Hey yall! I'm back wih another review and this time I decided to check out the highly anticipated horror sequel Halloween Kills!
I recently had the opportunity to watch Halloween Kills with friends thanks to it streaming same day as theater release on Peacock Plus. No I did not get paid to say this but considering I would tell most of you to save your money on this film, I figured I'd mention it for those still curious after this review.
Halloween Kills is the 2nd film in a pre-planned Halloween trilogy starring Jamie Lee Curtis and directed by David Gordon Green. The film takes place directly after the events of the previous film, 2018's Halloween.
Now before I get into any heavy spoiler-y bits, I want to start off by talking about how jarring the tone of this film is compared to the first movie in the trilogy. If you are expecting things to even start where they left off as the marketing for the film has alluded to, you have to adjust expectations when hitting play on this one for the first portions of the film.
The movie begins with a flashback to the original 1978 Halloween night. And is shot with a similar tone and angles to the that era of filmmaking. Except there's notthing telling you that the portion of the movie is a flashback. Me and my friends were confused, having watched the first Halloween film in the trilogy earlier on and seeing this one start off with high levels of camp and cheesy dialogue. These moments do end up mattering later but it is such a stark contrast that it immediately took me out of the moment.
As the film makes it's way back to present day, the family that survived the previous movie's encounter with Michael escape to the hospital relieved to have stopped the evil forever...or so they think. Michael is alive and chillin in the basement as the firefighters come in to do their jobs. I actually really enjoyed the showdown that takes place as Michael slaughters half the fire department and starts his bloodstained journey back to his good ol' home in Haddonfield.
Evil has tainted our town
Very early on it's established that the town is prepared to fight and stand up for themselves against Michael and the director and writer had to be trying to convey how Michael effects everyone in this town which is a solid direction to take things after the more personal relationship between Myers and Laurie in the first film.
The subplot revolves around Tommy Doyle who as a child survived that Halloween night where Michael was stopped. He becomes the de-facto leader of the angry mob as they hunt down an escaped mental patient from the same bus that Michael strolled out of in the first movie. There's alot of tie-ins and cameos to the other films in this one which makes me believe that the next film may truly be the last movie in the franchise. With loose ends crudely being tied, you would think that the focus would go back to the family but instead things turn into a showdown between Michael and the residents of Haddonfield.
The Ugly Middle Child in a Trilogy
For those looking for more bad ass Jamie Lee Curtis...don't expect much. This movie makes it easy to remember it's the middle film in a planned 3 parter as Laurie spends a ton of time ranting from a hospital bed after surviving her last showdown with Michael. We all know it has to end with these two so this isn't exactly suprising but the markeing used the "we have to hunt him down" lines from her alot, implying that she'd be leading the charge here.
What follows is Michael beating, maiming, and slaughtering townspeople who decide to hunt him down together terribly or who have the kind of gun aim that would make Stormtroopers embarrassed.
We eventually get our big showdown and the film does a decent job at making me believe things may actually end here. But this that moment is somewhat ruined by the lingering fact that majority of us know a third film is already in the works.
Overall, Halloween Kills was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. The things that the first film got right are somewhat missing here outside of a few splashes sprinkled throughtout the movie. I do believe the level of camp in this one is intentional and perhaps the director wanted to offer elements of the campy side of horror seen in some episodes of this franchise to please a certain part of the fanbase but it certainly drives away the rest of us.
That being said, Michael Myers is still pretty cool as a slasher icon and with $50 milion dollars at the domestic box office earned this past weekend despite it also being available on streaming, I think people will still come back for more next year with Halloween Ends.
Usually, the middle film in alot of trilogies is the best or fan favorite as there's plenty of conflict anf character development without having to worry about delivering a full conclusion. This movie just makes you want the main course way more than the limp and cold appetizers being served up here.
