Halloween Kills Movie Review

There are horror franchises. And then there are the big daddies of the genre – the legends that made horror everything that it is today. Halloween – along with its iconic antagonist Michael Myers – belongs firmly in the “legends” category, so a new addition is always a big deal. But Halloween Kills, the direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween soft reboot and the twelfth installment of the franchise as a whole, is in a class by itself as far as anticipation goes.

But does Halloween Kills successfully live up to the hype, or is it one of those sequels you’re better off forgetting right out of the gate? Like 2018’s Halloween, this installment is directed by David Gordon Green and stars the always incredible Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode and Nick Castle as Michael Myers/The Shape. Notable costars include Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Anthony Michael Hall, and Kyle Richards.

Halloween Kills opens with a short trip down memory lane to October 31, 1978. Frank Hawkins accidentally kills his partner while trying to save him from Michael Myers and prevents Michael’s execution by Dr. Loomis. However, when the film jumps forward in time to 2018, it’s clear that Hawkins regrets the way he handled things 40 years prior.

We’re also taken on a tour of what some of Haddonfield’s other residents are up to in 2018. A group of survivors from the original 1978 massacre – including Tommy Doyle (Hall), Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet), Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens), and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) – are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Michael’s imprisonment. Meanwhile, Laurie, daughter Karen (Greer), and granddaughter Allyson (Matichak) are on their way to the hospital after setting their home on fire with Michael trapped inside.

What they don’t know is that the firefighters who responded to the call also unknowingly freed Michael, who slaughters them in addition to the neighbors before returning to Haddonfield. But as the news spreads, so does the panic, not to mention the carnage. Will the town’s residents manage to defeat Michael or, at the very least, make it through another bloody Halloween alive?

Halloween Kills was meant to be a sort of grizzly love letter to fans of John Carpenter’s original masterpiece, and it shows. Viewers caught up with Laurie in the previous installment. Now they get to find out how life has been for a whole line-up of familiar characters, including Tommy and Lindsey, the children Laurie famously babysat for.

Once again, it’s made clear that the events of 1978 have had a far-reaching effect on Haddonfield and the people who live there. Once again, the viewer gets to wonder how many of these survivors will survive another Halloween massacre with Michael Myers at the wheel. Of course, everyone aims to try, with many citizens even forming a good, old-fashioned angry mod armed with all sorts of weapons. And, of course, there’s the question of whether Michael will get to who he’s really there for – Laurie.

There’s a lot to like about Halloween Kills, especially for huge fans of the original film. But there’s a lot about the movie that’s disappointingly loose, as well. For instance, the legendary Laurie Strode herself is woefully underutilized, and the intense focus on mob mentality doesn’t quite scan. However, this isn’t a film that’s trying to tell a new story so much as it’s looking to give the fans exactly what they came for – action, familiar suspense, and slasher gore aplenty – which it does and then some. Incredible cinematography by Michael Simmonds makes this a visually stunning film, as well.

In other words, Halloween Kills is precisely what most fans are probably expecting – another chapter in the story begun by the previous film – and a must-see for any long-time follower of the franchise. It doesn’t surpass the original Halloween or even the Halloween 2018 reboot, but it’s worth a watch regardless.