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Halloween (2018)
John Carpenter, Debra Hill, and director David Gordon Greene reach back to the roots of the 1978 film that began the whole franchise with their 2018 version of Halloween, which brings the gore we expect from the franchise, but the backstory and character development supporting this new story just don't make sense.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that made her a star, Laurie Strode, much older but maybe not wiser, still living in the same town where Michael Meyers terrorized her 40 years ago. Laurie now lives like a survivalist, in a home that she has converted into a security nightmare when she is approached by a pair of podcasters who want to interview her about her history with Michael. Laurie's daughter and her granddaughter think Laurie is a little on the nutty side and then, while Michael Meyers is being transferred to another facility, Michael escapes, killing three people in the process.
Personally, I had felt this franchise had run its course 20 years ago with Halloween H20, but decided that this film might be worth checking out since original writer/director John Carpenter appeared to be the screenwriter but that turned out to not be the case after all. Three other writers did the screenplay with "characters created by" Carpenter and this becomes obvious pretty quickly as the backstory established here just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, starting with the incarceration of Michael Meyers. This guy has been locked up, studied, poked, prodded , drugged, studied, and analyzed for the last four decades and he is the exact same guy who was locked up four decades ago? It seems to me that after 40 years of treatment, some kind of mellowing would have occurred with this character but no such thing happens here...Michael is just as destructive and dangerous as he was in 1978.
The changes in the Laurie Strode character completely disregard the Laurie Strode we met in Halloween H20, where Laurie was a college dean working under an assumed name who had become an alcoholic. In this film, Laurie is presented as a slightly crazier variation on Sarah Conner in Terminator 2, who knows the danger but can't get anyone else to believe her, except for the wimpy local sheriff. Even Laurie's own family is confused and embarrassed by her and it was a little disheartening seeing the woman's own family unwilling to have her back.
Then there were some other big gaps in story logic that were hard to swallow, especially regarding the transportation of Michael to another facility. First of all, what was going to be the benefit of transferring Michael somewhere else for 40 years and as dangerous as Michael is, wouldn't it have been prudent to have him secured a little more effectively, akin to the way Hannibal Lecter was secured in Silence of the Lambs or Garland Green in Con Air?
Director David Gordon Green takes a little too much time with exposition, but once the killing starts, this does demand viewer attention, but the first 40 minutes are pretty slow going. Curtis rolls nicely with the constant changes in Laurie and Judy Greer got the most significant role of her career as Laurie's daughter. Also enjoyed Will Patton as the aforementioned sheriff. Green and his writers know how to bring the gore, but a little more attention to logical storytelling would have been nice.
John Carpenter, Debra Hill, and director David Gordon Greene reach back to the roots of the 1978 film that began the whole franchise with their 2018 version of Halloween, which brings the gore we expect from the franchise, but the backstory and character development supporting this new story just don't make sense.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that made her a star, Laurie Strode, much older but maybe not wiser, still living in the same town where Michael Meyers terrorized her 40 years ago. Laurie now lives like a survivalist, in a home that she has converted into a security nightmare when she is approached by a pair of podcasters who want to interview her about her history with Michael. Laurie's daughter and her granddaughter think Laurie is a little on the nutty side and then, while Michael Meyers is being transferred to another facility, Michael escapes, killing three people in the process.
Personally, I had felt this franchise had run its course 20 years ago with Halloween H20, but decided that this film might be worth checking out since original writer/director John Carpenter appeared to be the screenwriter but that turned out to not be the case after all. Three other writers did the screenplay with "characters created by" Carpenter and this becomes obvious pretty quickly as the backstory established here just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, starting with the incarceration of Michael Meyers. This guy has been locked up, studied, poked, prodded , drugged, studied, and analyzed for the last four decades and he is the exact same guy who was locked up four decades ago? It seems to me that after 40 years of treatment, some kind of mellowing would have occurred with this character but no such thing happens here...Michael is just as destructive and dangerous as he was in 1978.
The changes in the Laurie Strode character completely disregard the Laurie Strode we met in Halloween H20, where Laurie was a college dean working under an assumed name who had become an alcoholic. In this film, Laurie is presented as a slightly crazier variation on Sarah Conner in Terminator 2, who knows the danger but can't get anyone else to believe her, except for the wimpy local sheriff. Even Laurie's own family is confused and embarrassed by her and it was a little disheartening seeing the woman's own family unwilling to have her back.
Then there were some other big gaps in story logic that were hard to swallow, especially regarding the transportation of Michael to another facility. First of all, what was going to be the benefit of transferring Michael somewhere else for 40 years and as dangerous as Michael is, wouldn't it have been prudent to have him secured a little more effectively, akin to the way Hannibal Lecter was secured in Silence of the Lambs or Garland Green in Con Air?
Director David Gordon Green takes a little too much time with exposition, but once the killing starts, this does demand viewer attention, but the first 40 minutes are pretty slow going. Curtis rolls nicely with the constant changes in Laurie and Judy Greer got the most significant role of her career as Laurie's daughter. Also enjoyed Will Patton as the aforementioned sheriff. Green and his writers know how to bring the gore, but a little more attention to logical storytelling would have been nice.