Vicky Sparks
When the original Halloween film was released in 1978 it set the bar for future slasher flicks.
Hiding in the backseat of cars and then appearing by sitting up, watching your prey from across the street, appearing as if from nowhere, killing any character that has sex — the killer being almost impossible to kill —these horror film staples were in large part established by Halloween.
But in the 40 years since it was released audiences have become far more sophisticated. Michael Myers, it pains me to say – has not.
This sequel asks audiences to forget nine other sequels and everything we learned in them, and pretend that this sequel, Halloween 2018, is the first since Halloween 1978.
It picks up exactly 40 years after Michael’s infamous murder spree, and we soon learn the bus transferring him from the psychiatric prison that’s been home past four decades to a standard prison has crashed, and Michael has escaped.
In the 40 years he was locked up Michael apparently hadn’t spoken a single word. Despite that, he has been studied by a barrage of psychiatrists and their highly scientific diagnosis is now in – he’s pure evil.
All that time Michael was locked up was only marginally better for Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) the babysitter who got away. She’s had a number of failed marriages, a drinking problem and a daughter (played by Judy Greer) who was taken away at age 12 because her mother spent her whole childhood teaching her how to defend herself against Michael, convinced one day he would return.
Turns out, she was right.
This time around it’s Laurie, her daughter Karen and her granddaughter Allyson who will have to band together to take Michael down once and for all.
There are a couple of twists and turns along the way but nothing genuinely surprising. Jamie Lee Curtis commits to her role as a self-declared basket case and is, undoubtedly, the most redeeming feature of the film.
Unfortunately, the rest is characters making groan-worthy decisions, like running into a dark forest instead of to the police car ten feet away when the killer is chasing you. Or knowing the killer is in the house when you hear footsteps approaching and yelling out, “Mom, is that you?”
For much of this I rolled my eyes instead of covering them.
If you’re a true lover of ‘70s horror flicks and their old-school style you may find more to appreciate than I did. But if you’re simply looking for a good scare this Halloween, you’re better off looking somewhere else.
Vicky Sparks is a Bright’s Grove native and movie critic for Global TV’s The Morning Show, which airs nationally on Fridays. Her Journal Reviews cover movies playing at Galaxy Cinemas Sarnia