Halloween (2018)

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Remember back in 1978 when 'Halloween' came along and more or less ushered in the slasher genre? Without it, we might not have characters like Jason or Freddy. It spawned a bunch of sequels and slowly followed its own lore into oblivion. This movie decides to retcon everything we've seen from 'Halloween 2' to 'Halloween: Resurrection', and pick it up from the first film. And yes, that even means 'Halloween II', which takes place the same night as '78's 'Halloween', is also out of the game.

One of the biggest things they do here is rid the franchise of the idea that Laurie and Michael are siblings. Instead, Myers is just a dude who killed a couple of babysitters one night back in the late 70s. He was since apparently captured and living at Smith's Grove Rehabilitation Hospital, and that part of the retcon kinda irks me due to the way the first 'Halloween' ends. There's actually a whole big chunk missing there now between 1978 and 2018, and while I'm usually all for having to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks, I do feel like this asks us to accept quite a lot. Who captured Michael, in the end, anyway? They should be more famous than Loomis (unless it was Loomis and I completely missed something, which is entirely possible).

In the meantime, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is still struggling with the memories of losing her friends at the hands of Michael (James Jude Courtney) that fateful night. She has since trained herself to be a bit of a badass for the last forty years in preparation for his eventual return. She also must deal with the fact that her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) try to pressure her into thinking everything's over, Michael's locked away, and she has nothing to worry about anymore. But then there's talk of a breakout, which sends Laurie into action, hoping he'll come after her so she can rid the world of him once and for all.

Courtney makes a great Michael Myers in the way he moves and poses, Laurie has officially become a bad ass over the years, and all in all the film has a more dramatic tone that further past sequels. It's leans a little closer to the style and feel of that original, which is a breath of fresh air. On top of that, there are a few horror tropes that we tend to like in these kinds of movies, and I don't really think the film does a bad job of executing them to where they still work. The whole brother/sister thing between Michael and Laurie that they cut here doesn't exactly bother me, but I might suggest that it's an unnecessary cut. The family thing was part of what made the franchise what it was to begin with, so I can see oldschool fans not being as forgiving as myself.

In the end, the film goes back to the roots of 'Halloween', focusing on camera work, lighting and music to make things more intense and creepy. It IS nice that it went back to something much more simplistic and the focus on all the demonic possession that 'Curse of Michael Myers' brought forth is now forgotten. It goes to show what 'Halloween' showed in the first place upon its release - simplicity is often much more effective in horror. I think that's what makes this movie endearing to people, on top of the return of Curtis as a toughened-up heroine. I have to admit that for a soft horror reboot, there's quite a bit to appreciate here. I certainly liked it this time more than I did when I first saw it.

Rebooted Body Count: 18
​Rebooted Total: 23 (added to 'Halloween', 1978)

​4/5

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