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Kevin Michael Vance
Writer - Portland, Oregon
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Title: HALLOWEEN
Director: David Gordon Green
Year: 2018
Reviewed: January 23, 2019
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Birthday Cake-Second Highest Rating |
[Rating Definitions]
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So... I've been hearing nothing but good things about this sequel to the 1978 original of the same name. And I was hoping for some good things, or if not, just some bloody good things. But I gotta say, this movie left me thinking... "meh".
First, I am not the largest fan of the original film. For many it is their favorite John Carpenter movie. But for my taste, I think "The Thing" and "Prince of Darkness" far exceeds the slashy offerings of "Halloween" in almost every aspect: story, dialogue, special effects, cinematography, and direction. Now, I can readily and eagerly appreciate and respect that the original "Halloween" was done on a "shoe-string" budget, even as it concerns 1978 standards. And yet still, the film stands for me as an image of a mindless walking horror; something that, even as a kid, I never found horrifying, or scary, if I'm being honest. (I mean, the first time I saw "Night of the Living Dead", with it's unbalanced shambling zombies I distinctly remember thinking why don't they just walk out of the house, casually walk past the uncoordinated zombies, and walk to safety? But that's a discussion for another time or rant- whether or not running zombies are more frightening than shambling zombies.)
Now we have the sequel, and I truly thought there would be more to the movie. But no. It is just the same film... 40 years later. Myers still walks mindlessly and kills just as mindlessly. I don't know... that is just not frightening to me. It may as well be a movie about a killer shark or bear. And maybe I need a reason for all the random violence. Maybe that's what I was missing when I saw the first one. A brainless faceless killer with no motivation is to me... boring. The film ends on a very strong theme of woman power. Which is fine. And I have no problem promoting female strength. However, the bulk of this film does NOT reflect the ending. The women who are killed, are killed running and screaming. Not one of them are depicted as strong; until the end. Not one of them fights back. And before you say it, I know... I get it Michael Myers is supposed to be an unstoppable force. But these characters don't know that, except of course of the grand daughter of Jamie Lee Curtis' character. Also, somewhere among all this murder and mayhem, I never got the reasoning behind the main character, played well enough by Jamie Lee Curtis, staying in the town in which she was attacked and terrorized by Michael Myers. I mean, I get the fact that she was traumatized. I get the fact that she traumatized her daughter, this being one of the better aspects to the film. But the motivation for being close enough for Michael Myers, if he were to ever break out of prison, resume his terrorizing of her never made any sense to me. Was it all a waiting game on her part? Did she surmise that his escape was inevitable, and therefore to flee was futile, that he would find her no matter how far she fled? The aforementioned makes sense, but I don't think this kind of influence was ever legitimately explored in the script.
Granted, I think slasher films might be my least favorite of horror films. I hate how everyone runs screaming, instead of staying quiet and saving their breath for more important things... ya' know, like running. I hate how rarely do you have characters fight back, even if it's a futile fight.
I was not very impressed with "Halloween". I don't think it really did anything new or original, however, the mask looked good. I give "Halloween" a BIRTHDAY CAKE review.
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