Watching: HALLOWEEN

Year: 2018

Rated: R

Director: David Gordon Green

For those of you (aka most of us) who feel the story of Michael Meyers jumped the shark with anything after Halloween II, never fear; this sequel to John Carpenter's classic masterpiece Halloween changes the game and picks up four decades after the events in the first film, ignoring everything else. The fortieth anniversary of "The night HE came home" is coming up, and Michael Meyers remains institutionalized, not uttering a word since committing his crimes. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, wonderful as a broken warrior) has confined herself to her own private hell; twice-divorced and estranged from her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), Laurie lives outside town in an isolated part of the woods, where she's spent decades honing her own fighting and killing skills in preparation for the day when Michael comes for her again, while simultaneous trying to keep a fragile relationship with her teenage granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). When a former student of the late Dr. Sam Loomis, Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), arranges a transfer for Michael and some other patients to another facility - on Halloween night, no less (cue creepy music) - Michael escapes (duh!) and the killing starts again as he cuts a path toward Haddonfield and The One Who Got Away all those years ago. First off, I have to say this film has one KICK-ASS ending I didn't see coming, and for that alone I recommend it. That said, Curtis is fantastic as always, wholly believable as a recluse just waiting to take down the devil. But one thing that made the original Halloween work so perfectly is that Michael Meyers was "The Shape" - an evil, omnipotent, almost supernatural presence who was just ... there; forever after you, and not stopping until it gets you. Here he's sadly been reduced to a standard slasher flick killer, that essence of pure, incarnate evil somehow lost in translation. The fact that director Green also has much of the killing happen off-screen removes some of the mystique from Michael as well, not to mention weakening the most suspenseful scenes when they are suddenly cut short of watching the victim actually buying it (NOTE: John Carpenter's death scenes, in the original, were shocking and terrifying without the gore; the same could equally have been done here). Good but not great, this Halloween (without giving spoilers) still feels like a fitting wrap up chronicling Laurie Strode's dance with the devil; closure of some kind, at last, for that poor, awkward babysitter who just wanted to carve a pumpkin, get a date for the dance, and watch The Thing all those years ago.  7/10 stars