3/5
Written by Luke Barnes
Summary
Michael Myers, James Jude Courtney/ Nick Castle, in once again at large and the town of Haddonfield must really together to bring him down.
I am deeply mixed on this film. First thing I want to get out of the way is that this film is not the over the top gorefest you have been lead to believe by some critics, yes there are some gnarly scenes but it is nothing more than you would expect from a slasher movie.
Before we get into it I just want to put a big old SPOILER WARNING here, be warned that everything following on from this will have spoilers come back after you’ve watched it or keep reading if you don’t care.
So…… The entire Halloween franchise just doesn’t matter now. Michael Myers can never be defeated as he represents humanity’s divide nature, so what’s the point? The film would have been better served to say he is supernatural, but no, it just gives us this preachy trying too hard piece of dialogue instead. Honestly, this film makes me worried for the next one as I don’t think it will be the finale that we have been promised and instead just keep pumping out these ideas of oh Michael can’t die until we love each other more.
In keeping with that another narrative thing I didn’t like here was the mass hysteria or mob justice scene which sees the residents of Haddonfield become so wrapped up in their own fear that they force an innocent and mostly likely mentally handicapted man to kill himself through fear of if he doesn’t he will be ripped apart by the mob. I understand the incredibly on the nose point this film was trying to make, asking the old adage of ‘who is the real monster’ but it rings hollow: mainly because they move on from it incredibly quickly and the ringleader faces very little comeuppance for his role in it.
Despite these screenplay thematic issues there are still some good moments here. I enjoyed seeing Myers do what he does best and just go around slashing, there was some gory fun to be had there. I also thought Jamie Lee Curtis had a lot of fun whenever she was on screen she really sold her performance, though I feel like for her this is vey much a middle film as she doesn’t actually do very much.
Overall, was it worth the wait probably not. We need more good old slasher vibes and less complex meditations on society.
Pros.
Still some old school slasher charm
Carpenter’s score
Curtis
Cons.
The mob justice scene
Having Michael be a metaphor
If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!
Another Millennial Reviewer 