit more insight as to his actual motives. (mild spoilers) Previous films have always made it about him having some sort of link to Laurie Strode (considering he was her older brother in the previous timeline), and they even address how everyone assumes they are connected in both this movie and the previous one. But we get a really neat flip of the script here: it was never Laurie, it was his house. This adds to the notion that he’s more of a predator acting on instinct, rather than a man on a vengeful mission. I really liked that choice.

Even with all the stuff I like, I do have to acknowledge that this movie is a bit of a mess. Like I said, the cast is pretty big, and sometimes the film feels like it can’t quite handle all those characters and story beats while still making a cohesive movie. Chaos is very much a running theme throughout the movie, so one could argue that it’s deliberate, but that can only excuse so much. This film also really relies on the fact that it’s the middle part of a trilogy. They set up a lot of plot points that they don’t tie up in this movie, and it, of course, ends with a somewhat nihilistic cliffhanger. Who knows, though? Maybe next year’s Halloween Ends will retroactively ground this one a bit more. I’m also seeing a complaint that the film is really cheesy. While I can agree with that to a certain extent, guess what? Slasher movies are usually cheesy. Some are just less cheesy than others. And Halloween Kills is 100% an unapologetic grindhouse-style slasher.

For all its uneven supporting cast and chaotic storytelling, Halloween Kills still delivers on the carnage it promises and goes balls to the wall with its brutal violence. Jamie Lee Curtis, despite her reduced screen time in this film, is able to bring Laurie to life once again, and Anthony Michael Hall gives his most intense performance to date. It’s unwieldy and rough around the edges, but I still thought it was damn fun.

SCORE: 4/5