Halloween (2018) is brilliant.

Green has a firm grasp on the elements that made the original work - simplicity, realism and a little grounded pathos (and never seeing the Shape's eyes!) - playing with and amplifying them. The simplicity is artful and unsettling, the realism somber and frightening, and the pathos painful and familiar.

Finally, the use of light and editing left me feeling unsure about whether or not I ever saw Myers' eyes save for one fleetingly chilling pre-mask reveal which tips the hat to the mythos of the original and to Laurie Strode's first encounter with him. It's as if his eyes are under dirty water throughout: you catch yourself thinking you've seen them and as soon as you do, they're gone, quickly cut from or subtly submerged in darkness again. It's a wonderful technique I haven't seen used in any of the sequels or even the original, for that matter.

Jamie Lee Curtis gives her best film performance (she was also excellent in Scream Queens) since Freaky Friday here, shading her character with pain, fury and a will of steel. She's subtle, fierce and expertly gives us a realistic portrait of Laurie Strode forty years later, now a PTSD suffering grandmother crippled by her past but fueled with the turbulent courage of someone with nothing left to lose. Her scenes opposite the Shape are startlingly brutal and all the more satisfying for it.

Cont'd

It's easy to find out the myriad ways in which this film could have gone wrong - watch Halloween ::gurgle:: H20, which also starred Jamie Lee Curtis on the franchise's 20th anniversary (and one of my least favorite of the sequels) - and though it isn't a groundbreaking film, it's an excellent slasher pic that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel but puts the rubber to the road and lets it rip.

This is both a love letter to arguably the best horror film of all time and to die hard fans, with mini homages cleverly executed and enthusiastically peppered throughout. The violence and gore are intensified for both current day horror fan sensibilities but also in service of the story, which is meant to highlight the savage and elemental quality of the evil on display. The kills are frightening, intense and surprisingly somber, which elevates and magnifies them and the starkness of the this dark tale. None of the victims are treated as punchlines.

Green displays moments of poetic brilliance as a director here, echoing the original and the aspects of Zombie's remakes that worked. This is the remake or homage Zombie SHOULD'VE made.

Nearly halfway through the film, there's a beautifully rendered extended tracking shot during which the Shape swiftly enters a woman's home, bludgeons her to death with a hammer and after, with the oblivious nonchalance of a curious child swapping toys, picks up a butcher knife. It's a chilling moment that I know I'm not articulating well (I'm still pumped from my watch). Weapons are truly an afterthought for this kind of primal evil

The supporting cast is excellent, with Judy Greer and Andi Matichack providing the best, most striking supporting work of the series since both the original and my favorite sequel, part 4 with the brilliant Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris. Matichack in particular stands out as a nuanced young actress with a promising career ahead of her.

Expanding on his original score for "Halloween", with echoes of his other brilliant compositional work in film and shades of the score to "Suspiria" , Carpenter's music here is a fantastic variations on a theme homage to the most iconic score in horror film history; his own.

.The absence of the inimitable Donald Pleasance is felt but never negatively impacts the film (a stunning achievement) due in part to the brilliant Hall Bilginer as Dr. Loomis' protégé.

There's a plot point involving him that many have found disappointing but I found successfully subversive and perhaps revealing of where the franchise is heading. Is spiritual transference/possession a potential theme for the sequels? An emphasized shot of a knife at the end seems to suggest so.

Ironically enough, the franchise through it's myriad incarnations eventually explored this (particularly in installments 4, 5 and 6). Perhaps Green is planning to do the same in a much more subtle, grounded way in later installments (of which there most certainly will be at least one after this weekend's receipts).

Whether or not you believe in evil, fear is universal and triggered by as many unknown elements as it is the known. This sequel, much like John Carpenter's masterwork, doesn't attempt to explain the 'unknown elements' but simply observes their mysterious, macabre chill

I'm also a huge fan of the original and of Carpenter in general. I saw it yesterday and loved it. Going to see it again next week...

I'm watching it again tomorrow.

I really want to see this. The reviews have been good.

I wanted to add, the grit of the flashback scene (they used a scene from the original) was PERFECT.

It was AWFUL. BORING. A huge disappointment. I saw it Friday evening. By midpoint everyone in the theater was laughing and completely disengaged. The story was all over the place. Much of the cast was unlikable. Complete lack of spookiness. Total lack of atmosphere. Too many unintentional funny moments. Too much crude/stupid dialogue. Too much ridiculous bullshit with Laurie’s stupid fortress house. That whole storyline was just stupid. Too much distraction that didn’t go anywhere. NOT SCARY- it’s hard to be scared when you just don’t care anymore and you’ve seen too much ridiculous shit in one film. It was poorly written and cast, but I believe much of Hollywood’s talent comes from people willing to sell themselves for opportunity and more intelligent and talented people stay far away. I can’t believe this was the best they could come up with.

Get a load of R7. Real subtle, isn't he?

My theater was packed and enthusiastic.

Was I in the bathroom? What was the flashback scene?

R8 Judith's murder.

Loved it too.

Bump

It's projected to take in between $70-80 million this weekend, making it the most successful opening of the franchise and possibly adding up to make it the most profitable entry in the series, too.

Jamie Lee Curtis is boasting as she should be.

I am going to see it tomorrow. Everyone I know is wanting to see this. Many are waiting until next weekend so they can watch it before Halloween. Many are going to see it on Halloween.

JLC may get a surprise Oscar nom.

I would be thrilled if she got a nomination. This a surprisingly good pic that manages to transcend the "slasher movie" label.

It's surprisingly good and effective as is Curtis' expertly controlled performance.

Love you OP

R17 Did you go see and like the movie too?

Brilliant my hairy ass. You’re high Bitch!

R19 lol!

It WAS good!

cheesy as fuck. my audience kept laughing and yelling out at the screen. i guess it depends where you see it.

disappointed

and that early scene at the asylum where Aaron Korey is holding the mask out and taunting Michael with it (" You feel the mask don't you? SAY SOMETHING") and the other inmates hooting and hollering didn't help. The audience erupted in laughter and that set the tone for the whole evening. By the time Michael was trapped in the Curtis fortress they were openly hostile.

In Jamie Lee Curtis' first scene she says Michael Myers killed 5 people when talking with the Korey character. 5 people? Does that mean all the other Halloweens don't exist? Surely he's killed more than that since there's been how many sequels? Whatever

R15 surprise nomination for JC? Bitch, if Toni Collette isn't getting a nom for Hereditary, than JC ain't got a chance in hell. At least Toni actually acted in her disappointing horror film, JC sleeps walk thru hers.

So he was behind him showing the mask and Michael was triggered by it by just being near it? WTF?

R24 I think, like a hungry animal, he was triggered by the close presence of the reporter. The goading didn't help matters

Everyone I know who saw it has enjoyed it and said it is easily the top sequel, though some prefer H2 slightly. All the reviews have said JLC was exceptional and she is a dark horse to get an Oscar nom. Who will she bump off getting a nom?

R26 Lady Gaga...

R27 She will not be a contender when December rolls around. It was all studio hype for LG. She was not even close to being Oscar worthy.

Did they even explain the 1998 movie which also starred Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie, or do we just ignore it?

It has its moments, but the pacing and editing are over the place with way too much time spent with characters who end up adding nothing to the proceedings. Allyson's boyfriend, the black guy in the cowboy hat, and the Loomis-esque doctor (who's featured in a ridiculous, idiotic twist) should have all been taken out as they add zilch to the movie. Allyson's boyfriend seems to only exist for a plot device explaining why Allyson doesn't just call the police when she's attacked by Michael - like she couldn't have still run to safety and called the police at the same time? The police show up anyway, so why does it matter?

If they'd trimmed some of the fat and boosted the screen time of some of our new characters, it could have really been spectacular. Most of the humor doesn't work either, especially a scene in a car where two cops discuss sandwiches for 2 minutes right before the final act. It kills the tension.

They should have cast Kyle Richards as grown up Lindsey.

R29 You ignore it. Even part 2 didn't happen in this sequel.

Variety and Peter Travers both summarized in their reviews brilliantly what makes this film work.

Variety

[quote]

R32 so if someone was new to the Halloween franchise, you just watch the original and this 2018 sequel and that's that?

r34 Yes, it is a direct sequel to the original. I hate they are ignoring part 2 but it works. At least this wipes out Resurrection!

Variety:

[quote]That makes this new “Halloween” an act of fan service disguised as a horror movie. The fact it works as both means that Green (who flirted with the idea of directing the “Suspiria” remake) has pulled off what he set out to do, tying up the mythology that Carpenter and company established, while delivering plenty of fresh suspense — and grisly-creative kills — for younger audiences who are buying into the “Halloween” brand without any real investment in Michael and Laurie’s unfinished business.

Peter Travers:

[quote]Mostly it's the troubled times we live in that allows this elemental horror film to touch a raw nerve for #MeToo.

Fresh suspense? Grisly, creative kills?

Did critics see a different movie? There's literally no suspense because you don't care about the characters and the kills are as boring and uncreative as can be. In fact, about 60% are off screen.

I don't even think this is an awful movie. Had it just been branded as another run of the mill slasher sequel, it would be decent enough, but this whole #metoo bullshit hype machine makes it out to be some thinking person's dramatic horror film. I expected something character driven and emotional, but I honestly think H20 did that aspect better. As is, it's a slightly above average slasher flick. It feels more like one of those early 80's Halloween ripoffs than anything else. Competent enough, but not scary, suspenseful, or particular deep.

I've been reading reports of people crying in this movie. Where? What are these so-called moving moments in this movie?

But Laurie was killed off in Halloween Resurrection, so she actually survived being thrown off the hospital roof?

The teenagers in this movie are boring. We’re barely introduced to the blond babysitter and the next you see her she is getting killed. You don’t give a shit about her. Same with the fat dork in the motion light scene. Wasted time spent on these two. Laurie’s daughter was a whiny ass frau. There was no tension. And you barley knew it was Halloween in the film except for when there’s thousands of trick or treaters running around in the one scene. Name one neighborhood today that has that many kids in one place trick or treating on Halloween night on some given street. Ridiculous.

r38 Did you not hear? She landed on some branches. Climbed her way down and disappeared into the night. Michael knew she wasn't dead but he was arrested for assault with intent to kill. That is how he ended up where he was in the beginning of the movie.

OP, you, a self-proclaimed "die-hard Halloween fan", are everything that is wrong with the world. You brag about your bad taste and enthusiastically gobble up artistic sewage. Horror movies are the Applebee's and Donald Trumps and Kias of film. You should be ejected into space.

I had trouble with some of the plotting.

A bus crashes, several people are murdered, well known homicidal maniac Michael Myers on the loose, no one in Haddonfield seems to know anything about it.

At least five people are brutally murdered in a nearby gas station, cops and emergency vehicles are all over the place, no one in Haddonfield, especially the police or the media, seems to know anything about it.

People are walking around trick-or-treating without a care in the world. Teenagers at the high school dance haven’t heard a word about it. Laurie’s granddaughter loses her phone, so it might be explained why she doesn’t know, yet all her friends have their phones and they are literally walking home in the dark, not knowing a thing.

Laurie has her house set up like a fortress, yet she doesn’t turn the outside lights on until it is too late, and she never turns the inside lights on when she is searching the house for Michael.

Those cops guarding her house know that a killing machine, already responsible for about a dozen extremely recent gruesome deaths, is on the loose nearby yet they haven’t the mildest sense of danger or alert and discuss sandwiches instead of being scared shitless over their assignment.

When they finally have Michael trapped in the basement (an absurd plot point, how could they be sure that they would ever get him down there) instead of any one of the three women shooting him with one of the many guns we’ve been shown over and over, Laurie turns into a James Bond villain, plotting an elaborate death scene that of course allows the trapped prisoner to somehow escape, as usual.

The sold out crowd at my local Multiplex on Thursday night was underwhelmed by the finale, and sort of plodded out when it was all over.

r41 What? Horror movies are great guilty pleasures and can be very artistic. I enjoy the fuck out of them.

All these psychopathic slasher killers are really right wing christian conservatives. That is why they go after drug users, those having sex or talking filthy. It is the often strong, virginal liberal girl who gets the better of him in the end. Even if the strong liberal girl is not an angel.

OP, you've really captivated me with your mesmerizing words. Now I can't wait to see it.

I think there's obviously a supernatural element to the way they portrayed Michael Myers in this. More than a handful of people were physically (psychotically and spirituality effected?) by Myers' mere presence, seemingly culminating in a surprise murder that's a tip of the hat to part 6 (man in black). I could see them giving Myers'supernaturally demonic elements next (e.g. he's only seen walking around when he wants, able to disappear or camouflaged at will).

Green says he already knows where he wants to go next with it. I wouldn't be surprised if he both continues to pay homage to the mythos of the franchise and also takes Halloween into broader, more primally scary and spiritual territory.

I thought the teenagers were ordinary, random and as a result wonderfully effective.

NONE of the deaths felt disposable. Some were downright sad and disturbing.

The fact that we leave the theater still note sure of what drove Myers makes the film extra creepy and open to so many directions.

[quote]my audience kept laughing and yelling out at the screen. i guess it depends where you see it.

Was it excursion day at the local "special school", perchance?

I saw it and loved it. Was pretty suspenseful to me pretty much after the opening scene. We are going back to see it a second time sometime this week too.

It was wretched and a huge disappointment. I have not met one person in real life who thought it was good.

R47 My showing was at 9:30 p.m., much too late for shortbus excursions

Halloween 2018 was brilliant? Even Halloween 1978 wasn't brilliant. Just a highly effective first of a new sub-genre.

Where is a (seemingly) single mother getting the money to pimp out her house like that? Then she blows it up at the end?? I'm surprised they didn't give her some rocket launchers and a tank in this movie....

Incredible film and surprising in so many ways.

R52. Yet another inane plot device. I also wondered this- was it ever addressed how Laurie the Hermit managed to pay for her superfortress? Did anyone else think it was also ridiculous that she was so afraid after 40 years of nothing? If the other movies were acknowledged, I could understand the paranoia- he kept coming after her. But one night, 40 years ago, and she wasn’t even really hurt. And he was locked up and now pretty old. Forty years is a long time and other things take priority. And could they cast any more unattractive teenager guys?

The emerging theme of the people who disliked this film seems to be that there isn't enough realism in a film about a supernatural serial killer murdering a slew of good looking teenagers over the course of a single night.

R55. Most of the teenagers were not good looking in the least.

Not perfect but a damn good sequel. We enjoyed it a lot and our theatre in Chicago was sold out with an enthusiastic crowd. With the awesome BO cue the studio green lighting another Friday the 13th...

What was with the black guy in the cowboy hat. This is suburban Illinois, do they wear cowboy hats there?

The black guy wearing black cowboy attire was paying homage to the man in black from 5 and 6 (costuming wise, that is).

Points of debate:

-Why didn't the police quickly catch a walking killer?

He was in disguise. His trademark mask and overalls are not "trademark" at all in this reboot sequel. Also, there were a handful of criminally insane inmates who escaped.

-How did Laurie fund her fortress?

She was in two failed marriages (alimony) and there was no mention of her own career or lack thereof (maybe she was successful at one point). Also, based on the original, her parents were obviously middle to upper middle class. Maybe she had a decent inheritance.

-Why was Laurie still afraid 40 years later?

PTSD is a muthafucka.

-If they're not related, why is Myers still stalking/trying to kill her?

He wasn't stalking her. He just wants to kill and she's so obsessed with him, she basically leads him to her. I don't even think he recognizes that she's the same babysitter he nearly killed and he was responsible for his detainment.

Bump

I actually like that this is divisive.

This is gonna have legs at the box office. There is good word of mouth and 9 days until Halloween.

R63 it already made $80 million this weekend. I predict $150-$200 million domestic by the end of it's run.

Cinemascore is at B+. Audiences loved it.

Ugh.

Halloween: H20 already did it better, twenty years ago (but of course they destroyed its ending with the next sequel).

Functional alcoholic Laurie was much better than doomsday prepper Laurie. More dramatically interesting, too. It's been FORTY years. She couldn't start to heal one of these decades?

Hated the twist with the psychiatrist who wanted to set up a final confrontation between Laurie and Michael. What a lazy plot contrivance.

Hated the sassy black kid who cracked jokes while his baby-sitter was getting murdered. I’m not the kind of person who cries “Racist!” at every little thing, but, well, that was kind of racist.

Hated the ending, where it was clearly possible that they will devise some way for Michael to survive the fire if this one makes enough money and they want to make a sequel. Laurie chopped his head off at the end of H20. Now THAT was a definitive ending!

There was one inventive moment that echoes the original in a new way (when Laurie disappears after falling off of the balcony, just as Michael did in 1978). The prey becomes the predator. I liked that part.

About the only other positive thing I can say is that it was better than Rob Zombie's remakes. Talk about damning with faint praise!

I have a soft spot for H20. I do think it had some brilliant moments. I did like that Laurie as well. I liked she faked her death and was hiding. I liked the beginning with Dr. Loomis' nurse. I liked the end. While there were a lot of good moments in between, it lacked something in the middle. But the point when Laurie has had enough running and, with the ax screams MIIICHAEEEL is everything!

To me, this one surpasses H20 easily.

QUIT RESPONDING ON THE BIPOLAR MOVIE MANIAC'S TWELFTH THREAD ABOUT HALLOWEEN!

YOU'RE ONLY ENCOURAGING IT TO POLLUTE DATALOUNGE WITH MORE REDUNDANT SPAM!

F&F, then respond on the original thread provided for this purpose:

reply 55 The emerging theme about the people who loved this film is that they're unbelievably stupid.

reply 65 And America voted for Donald Trump to be President. You see the problem with using American opinions as some sort of example of excellence.

reply 60 hon, those are only answers one could buy if they were a child.

Most people liked it, as the cinema score showed and most critics liked it, as the 80% RT score shows. Or is it all an illusion? I know that horrid Lady Gurgle movie is all hype paid for by BC and studio. But Halloween has genuine hype which is organic.

R68 ...

You seem a tad bit unhinged and more like this bipolar poster you're foaming at the mouth about.

Interesting. Over 55℅ of the turnout audience was over 25 yo.

OP, I hope you were paid well for that knob-slobbering purple prose.

I love good horror films but hate watching them in a theater with people who won't shut the fuck up. The culture of needing to talk and attract attention and laugh during a horror film ruins it for me. There's always some cunt asshole who thinks they're doing a standup set in the audience.

reply 72 Most people liked trump in the last election. So what's your point?

I loved it!

Did anyone else think they could have cut the doctor out completely and found another way for Michael to get to Laurie's compound? He was a total waste of time. So was Laurie's granddaughter's boyfriend. He only exists to fuck up her cell phone.

R79 Green revealed in the interview that the boyfriend is actually Lonny's (bully from part 1) son. He said they deleted his death scene for very specific reasons and that he may appear in the sequel. (See interview below.)

Also, I liked the inclusion of the psychologically (spiritually?) compromised protégé of Dr. Loomis. He didn't just lead Michael to Laurie, btw, but was also responsible for Michael's escape (remember, he was on the bus).

He was definitely an important aspect of the plot AND an homage to Dr. Winn, who was Dr. Loomis' supervisor and, in the original franchise sequels, turned out to be a cult leader instrumental in the preservation of Myers'.

I think Hall Bilginer was fantastic. I loved how he both paid homage to Loomis' character (he sounds just like him in moments) and subverts it/him.

R60, you're making things up that aren't in the movie. Very stanish, doing the filmmaker's job for them.

The JLC character is a cypher. If she's nominated, it's the end of the world as we know it.

R60 is totally making that shit up.

Somebody's pimping this crap film on here big time.

How is R60 "making shit up"? LOL.

He posed a few theories based on what we saw in the original and this one.

Nearly all of the inmates DID escape the bus and they never confirmed nor denied whether they were able to detain all of them.

Also, Laurie's financial circumstances are never discussed but they did mention that she went through two failed marriages and in the original, it is shown that her father is an upper middle class realtor.

Jamie Lee herself says Laurie suffers PTSD.

AND, they never confirm or deny whether or not Michael even recognizes her.

What's the made up shit?

Bullshit, r77.

Trump LOST the popular vote in 2016, just like the shitstain George W. Bush in 2000.

Go fake news yourself some more. You're hurting yourself as much as everybody else.

R84 Yep.

Either way, Trump is a loser period!

I guess R81 and R82 couldn't come up with any answers.

Hardly BRILLIANT

I give it a decent 7/10

SPOILERS ////// SPOILERS ///// SPOILERS

SPOILER WARNING ONE :AST TI

Way too many off screen killings

Way too many random introduce me, kill me' characters ..... you can't even call them characters, really

17 kills by Michael

Shitty psychiatrist character .....no Sam Loomis, that one

Granddaughter Allison's player boyfriend DOESN'T get offed by Michael ??? Please

Liked all of the Strode women /////JLC stoe the movie

Some fun nods to the original

SOOOOOOOOOOO ....... SPOILER QUESTION ....... SPOILER ...... SPOILER

Did the psychiatrist arrange for Michael to get loose on the bus so he could reunit Michael and Laurie ??

Might have missed that dialogue in the police car .....

Someone told me the doctor admits to staging the bus crash in the early test screenings, but that detail is strangely absent in the theatrical version. It's implied.

I must be the only person who finds the original film cheesy and forgettable. It's also derivative even one of the characters is named after! Sam Loomis from Psycho. It has not aged well at all with that shrill music every time someone is killed.

R90, I am SO scared to admit this, but I fucking agree! I am all about Halloween 2!!!

Everyone talks about John Carpenter like he was anti gore and the master of a good thriller "being in the mind", and he certainly shot the original brilliantly for no money (the shots, lighting, and camerawork in Halloween, I love)

BUT- The dude who directed Halloween 2 was very clear that John felt very strongly that Halloween 2 needed more gore- John was not into what that guy was doing.

Halloween 2 has it all- great suspense, great set pieces, gore (and not particularly bloody either (well, with the exception of one nurse) an even better soundtrack than the first, Loomis, Laurie (not enough Laurie though- she was very much a supporting actress in part 2)

I am currently at

Halloween 2 Halloween 2018 Halloween 4 Halloween Halloween H20

in my rankings

I love this thread because it is for people who loved Halloween 2018!

And I agree, this film has legs and Halloween weekend should be very interesting at the box office-

Michael absolutely know that is the girl he almost killed 40 years prior. It is ludicrous to suggest otherwise. They don't have to explicitly say he recognizes her. It is safe to say he dreamed of finally killing her for 40 years.

I think Halloween II is pretty good, too. It's got a lot of the same mood. It's a shame Laurie doesn't have more to do and they shouldn't have deleted the scene explaining why the lights were cut off, but it's not a bad movie at all. The brother/sister twist is dumb, but what ya gonna do?

Halloween II is ok but not as good as the original, 4 or this one.

Original ending revealed

JLC is promoting this in Australia

It grossed $6 million + yesterday.

This thing might reach $200 million by mid-November.

Also, I'm thinking JLC can make it to a nomination for this.

She absolutely can and it is looking likely she will get a nom. The stars aligned for this.

Everyone is talking about his movie. Everyone wants to see this. One week until Halloween and this thing is gaining momentum.

R99 As a longtime Halloween and JLC fan, I'd be thrilled!

Me too R99 and R100!

I love this thread. Real horror fans who enjoyed this film.

The shills are out in force

r102 Not shills just keepin it real. Word of mouth speaks volumes. It made more today than yesterday.

Well, my word of mouth is that while there were some good scenes, the plot is full of idiotic holes and the ending was unsatisfying.

R102- Fuckface, this thread is clearly for the fans of this film. There are two other threads far more critical. The shills will be posting there, asshole.

Oh yeah! One other thing-

Suck my 12 inch dick before someone gets cut! Motherfucker

There are always things to be critical of in a horror movie (or any movie). The original had holes but it was still good. This one is very good. I don't think anything it did could have been totally satisfying. What it did do, it did hit some good marks.

Dear God, the shill is in full force! Fuck off cunts, this is a GOSSIP site, and we don't need shills here!

R105 YOU fuck off ASSHOLE.

(And you mean your 4 inch dick).

An Oscar nomination? Some of you bitches need to up your meds.

r109 It has been mentioned by many critics. If anyone buys the ridiculous studio hype about Lady fucking Gaga getting a nom (as if) then JLC is leagues above that amateur shit.

Got any links for that, r110?

So, I saw this a third time. It's perfect. I tried nitpicking at it, but it wouldn't buckle.

This is definitely the best Halloween since John Carpenter's original masterpiece. The fact that Carpenter himself contributes such a beautifully nostalgic yet fresh score for the piece is truly just desserts for die-hard Halloween fans. Carpenter should win the Oscar for Best Score as a tribute to his iconic original score for Halloween and the film itself, which he both co-conceived, co-wrote and directed.

Speaking of Oscar, Jamie Lee Curtis should be in the conversation in either Lead or Supporting Actress for her nuanced yet riveting portrayal of a traumatized yet prepared survivor of a mysterious homicidal maniac. She's funny, witty, understated and explosive.

This film is officially a blockbuster but not just because it's a good horror movie, but a good film which really does pose fascinating questions about the nature of evil - abuse, torture, murder - without providing any answers.

The best horror films trick you into taking the horror home with you. This Halloween actually does that.

r112 Thank you, sweets!

MM, like Jason, is a right wing conservative Christian. He hates sex, hates drugs, hates women. Laurie Strode is the liberal final girl who kicks his fucking ass.

only made it thru barely half

same old shit

Jamie lee's mean snotty side cums thru so big she makes my skin crawl...

No way in Hell ms Curtis gets a nom

she not much liked in town....

Don't worry, she isn't taking Lady Trash's spot as she won't even be in the conversation by the time the real competition starts. The studio hype will be gone so don't hate on JLC who the stars are aligning for to get an Oscar Nom.

Her bitch ass personality has alienated her from a lot of her peers..

r117 NOPE, try again.

As someone up thread noted, Halloween is coming up. I this this will skirt $200 mill by then.

It might out gross A Star is Born.

I don't get it either. I thought it was silly and predictable. Not even the best sequel.

R120 What's your favorite sequel from the franchise?

Okay. New ranking:

Halloween(1978)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 5 (1989)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

Halloween II

Halloween: H20

Ranked Separately:

Rob Zombie's Halloween II

Rob Zombie's Halloween

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

The Washington Post gives it a rave in a new review published this Monday.

The review contains a lot of spoilers.

I think the fact that almost no one in Haddonfield knew that Michael Myers was on the loose again, was a fatal flaw in this movie

R124 It was handled plausibly.

Michael is only known for 5 murders 40 years ago! A bus crash left several criminally insane patients out on the loose.

Before they get who it is that's risen, Myers is halfway through his kills and semi aided by a nut.

I found the plot naïve and predictable.

R113 I'm sure MM has NO political affiliation and Laurie has a shitload of GUNS at her arsenal so she cant be a liberal since they hate guns

And no one hates women more than .... LIBERAL WOMEN

No one...

Love you too, OP. I haven't seen it yet, so I didn't read your entire review. I can't wait to see it, and yes i hate grammar nazis too.

R125 that's completely ludicrous.

R124, having several criminally insane patients on the loose is even MORE reason to have the town on high alert

Exactly.

R128 Review is pretty much spoiler free

I'm obsessed with Carpenter's score for this. Really beautiful work.

r133 Agreed. It's extraordinary. It harks back to the original, remains extremely effective and yet totally modern at the same time. It's miles better than most modern horror scores written by composers half his age. He's still The Master. I just hope he starts to direct movies again...

R134 he needs to stick with Blumhouse, too.

Laughing at the people here who are judging the merits of a movie based on audience behavior. Audience's these days can ruin the best movies. All it takes is a couple of assholes. I only go to the higher end theaters that allow you to reserve your seat and that serve cocktails. I prefer to go during off times. I gave up on the regular theaters years ago because audience's are so rude and distracting. Have heard people answering their phones in a movie.

Nobody is Judging the movie’s merits based on the audience behavior,, but audience reaction is indicative of a movie’s credibility.

R137 And the audience has reacted to the tune of $90 million in 5 days and by writing some amazing reviews (Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, etc.).

LOL!! yeah, because a movie's financial success is always indicative of its quality. you shills are a mess!!

R139 You forgot to read where I wrote about the rave reviews it's received, but I guess legendary critics like Peter Travers are shills, too.

You type Trumpian.

The anti-Halloween brigade are the Gaga loons who are butt hurt Halloween has taken all the spotlight away from its movie, kept its movie from being #1 and JLC has Oscar buzz knocking it from contention (as if IT could get a nom to begin with with that mediocre acting).

R141 If that's the case, how silly and rude.

This is a fabulous shift for older female actresses.

Think of further projects along the lines of this with potential older leads who were in the original: A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist (Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn please!), Alien, etc.

I hope this does get a surprise Oscar nom or two.

Halloween needs both MM and Laurie Strode. It just works. I think Laurie got the deep evil MM was when she encountered him. She had a sixth sense about him in the first film, it seemed. I think that is why she went batshit hermit in the years after. She instinctively knew he was coming back for more.

OP is the most insufferable cunt who ever typed a type on the DL, I mean...!

R144 You twisted cunt, lol.

Hee Hee!!

Curtis has expressed interest in doing another Halloween but only if David Gordon Green returns as director.

It’s fucking awful and an insult to the first one. It honestly felt like a parody. Don’t waste your money.

R148 You little bitter slit.

It's an excellent film.

[Quote] Think of further projects along the lines of this with potential older leads who were in the original: A Nightmare on Elm Street

Didn't Nancy die in Dream Warriors?? And more importantly, who would make a good Freddy?

R150 Bring Englund back. Nancy can easily be revived and the sequels ignored. Or not.

I don’t think I have any interest in this movie, but I love the original as much as anyone (that’s partly why I don’t want to see this one). I even have two Halloween (1978) T shirts that I wear *regularly*.

I did however come to JLC’s defense on the other thread about her opiate addiction. I had no idea she inspired such venom in some people.

R152 You should go see this film. If you're really as much of a fan of the original as you say, you'll find much to appreciate with this one.

Curtis is an interesting personality but more importantly, she's fantastic in this.

Okay!

R151 Do you think Englund would want to??

R165 With the potential box office success, absolutely.

I thought the reason Englund stopped was because he was getting too old??

Did we see the same movie??

It was passable, maybe better on tv later...

The rumors of Jamie lee and her cock kind of shade all her roles, miscast sadly

Another basic thing that sets this apart from all the other sequels is that, along with the original (and all of Carpenter's films), the acting is on another level. Carpenter's always been a great actor's director, which he's never given credit for, but just watch STARMAN, for example. Both lead performances are superb and their emotion completely carries the movie. And watch the final scene: most other directors would have done the big, final special effects shot of the spaceship leaving, but Carpenter does it all in one simple shot of Karen Allen's face and her emotion. The rest is simple lighting and camera movement. David Gordon Green is similarly an actor's director and he gets great performances, not just from JLC but right down to the smaller roles.

One slight flaw in the film--though I wouldn't really call it a flaw, as the scene is brilliant--is the sequence where he goes on the rampage in the neighbourhood. The whole thing is shot from his point of view. So we're basically him. Carpenter shot a couple of brief bits like that in the original but very fleetingly. Both Hitchcock and Carpenter knew that you have to shoot suspense and horror from the point of view of those in peril, otherwise it isn't scary. The rampage sequence is beautifully shot, like really beautifully shot... but it isn't scary, it's just brutal.

Who is this Halloween loon acting as if this film is the modern horror equivalent of Citzen Fucking Kane? This prisspot monster mash mary makes the Poppins Loon over on the Theater Gossip Threads seem almost sane! The new Halloween is a plodding bore AND it has NO IDEA what made the original so perfect.

R161 You're the plodding bore, dear.

Right on, R151. Who is paying these shills to hype this awful, boring movie? Are the creators on here trying to defend their mess? I’ll take the word of a disappointed, pissed off audience over some faceless reviewer any day. The audience I was a part of was so excited to see this movie- full theater, so much anticipation. Slowly, you could feel the mood change to disbelief, boredom and laughter in the wrong places. When the lights went up, it was clear that everyone was disappointed and annoyed at being ripped off. The producers were selling a promise and didn’t come close to delivering. Not scary, not creepy, no atmosphere, pathetic attempts at humor, unlikeable characters, even the killing was inauthentic for Myers. And while I don’t have a problem with #metoo, or female empowerment, that’s not what I signed up for here. JLC did nothing spectacular and her performance is also being overhyped. Happy Halloween, Michael? Whatever. I don’t care what it makes. Even the Emoji movie made money.

1000% agreed R163!

The F13 and ANOES fan boys who think bringing Adrienne King and Heather Langenkamp back to their series and that it'll have massive "Halloween type" box office are beyond delusional

Neither have the big fan base and media attention that JLC commands, what major talk show would be rushing to book them? I can't see Entertainment Weekly or People rushing to do cover stories on them and their return like with JLC

That's what separates the Halloween series from the others, in addition to the main star Michael Myers, you have a household name actress with her own fan base, you have a female star essentially co starring with him

My mom , who HATES horror movies, is going to see this this weekend just because of her JLC love

What I can't stand are assholes who don't like something and expect everyone to agree with them, even resorting to insults.

Nevermind that top critics loved it and that it's made $100 million in a week.

These are probably the same douchebags routing A Star is Born as anything other than shit.

*touting

r165 is the delusional one here.

Jamie Lee Curtis is not a big enough star to open any, other movie besides a HALLOWEEN one. And now that people have seen that the 2018 movie sucks, she'll never make $100 million in the first week again -- any sequels are going to diminish in returns.

Truth is, both the FRIDAY THE 13TH and ELM STREET franchises made legions more money than the HALLOWEEN franchise ever did and their villains are all they need to open with big box office returns.

The FRIDAY THE 13TH reboot made $100 million; the ELM STREET reboot made $115 and they didn't have ANY of the classic actors returning.

Bringing back Robert Englund, Langenkamp or King in some way — or attempting continuity with the old films — would boost that box office with cross-generational appeal like HALLOWEEN or STAR WARS. And they'd make more money because they were more popular franchises to begin with.

And F.Y.I., Robert Englund said this week he IS willing to return as Freddy Krueger:

R168

[QUOTE]And now that people have seen that the 2018 movie sucks

I love how sure you are of yourself, making such broad blanket statements.

We'll see after this weekend's box office receipts if you're right.

F.Y.I. Neill Blomkamp had a full script and nearly convinced Fox Studios to reboot an ALIEN sequel with Sigourney Weaver starring.

Then Ridley Scott stepped in and shit the bed.

People will be better off watching the classic horror movies on TV.

AMC is doing a marathon of all the HELLRAISERS tonight.

FRIDAY THE 13TH marathons play all weekend, followed by marathons of all the HALLOWEEN movies Monday through Halloween.

Paramount Network is doing marathons of the ELM STREET movies on Halloween and IFC is doing an ALIENS marathon!

This is expected to hold the #1 spot and is expected to take in $30-$50 million.

R168 the F13 reboot made $65 million in TOTAL in the US and $90 million, Halloween will make between $250-$300 million worldwide when all is said and done you dumb fuck

Elm Street reboot also made $65 million domestically, don't know where you get your FALSE information from but the FACTS are that the new Halloween made more than those films in ITS OPENING WEEKEND ALONE

R173 here, actually A Nightmare on Elm Street remake made $63 million in the US and $116 million worldwide

F13 remake was $65 million US, $92 million worldwide

New Halloween will do between $150-$200 million US and $250-$300 million worldwide.

You were saying?

I can't wait to bump this thread when Oscar nominations are announced.

What delusional nutcases we have here!

I was saying Freddy and Jason can make a shit ton of money WITHOUT ANY ORIGINAL STARS, r174!

Go back and read!

ELM STREET and FRIDAY would have doubled their money with its original stars and middling scripts like HALLOWEEN '18!

Michael Myers is the Queen of Horror!

R176 well Halloween is actually doing just that, possibly TRIPLING it

I need Curtis and Carpenter to win Oscars for this and for the film to be nominated for that new Popular Movie category.

It's amazing how the franchise has always succeeded with it's anniversary sequels (1988, 1998, 2018).

Holy Shit, the Oscar buzz Mary in this insane thread is definitely a new DL favorite for me, a total loon and proud of it. I’m a huge Halloween franchise fan, saw the original many times in the theater, own all the films and special editions and I found the new entry very mediocre and saddled with a TERRIBLE script. JLC was in fine form, teenage cast solid, HATED the overall presentation of The Shape, why show him as an old man with no magic or mystery?!?! This could have been a winner, but sadly it’s another medium skilled addition.

Myers is magic and mystery and the new film reestablished that, thankfully.

It was totally worth it.

A riveting return to form. It shan't be missed!

r179 "needs" institutionalization and Zyprexa.

That's all.

I wish they were showing the original and this as a double bill anywhere in London on Halloween night. I'd go and see it a third time for that.

Damn, I just checked and they are showing the original Halloween at my local cinema on Halloween night at 7, which means I could see that, wait half an hour and then go into the next showing of this film... but I'm working till 9 o'clock that night and I can't get out of it.

R184 You're too cute, lol.

I would have loved for F13 to recon Alice alive and have Jason always hunting for the girl who killed his mother. Then she comes back to finish him once and for all. The F13 reboot was fucking awful and did a terrible job of paying homage to the first iconic film. It barely showed Mrs. Voohees and didn't even name the girl who killed her Alice! WTF?

I would love Lagenkamp back as Nancy. I've always liked Laurie Strode, Alice Hardy, and Nancy the best as original final girls.

If you did a Halloween marathon and watched all the films within their various sequences, you'd have to re-watch the original three times and Halloween II twice. No bad thing. I'd go Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween 4-6, Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween H20, Halloween: Resurrection, the two Rob Zombie films (ugh!), Halloween III, then Halloween and Halloween (2018). 14 films. You could do it in 24 hours.

161, LOL. Leave OP alone. Though responses like this are why I love DL.

r161*

AMPAS will NOT ignore this.

[quote]The emerging theme of the people who disliked this film seems to be that there isn't enough realism in a film about a supernatural serial killer murdering a slew of good looking teenagers over the course of a single night.

Why is it people always think because there is a supernatural element, all logic and realism has to go out the window? It has to be realistic within the world they set up.

im shocked how ms Curtis has aged, kind of blew me away....

they must tape her face up real good when she is on tv talk shows..

like wow, the years have not been kind.

has she had struggles with drugs or booze?

ok thriller.

music and sound effects tho were awesome.

It was a solid, though not spectacular, movie.

It was definitely better because we went right after watching the original. There are a lot of small touch points that tie the two films together that most people wouldn't remember if they hadn't seen the original recently.

The biggest problem with the movie was pacing and too much time spent with random characters. Additionally, not enough time was spent in the final confrontation at the end between Curtis's character and Meyers. There should have been a much longer,more intense cat-and-mouse game with an inversion where the roles switch between which one is the cat and which one the mouse.

Also, they telegraphed one of the important twists too loudly, too early. Yet, at the same time, you really had to pay very close attention and infer a lot from that twist to know how Meyers would have known so much about Laurie Strode's life after spending 40 years institutionalized.

Box office projections

So, Green says they kept Allyson's boyfriend (also son of Lonny, who was the bully that bumped into Michael in part 1) for specific reasons....

I have a feeling Michael transferred some evil into Lonny when he grabs him briefly in the original and as a result, his son/family have been effected.

Watching this film again, I noticed they make a point of mentioning that Lonny's family is messed up and violent. Allyson's boyfriend's reaction is somber and even a little angry.

I wonder if he'll eventually become a killer.

R195 I don't think Michael was aware of Laurie Strode. She basically got in his way throughout in this film.

Even finding her compound I think was pure chance. By the time he spots her a second time, I think he just wants to kill and she's there. I don't think he was seeking revenge.

Any sequel to this bore will be an even bigger bore. Halloween 4 was a superior film.

[quote][R195] I don't think Michael was aware of Laurie Strode. She basically got in his way throughout in this film. Even finding her compound I think was pure chance. By the time he spots her a second time, I think he just wants to kill and she's there. I don't think he was seeking revenge.

In the first movie, he's clearly fixated with her. He follows her, including watching her from outside the school. He works his way carefully toward a confrontation with her and the use of moments where they make direct eye contact are meant to demonstrate recognition and intent. When they pulled over, the doctor was heading to her compound specifically to force a confrontation to satisfy his curiosity and validate his theories (and, of course, he's a murderous lunatic).

...assuming that there was intent on the part of the film. Coincidence at his just happening to find her family would be silly and utterly poor movie making and storytelling.

R200 In the original, he's only interested in her because she walked up to his house. He watches her outside of the school after and then leaves.

He then sees her again walking home from school with Annie and Linda. This time he stops only after Annie insults him ("Hey jerk, speed kills!"). One can argue that it's after this moment that he he begins stalking them and decides to kill them.

It's left ambiguous.

Exactly R201, Carpenter has stated Myers was just a vessel of carnage and murder, like the shark from Jaws, he had NO invested supernatural purpose for going after her in the original. He went back to his hometown to kill all the sex obsessed teens.

R202 I think he went back to kill period.

I also think he went specifically as after Annie because she yelled insults at him. Everyone else was just there or got in his way.

R202 I agree.

Sorry! Meant R203 ^^^

Saw it last night and loved it. My ranking of the series from best to worst:

Halloween 1978

Halloween 2018

H2O

The rest of them all suck.

R206 Halloween 4 is really good!

r207 I've seen it but can't remember anything about it (was that one of the ones with Danielle Harris?), but I'll take your word for it!

R208 it was the first time Danielle appears.

They have an excellent copy on YouTube for free (linked below).

I am Laurie Strode.

MM definitely fixates on Laurie getting away. Yes he wanted to just kill kill kill. He absolutely wants to get her in the new one.

Oh FUCK ME!

Wrong thread.

I love Tori Amos AND Michael Myers!

same old story

over and over and over....

wtf??

Considering there's only seven basic plots in existence, all stories are basically the same old story.

With 3 threads on Halloween going, couldn't this one just remain for fans of the new film? It is a free country, but go fucking watch Forrest Gump or something (and finger yourself, of course)

I wanted to talk a bit more about Carpenter's excellent score. There's so much to love there. The new working of the theme, the use of some of the old "stinger" lines, especially the one where JLC's face appears out of the darkness in the final scene. All of the new, yet quintessentially Carpenter stuff, etc. But my absolute favourite and it actually made the hairs on my neck stand up, was the piece just after Allyson sees Michael Myers for the first time and is running from house to house screaming. That kind of pulsating, stabbing synth music. Amazing...

This film takes place on October 31st, 2018. That means the killings haven't happened yet. Are we looking into the future? How? This means we could technically warn these people to lock their doors and not go out that night since we know they will be killed otherwise. There's still 4 days before they are destined to die. Could all of this be prevented?

r217 No, it's fiction, dear x

r217 Why yes, hurry, go to Haddonfield, ILL stat. They must be warned!

R210 Sorry, I am Laurie Partridge.

Yes, R216, it’s brilliant. And if you like alternative rock, you should check out the Breeders’ recent live cover of it (with assistance from opening band Melkbelly).

HALLOWEEN 4 is a shit sandwich with stupid cops, high-key lighting, no scares and a heroine you have to be a 9-year-old girl to relate to.

r207 is an absolute loon who probably cheers for Jake Lloyd in THE PHANTOM MENACE, his favorite STAR WARS film.

"Only Deranged Super Fanboys can post in this thread!"

FUCK OFF. Get a blog, if you can't take the heat.

The movie is down by half after its first week That's a huge drop, especially considering that Halloween is actually getting closer. Word of mouth is killing this thing.

It's the biggest hit in the franchise! Also, in the article - "The latest installment, directed by David Gordon Green, slid a relatively modest 58 percent – especially good for a horror release – after setting a record for an October debut last weekend." Not a huge drop.

Jesus Christ. I just listened to the soundtrack on Youtube. Its fucking amazing actually.

flabbergasted how old ms Curtis looks in this

is she sick?

Ms. Curtis is playing a 57 year-old traumatized Laurie Strode character, not herself, so some aging makeup, less attention to flattering makeup, lighting, etc. is called for, not to be glamorized.

My friend and I saw it today (I took him, I had already seen it) and the theater was packed at 3pm. Most of the theater clapped at the end.

There was a shocking number of kids who were well under 10. I would say a full 1/3 of the audience was under 10.

Despite some minor flaws, "Halloween" (2018) is a harrowing, trauma-driven fever dream that focuses on the mystery of evil rather than evil itself, which eventually does creep up on you in the shadowy, looming form of the merciless Michael Myers, underscored by Carpenter's timeless score, presented here with psychedelic rock flourishes that both lift and transcend the film, much like his score for the original"Halloween" (1978).

Jamie Lee Curtis is a revelation here.

I found the murders in this more disturbing than I thought I would. I think this is what David Gordon Green has brought to the table: his relentless observance of the gravity of evil and it's chaotic, senseless acts of destruction.

Both the heroine and the villain are effected by it in very different ways. One enjoys it or perhaps needs it while the other fights herself and the world at large in her pursuit of and battle against it - a mythic, primal evil.

David Gordon Green presents this age old battle as a dark and grim fairy tale here. The Boogeyman is real and if you're not careful, he may just sneak up on you.

Also, after this, someone needs to put Curtis in a quirky, meaty indie drama. She's at her peak levels right now.

R160 I think highlighting the brutality over "the scares" is what lifts this movie above your run of the mill slasher movie.

You're right, too. That sequence is beautifully shot and brutal and is both an homage to and innovation in the franchise.

There were several moments I was disturbed enough, I wanted them to cut from Michael.

The gas station murders were particularly effective and he doesn't even have his mask on in that.

The use of music, mood and editing in that sequence is masterful. Green's compositions and angles are expert. Even without his mask, he frames and shadows Michael in such a way that he always implies the evil within without having to solely resort to a mask.

When he does resort to the mask, however, he does so expertly. Some of his shots fooled me into thinking I was watching cuts from the original.

$etting record$:

Mark my words, Jamie Kee Curtis will get nomated for an Oscar for Best Leading Actress and Michael Meyers for Best Supportimg Actor.

Halloween 2018 changes the game in cinematic excellence, as a film it is a modern masterpiece, ripe with terror and dripping with drama and characters that are instantly iconic. Not a mere horror film, this is a human film, every frame reveals the secrets we fear and desire, each word spoken is done to thrilling perfection. This is a motion picture to caress and savor, a timeless classic has been gifted to us. Absolutely will garner many Oscar nods and wins.

It's riveting and compelling in it's power.

The new Halloween is to horror films what Citizen Kane was to dramatic cinema in the 1940s, what Le Sacre du Printemps was to ballet when it first opened in 1913 before a shocked, enraptured audience. It is nothing less than a clarion call reinventing and re-energizing an entire art form!!!

R237 I love every bit of you :-*

What do you guys think was the scariest bit of the film? I know most people didn't rate the twist, but that moment where he stands up in front of the car with the mask on actually gave me a chill. Also, there's a bit in the final sequence where you just see Myers standing in Laurie's house in near darkness. The music goes full on and for a second you just get a sense of pure evil.

Halloween (2018) is the black obsidian jewel in the crown of a franchise that has been underrated and underestimated for far too long.

And why?

Purely and simply: eVil.

This film is a call to unification and action against the dark overlords of the current state.

[quote]Jesus Christ. I just listened to the soundtrack on Youtube. Its fucking amazing actually.

It's really fucking good. It just makes you yearn for Carpenter to get back to making movies again. He never lost his touch, he just had a shit time with studio interference from THEY LIVE! onwards.

R239. That's the first scene (the camera rises from a tight shot at his dismembered fingers) in the entire franchise that made me realize that Michael Myers really isn't completely human. Or, if he is, he's just a vessel for a darker, more powerful evil.

He's human but his mind is super-human. Or rather he has abilities he has tapped into.

There's a nuance to Curtis' work here that's sublimely vaporous: you feel her hover over your skin and seep into you pores and up through your nostrils and you know you've been penetrated by the power and strength of a great actress.

MM is obsessed with Laurie and she, in turn, became obsessed with him. He sees something in her he wants or needs to kill. She has always got his true evilness.

r243 That's the one! It's a perfect shot, isn't it? The lighting, the music. Incredible. I've mentioned this already, but the lighting in the neighbourhood carnage sequence is truly beautiful:

The motion sensor scene is excellent, too. It kind of reminded me slightly of the idea behind the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who.

R246. I simply don't agree and I think this sequel reboot also shows otherwise.

This guy is evil or possessed by a supernatural evil. To him, it doesn't matter who you are.

Of course, if you're purposely getting in his way and shooting at you, chances are he'll be coming after you too.

*shooting at him

What are David Gordon Green's other films like? I remember when he first came on the scene, he seemed like someone who was mainly influenced by Terrence Malick. But he never seemed to build on that early promise and I lost track of him over the years. The last film I heard about was that one with Nicholas Cage, which was supposed to be pretty good. He's clearly a great director of actors, going by Halloween. Even the secondary and minor characters turn in great, interesting, naturalistic performances with lots of interesting choices.

The doctor says MM has been waiting for Laurie for 40 years. He was obsessed with the one who got away. He isn't supernatural and that is NOT where they want to go with this. They even said it in interviews. His mind is almost super-human but he is very much human, just an exceptional one.

There is a clip of John Erik Hexum (in Voyagers!) in this film

R253 The doctor was the one obsessed with Laurie, clearly.

Michael doesn't give a fuck. He only wants to kill.

oh please. MM is obsessed with Laurie as in the original. He wanted to get her. Yes, he wants to kill everyone but he focuses on her intently and has been, clearly, for 40 years.

R255 You're still carrying the old mythology with you.

Michael is evil. Evil doesn't obsess, it destroys.

Well he chose not to kill a baby so he is a little more nuances. The doctor was obsessed with Laurie but he delivered those lines without any hint it was untrue. MM obsessed over Laurie. Like he was in the first film. It just is. Evil can latch onto something even while it destroys all it can.

R257 Maybe it only likes to destroy what can fight back.

Laurie Strode was the casualty of a greater war:

The war against eViL.

I wonder if the young boy who's going hunting with his dad was supposed to read as gay. Probably not, as obviously straight boys sometimes enthusiastically go to dance class, too. It was a sweet moment in the film, though... until it wasn't anymore...

[quote]Maybe it only likes to destroy what can fight back.

That's how I read it. I don't think we can read too much into that moment in the film, though, as it is literally the only stupid choice by the scriptwriters/director.

R259 I wondered that too, but I think that's just us projecting outdated clichés.

The demon possessing Michael will begin possessing others.

There will be more Michael Myers's.

There is no demon. This isn't the Exorcist. There is no magic, no supernatural. Do you think a demon possessed American Psycho and Hannibal Lector too?

[quote]He's human but his mind is super-human. Or rather he has abilities he has tapped into.

Ugh, his mind. He's so powerful. 🙌🏼👊🏻

R263 They don't get that the supernatural aspect of him has been retconned, twice (H20 being the other).

What happened to her son Josh Hartnett and her daughter Michelle Williams. She should have reprised the role instead of Judy Queer.

Well, if her son was Josh and daughter Michelle, that movie would have been VERY controversial.

I do wonder why they couldn't have the actress who played her daughter in 4 and 5. Or have Josh H be her son AND Judy Greer her daughter.

Then again, maybe it would have been too meta or cheesy.

Adrienne King,,Alice from Friday The 13th, is on Facebook asking fans to petition Paramount to bring her back for the next F13, she just posted that she hasn't been receiving any calls and that fans need to work harder in their petitions with Paramount .Frankly it's downright desperate and embarrassing, as if she had 1/10 of the career that JLC had, aside from F13 what do people know her from ? Burger King commercials she did IN the early 80s?

They killed off Alice too soon. They should have never killed her off. Bringing her back would be awesome. I don't think she believes she is JLC but Alice is pretty iconic though not nearly as much as LS.

Though the Alice kill in F13-II was awesome. One of the best openings of a horror movie.

Super packed tonight at every showing per a friend. Most screenings sold out in advance. $200 million easily! Its worldwide #'s are crazy good, too.

We will, idiot @ r234.

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

Halloween H20 is on AMC right now

FAP FAP FAP goes the bipolar fanboy, posting to itself after deleted cookies to disguise his manic episode as a groundswell of public support for a middling bore.

Halloween took all the air out of other films.

This was a near perfect sequel.

Numbers for this thrilling motion picture are stunning and astonishing, it is breaking records and turning a needy film industry upside down with success! Why? Because it is the best studio film in years, a work of brutal art, fleshed out with mystery and the greatest performance by a leading actress in decades. A triumphant blast upon screens, and a new modern classic.

This should do another $20 million by Thursday.

Was Halloween H20 set at a water park? Was there a wet theme?

r280 A very bloody water park. I believe it was at a Sandals in Jamaica. Michael Myers was vacationing and ran into (or so he thought) a dead Laurie Strode. Shit went DOWN from there.

Yes, in H20, Michael Myers wore a mask AND a Speedo. The tagline was, "The Night He Found His Inner International Male Model."

This an enigma to f a film, it's use of light and sound omniscient

You can tell the Halloween haters are the F13 fan girls.

Fuck off.

r284 I love both equally.

R284 Die in a grease fire, cunt.

If I block one of the loons here, I'm guessing half the posts disappear.

There. 5 blocked posts and every loon praising the brilliance of this film disappears.

R287 Give in to it's raw powah.

Still love it

Aint no way in hell they will give her a nom.

trust.

Hwy, R290?

[quote]There. 5 blocked posts and every loon praising the brilliance of this film disappears.

Did you somehow misread the thread title, my love?

It's at $180 million worldwide ($130 mill domestic).

So, it seems like a sequel is inevitable now and I'm sure it won't be hard to get Green, McBride, and Curtis back. Would be nice if Carpenter could do the score again, too.

I just don't know what direction this could even go. Is it going to go where Halloween 5 seemed like it was going to go, showing of Michael's evil can be passed around like a plague? Is it going to be about some weird doctor conspiracy? Be an homage to Halloween II and set it all in a hospital?

R294 Maybe a little of all of that combined.

I will say this: they need to map out the story for at least three sequels so they know exactly where they're going with the franchise now.

Green mentioned that they thought about filming two sequels along with the reboot simultaneously, so I have confidence they've already mapped things out.

I don't think we'll get a sequel until 2020 at least.

r295 He just mapped out one sequel, not two. And Curtis wasn't on board when he did that. She has since said she would come back only if this team was back.

I won't be on board if MM kills Laurie. That would be stupid and a huge let down.

R296. Ah, ok.

I don't think they'll be killing off Laurie unless Curtis specifically wants out. I actually think Laurie will once more become the central character of the franchise.

I'm looking forward to what new direction(s) they will take. Personally, I think going the spiritual route would be fun and something they never bothered exploring with any courage (they flirted with it in 5 and 6 but never took the plunge).

They could make it about possession or harken back to the older sequels and go the Cult route.

Or Michael could be a "Split" type character - literally superhuman - and they could take him to a more comic book inspired world where he encounters other classic killers (Jason, Freddy, et al) in which we learn that all of these monsters originate from the same dark force intent on destroying humanity.

Maybe all the first girls could team up against their respective serial killers in a huge crossover.

It sounds like parody, but I mean it. They can go so many interesting directions if done right.

Going the supernatural route is boring and takes me out of the film. That is not scary. Something HUMAN who is just evil, heinous, and almost unstoppable is scary.

If they go the supernatural route, I'm out of further movies.

Now, on F13, I always felt like all the final girls should have come back to kill him, including retconning Alice alive. She would get the final whack by of course chopping off his head.

R298 Well, no human being can sustain the physical damage Michael did in the original and in this sequel and continue going, so he's already a bit supernatural.

r299 Yes, they can. People on drugs or in extreme psychosis can sustain a lot. As we can infer, the new movie shows he was caught right after the original so he received medical treatment for his injuries. If you have ever watched the docuseries I Survived (highly recommend) the extensive damage humans can endure and sustain while being attacked is astounding sometimes.

R300 Fair.

The “team”? Like they made some kind of masterpiece instead of a huge letdown.

Judging from fan reaction, it wasn't a let down at all. NOTHING could satisfy everyone. It was bound to let down on some level. But, fans and non-fans enjoyed it. Even the flaws.

It's a box office smash and still going strong.

This will skirt $200 + mill by the end of it's run, not even counting international box office.

Everybody from Carpenter to Curtis probably got a nice cut from this. It's sweet, too, that it came to them on the 40th Anniversary of the film with another well reviewed and received pic.

Their loyalty to Michael Myers has certainly paid off.

Saw it tonight and disliked it

Too many dumb choices and random kills for me.

Why did Micheal kill the boy in the car? Or even his father for that matter? The father was out and away and the kid left the car and even if he didn’t Micheal could have scared him off.

It seems to me like he only killed the kid. So that the filmmakers could indulge in a shocking taboo. You don’t kill kids in these movies! Even though that actually had been done and much better (The Burning)

The “surprising” reveal of an ally turning traitor and killing has been done too. I found that twist to be really telegraphed. Why did Laurie think that searching for Micheal, who she knows is in the House, in the dark was a good idea, particularly in a room full of man shaped mannequins. Why not just activate all of the shutters and if Micheal reveals himself, to attempt to shoot through them.

Why choose a big creaky multi story house for your hermit booby trap lair? A single floor layout with basement would have been more manageable.

Why shoot at Micheal from under the floor? Especially when you are hidden in a secret sub level that he can’t find?

Of all the possible homages to part five, comedy cops would not have been the choice I’d have gone with. Just dress someone like Tina or something.

And now Micheal is making corpse objet d’art? What was the point of that? Laurie’s son in law would have been horrified into stupidity without the Grand Guignol touches.

It felt to me like the filmmakers got confused and thought they were remaking a “Terminator” movie. Laurie was basically Sarah Connor and Micheal had ridiculous cartoon level strength. The head crushing was so over the top and ludicrous that it took me out of the movie.

I found this very disappointing but wanted to love it.

[quote]And now Micheal is making corpse objet d’art? What was the point of that? Laurie’s son in law would have been horrified into stupidity without the Grand Guignol touches.

There are touches like that in the original. The tombstone on the bed, the ghost disguise, etc.

R305

"Why shoot at Micheal from under the floor? Especially when you are hidden in a secret sub level that he can’t find?"

I didn't get it either. For the sake of the movie I realize why they did it. So, Michael would know that there was a hidden sub level where they were hiding. But, there could've been a better way to do it. Laurie shooting through the ceiling into the floor was dumb. You mean to tell me she went through such great lengths to create a hidden shelter and she ruins it in with random shooting from her hiding place?

omg he was so tweeked out on jimmy fallon, who seemed a tad embarrassed at malek's meth antics.

R306

I didn’t have a problem with the ghost Vicky display which was closer to the Annie tombstone display.

Both were more or less done at his leisure when no one knew where he was.

Much different than the elaborate head o’lantern done while he knows the police are after him and know where he is going.

Yeah R307

There was a lot of that, serves the plot, not the story type of decision making that bothered me.

It was that type of thing that took me out of the movie too much.

I bought the hype and gound for me this was only an okay variation on the other sequels.

^found for me^

I thought it was disappointing, too. I kept thinking that some of these sillier scenes and lines could have been scrapped to give the film more time to develop its new set of victims, who I felt nothing for. I liked Vicky even though we learn nothing about her, so that might be more of a testament to the actress who played her. Her camaraderie with the child she was babysitting was sorta sweet and cute, but I didn't like him running out of the room after she was attacked and telling her boyfriend that he shouldn't go up there, because he'll die. It felt like something out of a Scary Movie sequel and killed any tension in that scene.

Yep

Vicky was the only new character I gave a shit about. Though I liked both of the kid characters.

I wish they had done another switcheroo twist and had Alison? The granddaughter get to the babysitting house and get killed and Vicky escape with the boy.

That would REALLY have set up a nice Laurie V Micheal finale and been shocking for most of the audience.

It also would have made for an interesting dynamic with Laurie and the daughter.

They are working on a sequel to this. I think the granddaughter clutching Michael's knife in the back of the truck is going to be important.

I loved it too. It’s the first Halloween film to make over $100 million at the domestic box office. A sequel is a sure bet.

I also found myself liking Vicky way more than the granddaughter; she created the biggest impression of the new characters. I think it was due to her connection with the kid and the actress' charisma.

[quote]They are working on a sequel to this. I think the granddaughter clutching Michael's knife in the back of the truck is going to be important.

Yes, the director said Michael's soul is in the knife and will transfer to the daughter who will become the killer in the sequel along with the boyfriend and become a real life Bonnie and Clyde duo as telegraphed in this movie.

[quote]She absolutely can and it is looking likely she will get a nom. The stars aligned for this.

I gotta agree. The last time JLC was seriously considered for an Oscar was for 2003's FREAKY FRIDAY. (That was also the year that Johnny Depp got his first nomination for THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, so the Academy wasn't being elitists about comedies that year.) She got raves, especially for a children's comedy, so it's not unreasonable to suppose that 2018's HALLOWEEN could actually garner her one, especially after the reviews, box office, and the #metoo movement.

The idea about having Allyson die and Vicky at least get further along in the movie would have been great and really kept the audience on its toes. I think the whole movie played it a bit too safe (minus the kid killing, which did surprise me). I'm assuming they have something planned for Allyson in the sequels, because she made almost zero impression here. I almost wished they'd combined Allyson and Vicky into one character.

Vicky was cool.

She won me with her perfect line reading of, "I'm so fucking bummed. I wish I was there!"

Green got a memorable moment/line reading out of every actor.

Bump

Broke hearts and box office records.

Vicky should get a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Jamie Lee for Lead. Mike Meyers for Supporting.

Vicky was the one teen character I somewhat liked. Allyson was boring. The three guys were fug.

Why did all the high school guys have long hair?

They was ugly.

I thought Allyson and her boyfriend's Bonnie & Clyde costume was going to be post-ambush, with bullets holes and fake blood, especially since the father mentioned how they got all shot up at the end. But I should've known in this day and age it was going to be a gender swap.

Teen boys wear their hair long now.

Allyson was the best teen. The black kid was funny in the beginning but not when MM attacked.

Black kid don't talk black. He sounded white, like Don Lemon. Steve Harvey lingo better.

This will win Best Picture, no contest.

Allyson's boyfriend was cute. Especially in a skirt.

R531 He was hot. He also had a nice, tight, rippled body they didn't show off enough.

In the end, I'm shocked by how much I loved this sequel/reboot and by how much I'm looking for watching what they do with the series and what direction they take it, especially if Jamie Lee Curtis is involved.

Doubly rewarding was getting to see Curtis give a fantastic performance in a juicy role. It's amazing how quickly and easily we forget great performers. Her work her is really what has solidified this "Halloween" as a classic.

Dylan Arnold:

I never realized there were so many horror freaks on DL. LOL, Just joking.

J'adore horreur... Plan on seeing this tomorrow afternoon.

Why did you wait so long?

R336, I'm assuming you are asking me, R335... I have been busy and travelling, all the while feeling people out for a companion. My criteria were, I didn't wish for someone to "accompany" me, but not have any real interest, and I wanted whomever that soul was to want to get r-e-a-l-l-y high on grass before! I thought I had an old punk-runk mate lined up, but he was non-committal. Just grateful I've got a partner in crime for tomorrow!

-^ had meant punk rock, but alas, turns out he's a bit of a runt to boot.

R337 You type too fucking cute, lol.

I'm seeing it again today with my 16 yo cousin, who hasn't seen it.

Hope you enjoy yourself!

While I didn't really care for it, it's kinda cool that a slasher movie is tearing up the box office like this. I'm genuinely surprised. I always missed the slasher film. Some could be formulaic, but I always loved the ones that would spend a lot of time getting to know the characters. You always really felt for them when they died, which is why I never found these movies to be nihilistic or anti-human or whatever. Sure, some of them are, especially the ones that treat the story more like an action film than a horror film, but a lot of them really do have interesting characters that you're sad to see go.

I hope it can do what Scream and the original Halloween did and give us a few years worth of decent slasher flicks. Although, I'm sure there will be some horrendously bad ones as well.

So do we think that Sartrain, the doctor, went along with Michael on the transport to sabotage the transfer to the new facility? It would explain his insistence that he be on the bus, and would be consistent with his later behavior.

R341 That's exactly what I got from it. Plus, people who saw early test screenings say there was a scene showing him doing it.

It topped $200 million internationally. It's at $150+ mill domestically.

It's already Blumhouses's 2nd/3rd highest grossing film.

It’s going to win an Oscar for Best Picture and become the highest grossing film of all time.

Loved it.

But there weren't many "scares".

R345- That appears to be the one complaint. I love it, but see the point.

That entire sequence toward the end where Laurie is going from room to room in the house looking for Michael had me on the edge of my seat. It reminded me of that scene in Silence of the Lambs where Clarice was seeking Buffalo Bill in the dark basement.

R343 Wow! And what was the film's production budget? Like $10 million? I figured it would make its money back, but not to this extent.

A paranormal experience.

D.W. Griffith has just returned from the dead to proclaim Halloween 2018 as the greatest picture of all time! Full of THRILLS! CHILLS! And SUSPENSE!

Halloween (2018) is a veritable Hieronymus Bosch painting come to life. A testament to the power of cinema and thespianism at it's finest.

Ms. Curtis is quiet revelation, brewing, drooling and finally spewing with seductive abandon.

You know they're all having meetings about sequels right now and probably started them last week. Jason Blum knows what he's doing and he'll milk this until he finally runs dry and makes another Resurrection which effectively kills the franchise again.

Jamie Lee said she'd do another sequel if Green was attached, but she posted a picture on her Instagram the other day that basically said goodbye to Laurie. Maybe she's just teasing us. God knows we thought she'd said goodbye to Laurie after II, after H20, and after Resurrection. I won't believe it until she drops dead herself. I have a feeling she'll be back in some capacity. I think audiences have always loved Laurie Strode and that's why this movie has been doing so well. All the Laurie Strode Halloween movies did well for the most part. I expect the return of Linda Hamilton to the Terminator franchise to be equally huge.

Jamie Lee was one of the producers, so I’m sure she’s raking in the dough as I type.

There was no suspense. He just kills Mrs. Elrod, then Alice. It was like a Friday the 13th movie.

Jamie Lee deserves all the loot. That restaurant scene is Oscar material.

R355 When her lips get white after she steals that shot of wine and Pam Greer encourages her to sit down and she starts up again: "I saw him, I saw him."

I was bowing to Jamie in that fucking theater.

Jamie Lee Curtis is always brilliant. People are finally realizing that.

As I watched, it struck me that if Laurie is about 57-58, then Michael is early 60s. I know he's supposed to be some kind of superhuman, but come on - how many more sequels can they do with a geriatric serial killer?

He wasn’t supposed to be one anymore. That supernatural power Jazz was shitcanned with the rest of the post Halloween 🎃 (the original) continuity so he shouldn’t have been that strong.

It’s one of the things I hated about the new movie.

R358 They're going the supernatural"Boogeyman" route, just wait and see.

Oh my fucking God, R359, lol. I love that you actually went out of your way to distinguish the original from the sequels with:

Halloween 🎃 (the original)

You're a Halloween diehard, huh?

MM, being the age he is, and being deranged, can absolutely be that strong. He looked pretty built. He isn't 80 for crying out loud.

His mind alone drives him. Crazy people are incredibly strong, even old ones.

If they go the supernatural route, it will lose any semblance of scary and I won't watch. That would be ridiculous. I am more frightened that a real man can be that evil and destructive.

Less of a Halloween diehard than a general horror fan but was very disappointed with the new one.

Funnily enough whenever I type the word Halloween 🎃 My IPhone suggests that pumpkin in the text prompt thingy above the keyboard ⌨️. So I went with it. It does kind of look like the Halloween 🎃 pumpkin 🎃 though.

It also suggests it for pumpkin 🎃 now

If the president of CBS can be in that good of shape of 61 so can The Shape.

R363/R364 Too cute, lol.

All the teen boys looked and behaved like a young Casey Affleck.

R366 how do you mean?

I'm not drawing allusions to allegedly crawling in bed with co-workers. The two non-fat kids spoke and acted in a way that reminded me of Casey Affleck in TO DIE FOR, etc.

They better have an homage to Virginia Fucking Alves in the sequel

How is it that out of thousands of people in town, Michael just happens to kill the friends of Laurie's granddaughter? He just so happens to go to that black kid's house. Then he just happens to bump into the fat friend on his way home.

I’d say indifferent screenwriting is your answer

Everyone go see Suspiria instead. It’s actually scary.

There are a lot of contrivances: Michael happens to be transferred just before Halloween, Laurie conveniently has only one daughter, as her daughter did (both apparently VERY young when they did it, the 3 look like sisters). Michael somehow finds the two journalists, so he can retrieve the mask, the doctor and granddaughter easily locate him themselves after the mayhem, to spur more death and fleeing. There's probably more.

The film could have been so much better script wise.

Also, the doctor is shot, and the next night he's out and about, pretty frisky, too!

I thought the actor that played the boyfriend was hot as fuck with a nice body. He looks familiar, I’m sure I’ve seen him in something else. Was hoping we’d get some shirtlessness or nudity from him, but he just went home to bed drunk and missed out on everything.

[quote]How is it that out of thousands of people in town, Michael just happens to kill the friends of Laurie's granddaughter? He just so happens to go to that black kid's house. Then he just happens to bump into the fat friend on his way home.

The neighborhood rampage scene shows Michael's killing is basically random, so I'm guessing he's killed many others before and after he gets to anyone Allyson knows.

Some of you will nitpick a flea's flea's. Jesus.

The plotting could've been tighter but Gordon Green works around it beautifully using the his biggest strengths in this film: John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis, who both prove to be as surprining and brilliant as when they first made Halloween together 40 years ago.

This is a fun and surprisingly poignant slasher pic, nothing more and nothing less, and is evermore galvanizing than trash like Hereditary and A Star is Born, which are both not only as predictable as you can fucking get, but also boring and monotonous in rehashing the same stories and tropes.

At least Halloween (2018) pokes fun at itself and the franchise, and does so while giving us a great homage to a film that was actually groundbreaking.

Not to be a dick but I wouldn’t call remaking Terminator 2 as a Halloween movie groundbreaking.

The plotting should have been tighter and better. People didn’t just go randomly doing stupid things in the original movie so they shouldn’t in this one either. The twist was unoriginal as were many if not most of the shock moments.

R379 the original Halloween was ground breaking, starting with it's $300,000 budget

Query: At the gas station, how did Michael extract the victim's teeth? And what for?

I assumed he got the teeth when he crushed and split the gas station attendant's jaw

I imagine after he killed him, he kept his hand clenched and retained some of the teeth and bone particles he later dropped over the stall door

The original was groundbreaking R380. This new one was not.

The new one is groundbreaking in that it is the first Halloween film to cross $100 million at the box office domestically, in that it took Blumhouse to over $4 billion in revenue and that it has gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews for the most part (probably the best since the first one) and placed high on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Halloween" is to gas station bathrooms as "Psycho" is to showers.

Crocs are groundbreaking fashion footwear!

I think part of why this movie did so well is that we haven't had a decent, big-name horror movie in awhile. Lots of crap being made, lately - lots of part 2s and 3s starring d-list actors.

Actually, "Get Out" and "A Quiet Place" hit it big.

[Quote] I expect the return of Linda Hamilton to the Terminator franchise to be equally huge.

I'm sure it'll attract plenty of attention. But it doesn't guarantee that the movie will actually be any good.

[Quote] At least Halloween (2018) pokes fun at itself and the franchise

Pretty sure they did that with other film franchises like Scream, NOES and Fri The 13th (especially Manhattan).

[Quote] I think part of why this movie did so well is that we haven't had a decent, big-name horror movie in awhile. Lots of crap being made, lately - lots of part 2s and 3s starring d-list actors.

Hmm i've enjoyed alot of what Blumhouse has put out. Although i think they should have stopped after 3 when it comes to the Paranormal Activity/Insidious franchises. And while there were no A-Listers i thought Happy Death Day was good (the gay porn scene didn't hurt). I also thought Unfriended was fun. The main actress, Shelley Hennig, did a good job in that movie.

I loved UNFRIENDED! My brother, his girlfriend, and I Redboxed it 3 years ago, not fully realizing what it was about; it had been recommended by the girlfriend's friend. At first, we thought there was something wrong with the Blu-ray, because the film started all glitchy. LOL! We also weren't expecting the online format throughout the movie. That was pretty clever. I gotta say, though, we watched it while smoking several bowls and drinking Margaritas (beer for my brother) and that certainly enhanced the experience. IMO, all horror movies should be watched like that, especially if you've been desensitized.

The new Halloween smells of lavender and fresh metal, a gift.

R390 Lol sounds like you had a real [italic]good[/italic] time. I enjoyed the movie even more the second time around because i missed some of the typing when i saw it at the movies. It was made for being watched on a laptop/computer. Have you seen Truth Or Dare?? I haven't yet.

saw it online

meh

Looks like the female journalist could have escaped by crawling quickly under the stall to the exit while Michael was beating the male journalist. Guess she was in state of panic.

I finally saw this on Tues and while i didn't hate it, i definitely think the praise for it has been ott. I like Judy Greer but her character and the husband annoyed the shit out of me. I think my fave part was the boy talking about dancing lol

Was anyone else bothered by Judy Greer's performance in that scene right after Laurie has crashed the family's dinner. She's just staring straight ahead like she's reading cue cards as she talks about her childhood. It's awful. I thought she was fine to decent in the rest of the movie, but that scene should have been eliminated altogether. It was a bad mix of a terrible script and her performance that made me cringe.

Why did the father leave the car and his son all alone? He should have stayed safely inside with son, ensure the doors were locked, and call 911.

It's simple: those hating on Jamie Lee Curtis' and John Carpenter's triumphant returns are challenged.

The plot is a B-. The atmosphere/aesthetics are A+. The music A+. The acting A+.

I will say this: the fact that audiences have had such strong reactions - good and bad -to this - the 11th film in a forty year old franchise - already makes it a great success.

I'll say this - as much as I could nitpick, it's easily better than 5, 6, and 8. I guess that's a victory, right? I wish it was scarier, had an ounce of suspense, that the characters were a bit more developed, and that the film didn't dwell on some characters and storylines that, in the long run, don't amount to much, BUT I thought Jamie Lee was great and the mask looks better than it has in years. Carpenter's score was also brilliant and some of his best work in years.

Can someone please explain to me why the mask started looking like it should be riding the short bus after II? I think Halloween 4 is actually a pretty great sequel, but it looses major points due to that hideous looking mask. Same for H20. Why was it so hard to get right?

I believe in the Bogeyman.

R400 On the Commentary track for Part 4,the director Dwight little said that they had to upsize the mask because George Wilbur, the stuntman playing Michael was a lot larger than average and the mask didn’t fit him well so they had to remake it.

R398 people are allowed to dislike a run of the mill slasher movie without being “challenged”

I’d give this the plot a lot less than a b-. Most of it was recycled from other and usually better movies. I found the aesthetics ugly and uninspired for much of the movie.

R402 because you're challenged.

R392 no, I have not seen TRUTH OR DARE, except for Madonna's version. Yeah, I know, lame joke, but it's been a tough day. Glad to be home now!

Yeah well, you’re rude R402 and the movie is still mediocre and overhyped.

It was not scary. Halloween H20 was a far superior remake. Watch that not this desperate attempt to make JLC relevant again.

How come whenever something or someone becomes popular, there are always contrarians to knock it/them down? Such negative people.

R405 I was just teasing. It's just a fucking movie. I liked it, you didn't, big whoop.

Also, considering how tempered your reply was, I take it that you're a nice person. Stay that way.

Also, to the posters who actually liked H20, just no. I could barely stand it in high school when it came out, I can't now 20 years later. It's aged terribly.

No suspense, no aesthetics, no scares, a retarded looking Michael and the cast from Dawson's Creek. Yay. Not.

This follow up is infinitely better.

Good question R407. They’re just miserable people.

[quote]this desperate attempt to make JLC relevant again.

Well, it worked. In the last month alone, she’s covered People magazine and is currently raking in the dough as one of the producers of Halloween 2018, which has already earned hundreds of millions at the box office. That you think the insipid Scream-lite H20 is superior to the new film tells me all I need to know about you.

H20 was shit. Crappy mask alone, Jamie Lee didn’t even look (or behave, for that matter) like Laurie in the movie, she looked like Jamie Lee Curtis.

I liked H20 partly for nostalgia (I was in middle school) and it was, by far, the best sequel up to that point. It was enjoyable to have JLC back. There were some good scenes but it lacked in the middle.

^Wow, you’re young!

^33

R411 H20 was never the best sequel. Halloween 4 has slways been the most respected/admired sequel.

H20 was thoroughly enjoyable. It had a great opening scene. Plus, it beats 4 because it had JLC reprising her iconic role. So she had short hair. As if LS couldn't or wouldn't cut her hair.

The showdown was good and her screaming, "MIIIIIICHAAEEELLL" was awesome.

The middle drug and was not very scary.

This new entry is pedestrian with a boring pace and a terrible script. It made a mint because it was released AT Halloween. It will garner NO Oscar Noms. NONE.

[quote]So she had short hair. As if LS couldn't or wouldn't cut her hair.

Ha! I'm suddenly reminded of when I first watched ATONEMENT way back when. I thought that Brioney having the very same exact haircut as a child, young woman, and old lady was too ridiculous. It felt as if the filmmakers didn't trust the audience..

[Quote] no, I have not seen TRUTH OR DARE, except for Madonna's version. Yeah, I know, lame joke, but it's been a tough day.

I still laughed and i hope you have a good rest of the week.

[Quote] No suspense, no aesthetics, no scares, a retarded looking Michael and the cast from Dawson's Creek.

The only one from DC was Michelle Williams and she's done pretty well for herself.

r404 lol. That is funny cuz I am 33 and just saw Madonna's ToD a month ago by chance. I really liked it and was kinda impressed she did that in 91. I've been a casual fan but it made me like her more.

Since seeing the new Halloween, something I've been thinking about--in the mythology of this film, and the first one, what does Michael Myers get out of his murderous rampages (besides the whole "I'm a psychopath who kills people because it's what I do" stuff)? He seems asexual, still stuck mentally in the age when he killed Judith. It's like a game to him, how much he can get away with, IMO, without really realizing how horrible his actions are. The only people he seems to revel in brutalizing are the two nitwit podcasters (or whatever the fuck they're called), for egging him on and amping him up. As far as the rest, it's like he's in a big, gruesome video game, but how much of it is "real" to him? The way he poses the babysitter under a sheet in the new one (which mirrors the way he displayed the victims in the 1978 original) seems almost playful, without an ounce of self-awareness of what he's actually done.

Why did he kill the woman in the curlers, and the one looking through the blinds?

K, time to leave this thread be.

The OP is just a psychopathic troll talking to itself from deleted cookies and alternating devices.

[Quote] The only people he seems to revel in brutalizing are the two nitwit podcasters (or whatever the fuck they're called), for egging him on and amping him up.

That dude had balls of steel to even think of suggesting that Laurie should go and visit Michael. She handled that much better than i would have.

I hope they don't fuck this up. If it happens, i think they should set it in the 80s.

R424 but of course!

R4222 how do you know this? I thought DL was anonymous?

Er, R422.

I like the title of the movie, simply "Halloween" - simple, direct, accurate. No "cute titles" needed like Halloween 40, Halloween Re-visited, Halloween Today, etc. And as soon as the film's Main Titles came on, with the outstanding iconic music and ITC Serif Gothic Heavy font, I was sold.

I'll give the new Halloween this - it's got H20 beat on music score, atmosphere, and Michael's mask/general look. I thought H20 had a better script, though. The dialogue flowed better. There are some scenes in this new movie that made me want to curl up in a ball I was cringing so hard. That scene with the idiot cops and the scene where Judy Greer explains her childhood to her daughter outside the restaurant were awful. It didn't help that Judy looked like she'd just gotten the script an hour ago and was reading off of cue cards. They could have just cut those scenes and used the screen time to develop the new batch of victims.

Like the lady in the curlers and the lady looking through the blinds…

[Quote] No "cute titles" needed like Halloween 40, Halloween Re-visited, Halloween Today, etc.

That would've been embarrassing.

Just bought this on Amazon and I FUCKING LOVE IT.

Interesting that the best gore was in "after death" sequences and how many deaths were not shown actually happening. But they looked horrific after- Very effective.

The "little twist" that kicks the last 3rd into high gear was outlandish yet so different and unexpected that I LOVED IT. Involves a doctor.

Jamie Lee was outstanding and all of the acting was top notch for a horror film.

The only downside is that the film has two distinctly different tones and I probably would have done more at night vs. daylight. I disagree about the script and found it well done. It was a little too "southern" for Illinois.

I loved the British "film crew" too and somehow wish the outcome would have been different.

The film had some great sequences and the scoring elevated it even higher. The score of this film is the real masterpiece.

I give it it a B minus, maybe a solid B. Needed more gore, a little more balance, more Jamie Lee- I actually would have made it a 2 hour film to accommodate it all.

Oh fuck, and I got a little teary, vague spoiler.. at Happy Halloween.....

It was a real rush, I was teary at the same time!!

I'm convinced I saw a different movie than everyone else. At least a few people have agreed with me about most of my nitpicks.

Did anyone actually find Laurie Strode likable in this? It's like they turn her into these cheesy, tough Sarah Connor type and just expect us to go along with her because of our memories of the Laurie from '78. There was no attempt at truly discussing the misery she's been in for the past 40 years. They have her tear up once (randomly, at that) and have that guttural scream outside the mental institute as Michael is transferred, but we never really get to know the new Laurie.

It's hard for me to have much sympathy for someone who doesn't seem terribly scared or who seems invincible in a way. She's actively going after Michael for the entire film instead of him going after her. You kinda just want to say "hey, lady. I think you're safe. He probably doesn't remember you and you live in a shack in the middle of nowhere. Maybe just stay inside until they catch him?"

I think H20 handled the Laurie character's PTSD and growth a lot better. That movie does a lot of shit wrong, but I liked how Laurie had to actually build into facing her fears. The Laurie in this would be ready for the climax of the movie within minutes of her first introduction. She feels really one note and almost like an action movie stereotype.

r434 I do see your points about H2O and LS. However, I think it is clear he remembers her and he wants to get her. I think they hint the doctor has been goading him about her being the only one who survived. There is NO WAY the writers did not intend for MM not to remember her. No way. He doesn't forget anything and is inhumanely patient.

Michael's murderous, 1978 rampage was completely unexplained. In the new movie, she's not his sister, there's no backstory, etc. She didn't get any answers as to why this man killed all of her friends and tried to kill her. The whole town was affected by the murders and she probably couldn't escape it. She built it up in her mind and it consumed her.

Just watched this and to say I was underwhelmed would be putting it mildly.

Ditto all the stuff about "tough Laurie." I found her unlikable and unrealistic as well. The call backs to moments from other entires in the series (mostly the original) are cute every now and then, but after awhile, I wanted to scream at the filmmakers to start coming up with their own ideas and do something different. Then, they threw in the stupid twist with the doctor and I as sad they paid attention to me.

The new characters were either flat, shrill, boring, or just plain annoying with the exception of Vicki and the young child she was babysitting. To me, their few bits together were what the rest of the film should be. They had a sweet rapport and brought some much needed life to the film. I wasn't a fan of the kid running out of the room and screaming like a scene out of a Scary Movie sequel. Yes, it was funny, but it kills any tension or seriousness that's been generated by turning the entire scene and death of Vicki into a joke.

Allyson was a boring character and her boyfriend was useless. Judy Greer, who I usually love, comes across as a one note bitch the entire time and has one of the worst acted scenes I've ever seen in my life (the bit outside the restaurant when she tells Allyson about her childhood).

I never once felt tension. I never jumped. I never felt moved. It was a mindless action movie to me, not a horror film.

[quote]In the new movie, she's not his sister

She wasn't his sister in the original film, either. They were made siblings in the sequel. The 2018 HALLOWEEN is a direct sequel of the first movie and retcons everything in between.

MM for sure was after Laurie in this movie. He wanted to finish what he started. That doctor kept Laurie's escape alive in his mind. He wanted to finish her off. He was "the one who got away" so to speak. It is why I wish Alice had escaped Jason in F13 and he would have always wanted to finish her off that that was his rage to find and kill Alice. Though it made for a great opening to part 2.

[quote]She wasn't his sister in the original film, either. They were made siblings in the sequel. The 2018 HALLOWEEN is a direct sequel of the first movie and retcons everything in between.

Yeah, duh. However all of the sequels followed the story lines created in Halloween 2 and built on them. Since we were advised to ignore even that one, there is nothing to go on except a deranged guy randomly targeting Laurie Strode and her friends.

I wish they had cast Danielle Harris as her daughter. I like Judy Greer, but I didn't buy her as Laurie's daughter.

It would have been an exciting moment for Halloween fans to finally see Curtis and Harris onscreen together.

Agree with r437 that Vicki and the young kid were adorable. Vicki was WAY more likable and believable than charisma-free Allyson, who was annoying and added nothing to the film.

I, too think DH should have been her daughter. It would have been a nice moment and connected, even though they weren't supposed to be, some of the other sequels. Same I wish her husband, or someone, could have been Josh Hartnett.

I wish they had made it a musical.

Um, R440, you DO realize that Michael’s random targeting of Laurie and her friends is what made the first movie like, y’know, scary. That was the point to nixing every storyline after part one. Michael being Laurie’s brother was just stupid and was derived because Carpenter was drunk and had writer’s block.

[quote]Michael's murderous, 1978 rampage was completely unexplained.

And that is what made it terrifying.

[quote]In the new movie, she's not his sister, there's no backstory, etc.

Exactly.

I don’t know why people make such a fuss over “why” he targeted Laurie in the original movie. There is no real reason. She just happened to be the unlucky one who went up to the Myers house that morning on her way to school and he happened to see her. That’s it. His nature is murder, so he tailed her all day in an attempt to eventually kill her. Her friends were the unfortunate bystanders.

[Quote] I think H20 handled the Laurie character's PTSD and growth a lot better. That movie does a lot of shit wrong, but I liked how Laurie had to actually build into facing her fears.

[Quote] I wish they had cast Danielle Harris as her daughter.

Yes to both of these!

[Quote] It is why I wish Alice had escaped Jason in F13 and he would have always wanted to finish her off that that was his rage to find and kill Alice. Though it made for a great opening to part 2.

I think the actress asked to be killed off due to a stalking situation (why is it always horror actresses?).

[Quote] Vicki was WAY more likable and believable than charisma-free Allyson, who was annoying and added nothing to the film.

It's always the secondary characters that audiences gravitate to.

I, too, found it weird that Michael had to be knocked out, stuck in a cop car, and dragged to Laurie's house just so they could have a final confrontation. Did that feel a bit ridiculous to anyone else?

Wouldn't it have made more sense for her to encounter Michael in one of the neighborhood houses when she was trolling around with Will Patton and have a big confrontation in one of those instead of her ridiculous booby trapped house? The daughter and granddaughter could still be involved. To me, it would have made more sense to kill off Allyson and really give both Laurie and Karen more incentive to band together and fight off Michael. That would have been really moving to finally see Karen come around and realize her mother was right.

R448 Karen's husband was already killed by Michael. Isn't that enough?

r447 Not sure Adrienne King wanted to be killed off, unless that was the plan all along so she just asked it be done at the beginning. It made for a really badass opening. I just wish she could have come in at the end (spoiler alert) and took Jason out with the machete she used on his mom. I know both he and his mom were motivated by revenge. I just think it would have been better had Alice lived and he was always looking for her and other counselors to kill then a final confrontation where she kills him.

Halloween 2018 was not perfect and there are a lot of woulda coulda shoulda but that is always the case with a sequel. Had this been an original, we probably would have loved it as is. It was a great horror film.

[Quote] I don’t know why people make such a fuss over “why” he targeted Laurie in the original movie. There is no real reason. She just happened to be the unlucky one who went up to the Myers house that morning on her way to school and he happened to see her. That’s it. His nature is murder, so he tailed her all day in an attempt to eventually kill her. Her friends were the unfortunate bystanders.

Then why chase her down again FORTY YEARS LATER if she was just some random babysitter who just happened to be there?

And, no, the doctor "goading" MM is not an answer that works. That's stupid and barely registers onscreen.

"The doctor goaded him" is as stupid as "The Thorn" and the sibling connection you so revile.

What bothered me most was how they kept saying they were disregarding the sequels and the sister thing and the Thorn thing and all those ridiculous soap opera twists they kept lathering onto the series. Yes, they were going back to the scares and suspense and randomness of Carpenter's original.

If they were really going to do that, they should have - I don't know - actually HAD some suspense and interesting characters. If they were really going back to the basics, it would have made more sense to start fresh and have Laurie as more of a side character and focus on a new string of babysitters instead. Keep it random like the original.

Not once did it ever seem like Michael was going after Laurie in this movie until the last 15 minutes. He escapes, strolls back into town, and seems set on just killing whoever strikes his fancy. If he hadn't been dragged to Laurie's compound by the stupid doctor character, he'd have probably been apprehended again or killed by the police or someone else. He'd have passed right by Laurie. It seemed like they were trying to shoehorn in the finale from the start and there was no way to get there organically, so they brought in the doctor character.

I thought that, when Laurie started patrolling the streets, that we were gearing into the big finale where she and Michael have their confrontation, but nope. It would have been so much better if it had happened that way.

I agree that the confrontation should have taken place in a random house in Hattonfield. The suspense of neither Michael nor Laurie knowing some random house's layout would have provided some good suspenseful moments instead of the action movie ending we got.

It was ridiculous and awful, they tried to make the Lee into a Sarah Connors knock off, they fact that the stupid teenage girl runs into the woods for like 10 hours after being chased by a loon, so many unrealistic choices that they had the characters do, Michael at the end teleportating away while locked down in the basement as the fire consumes the place. Did they forget he's just human? They tried emulating the first one but it just did not work since times have changed since the 70's. Now where's the jaime Lee's oscar nomination is locked in loon?

That's not the OP/"I JUST got this on Amazon!" loon?

R455 teehee

[quote]Then why chase her down again FORTY YEARS LATER if she was just some random babysitter who just happened to be there?

Because she was the one who got away. He also certainly remembered her, even though the Brits mentioned her when they visited him at the sanitarium.

Why would he care?

You're trying to make sense of what goes on in the mind of a maniac? Why did he care enough to kill his sister? Why did he go back to Haddonfield to begin with in the original movie? It's better when you don't know.

You're saying it's random but then you say he is easily manipulated by the doctor. Then you reiterate that it was random but then bring up going back to Haddonfield in 1978. Why, if killing Judith was just random?

Reminder that the 1978 novelization was based on concepts by Carpenter and APPROVED by Carpenter in 1978 as the movie was released same time as the novelization... the novelization which introduces The Thorn concept which MAKES SENSE of killing Judith, going back to Haddonfield in 1978 and EVERYTHING else. Co-written BY and APPROVED BY John Carpenter IN 1978, not years later in 1981, but 1978, same time as the original film was released.

2018 makes zero sense as a movie. H20 made perfect sense.

I never said anything about his doctor, and H10 sucks monkey balls. It was Scream-lite and Laurie looked and acted too much like Jamie Lee Curtis.

*H20 sucked monkey balls

JLC even MADE them script in all the ridiculous "alcoholism" shit into H20.

It was a JLC Message Movie.

H20 was SHIT after the first 15 minutes.

It was shot like a Hallmark movie, the kills were lame to non existent, and it simply sucked. ZERO suspense and did not look remotely like anything in the Halloween franchise.

The best part was JLC's performance and that scene when Michael flips over the chairs in the classroom.

Was tyyyraaww in that one? Loved seeing her get murdered.

You DON'T see Tyra get murdered in 2002's 'Halloween: Resurrection,' just her dead body.

Her death scene IS part of the bonuses on the DVD.

It's also on YouTube:

I thought H20 was better. It's far from perfect (the cinematography is bland, the score is recycled from Scream, and the masks they used look like shit), but Jamie Lee turned in a better performance and I felt like it was better written with a better understanding of trauma.

I'm sorry, but most trauma survivors probably do what Laurie did in H20, not what Laurie did in this new movie. How many survivors go out of their way to build fucking compounds in the woods filled with booby traps in case the person who traumatized them comes back? It just seemed so silly to me. I don't blame Jamie Lee. She does her best, but her character is written as a cliche action movie stereotype. She's too strong from the get go and there's nowhere to build from that. Her character has no real journey or arc in this movie. Even the moments where she gets emotional like in the car and restaurant come out of nowhere. There's no build, so it just comes across as awkward.

It sounded like the filmmakers had good intentions by deleting the whole sister thing and going back to the basics, but they forgot to give us characters we care about. You can't generate suspense if you don't care about the characters or feel like they can handle themselves. I couldn't even root for Laurie this time, because it was abundantly clear from the beginning that she had this under control. It's hard to root for a character like that, because there's no real struggle.

No one is ever truly in control with someone like MM.

There are aspects of H20 I LOVE. This new movie is just really good. The doctor absolutely was riling MM up about getting Laurie and setting up a confrontation. It was pretty clear. He wanted a final show down and likely kept telling MM that he never finished the job back in Haddonfield with Laurie Strode. Now, when he went on his rampage he had no idea if he would see her he was just rampaging hoping to see her or thinking she WOULD come looking for him because the doctor probably told him she was ready for him.

R455, Hee Hee!!

as r436 said, " The whole town was affected by the murders..."

So why the fuck, after the bus crash and murders, escaped MICHAEL MYERS, the nearby gas station slaughter... were people still out trick or treating, at the school dance, etc., without a care in the world, no warnings, no cell phones notices, no Instagram sharing, NOTHING..

Just preposterous manipulation to gets kids and people alone with no logical sense.

All you needed was one person screaming "Michael Myers has escaped" and that town would have been shut down lickety-split...!

Exactly. Was no one worried besides Laurie? And who's even heard of a Halloween dance? At least say it's a homecoming dance. They really didn't think a lot of this movie through. Had it just be another run of the mill sequel and called itself Halloween 9, I'd have been more ok with how lazy it was, but the sheer pretentiousness of the filmmakers saying they were "going back to the basics" and getting rid of all the sequels only to BE one of those ridiculous sequels was unforgivable. Why false advertise? It was pathetic.

I have no idea where this new franchise can go and I'm not really sure if I care or not. Truth be told, I enjoyed maybe a few of the sequels in the original franchise, but Halloween is one of those movies that would have worked better as a stand alone like Black Christmas.

I don't think the Halloween dance was at the school. I figured it was just a Halloween party in the neighborhood.

It was in the school gym.

Yes, schools have Halloween dances. Where do some of you live????

I felt like the characters had plenty of chances to get away but they just stood there waiting to die, the beginning was amazing it was dripping with atmosphere but once the British journalists head to Laurie's house it went downhill. The movie should have focused on new characters exclusively and maybe bring Lee in for a sequel.

I fucking loved this film. It was visceral and thrilling- Plot holes galore. And I didn't care- Go watch Citizen Kane.

I wish it was longer and that different aspects were fleshed out a little more.

Mild Spoiler- I actually really liked the British podcasters and it gave a nice element to the film. I was sad to see what happened to them (in one of the most thrilling scenes of the movie that ended with that INSANELY COOL moment involving a mask)

The British podcasters were, surprisingly, the least of the films issues. Hell, they seemed like two of the more realistic and interesting characters in the movie. I'd gone in expecting to hate them.

No build up. I felt like I was watching Jason Takes Haddonfield.

That was my problem. It was a great later Friday the 13th sequel, but a terrible Halloween sequel. If they hadn't billed it as a return to form and suspense, I might have enjoyed it more.

R136 I'm laughing at OP and anyone else who thinks this new Halloween is brilliant.

The original wasn't even brilliant. Just a very effective, genre-spawning thriller.

R481 who made you the arbiter of Halloween films?

Those podcasters were assholes. And it still drives me nuts that she didn't at least try to escape.

Yeah, she had a golden opportunity when Michael was beating the guy against the wall in the corner of the bathroom.

I think she was trapped in the stall.

Let me say that I am OBSESSED with the John Carpenter score for this film. OBSESSED.

It is beautiful and horrifying.

Trapped in the stall? Bitch could have scooted out through the cracks below and ran off to safety while Michael and the guy were duking it out. That whole scene reminded me of a less suspenseful version of the scene with the mom and little girl in H20. That's what bothered me the most - all those cheesy fan service moments as if they were nudging us the entire time saying "remember this scene from part 2? How about this scene from part 5?"

It felt like half the movie was made up of those bits and they always chose the worst bits from each entry. If you're going to pick an element from part 5, don't make it the bumbling cops. And if you must use something from part 6, don't use the evil doctor who wants to control Michael. The only nods that didn't bother me where the Mrs. Elrod looking lady that Michael killed and Laurie copying two moments of Michael's from the original film (outside her granddaughter's classroom and then tumbling out the window and disappearing).

I was very disappointed with this movie. All that hype and nothing to show for it. Maybe people who love it only saw the first one and never saw the other sequels, so they didn't pick up on all the dumb fan service moments. I just kept expecting them to do something more interesting. The closest the film came to genuine suspense was the scene where Allyson's friend was babysitting and that scene was ruining once Michael attacks her and the kids runs out screaming and shouting one liners like he's in a parody movie.

David Gordon Green definitely showed the world he has no idea how to make an effective horror film. Stick to arthouse dramas, dude.

Did anyone else think Judy Greer was awful in this? I usually love her, but that scene right after Laurie has crashed their dinner and she's explaining to her daughter what she went through as a kid made me cackle due to how horrible she was. It looked like she was reading off of cue cards. Stone faced, no emotion...just awful. She gets one got moment towards the end (where she fakes out Michael) and that's it.

Honestly, all the women were really poorly written in this film, which is shocking since this is a series usually known for giving us strong, smart, and interesting female characters. Even Laurie seemed less human and more action movie stereotype to me. It was hard to root for her this time. You just kinda thought "how about you just stay in your shack in the woods and let Michael pass you by. He's not looking for you, lady!" I just have very little sympathy for characters actively go out of their way to be put in danger. It's like those kids in a cheesy 80's slasher movie. Hey, maybe this psycho wouldn't be making flesh coats out of your friends if you'd paid attention to the locals and the sign that said "no trespassing."

That's what made the original so scary. These people were just minding their own business and this killer just took a liking to them and said "these people will do" and just went after them. That's so much scarier to me.

[quote]That's what made the original so scary. These people were just minding their own business and this killer just took a liking to them and said "these people will do" and just went after them. That's so much scarier to me.

Kind of like the Petit family murders last decade. The two killers spotted the mother and younger sister leaving the supermarket and followed them home, then broke in and attacked after midnight.

In my circle I have been known as a snooty Indie Film bitch. But I am taking ownership that I loved this film along with the heartland and horror fan boys!

You people sound like a bunch of fucking stick in the muds!

Let's discuss Roma or If Beale Street Could Talk- loved both, but goddamn, I know a horror film is about fun and scares. This delivered. And Jamie Lee was amazing.

That score. Those kills. Even the kills off screen were insane. I feel like we all watched a different film. I am not looking for subtext, perfect scriptwriting, and Hemingway level writing quality.

And you say Gordon Green cannot direct horror??? I beg to differ. If anything the script has issues- the directing was perfection.

You say it had scares? What were they, because I didn't see any? I'm convinced they released different versions of this movie to every theater in America.

The doctor was the driving force behind it all since he wanted Michael to finally open up to him and / or at least talk to him. And the way the doctor wanted to accomplish that was to get Michael and Laurie in one room together (because, apparently, he tried everything else).

Overall I am a bit underwhelmed. The build up was great. JLC was imho phenomenal in that part. However The film failed to make me really care about most of the victims. The only ones I cared for were the babysitter and the good cop (played by Patton). I didn't get this feeling of urgency where you get invested in Myers finally getting caught. But what I do like about the final showdown is the "the hunter becomes the hunted" twist since Michael walked right into Laurie's trap trying to murder her and her family in her own fortress.

R492-LOVE this post. More than fair assessment-

I wish certain characters would have been fleshed out more as well-

The film originally clocked in at well over 2 hours (I think 2 hours 15 minutes) and it was edited and trimmed down. I think that says alot.

The entire ending was reshot as well- and thank god, from what I read of the original script

The movie didn't exaclty help making Myers look human by just standing there and letting himself get burned alive without making any sound or attempt to escape.

R494 how do you mean?

Spoiler-

R494- The film cut pretty quickly to the final scene after that-

And if you enjoyed the film enough and the amazing score, you may have noticed Michael Myers breathing in the final seconds. A brilliant little Easter egg and a sign of a sequel.

I am horrified to see how everyone here will hate the next one. Holy shit.

r496. *rollingeyes* yeah, I doubt that Myers is dead. Him surving this fire trap doesn't make him more human than he supposedly is. That was the point that the fire didn't seem to faze him at all and as the common human he supposedly is still manage to get out of there without screaming and shouting. Nothing super human or supernatural at all.

There's a clause in the contract that says Michael Myers can never be killed. He can appear to be dead, but they always have to figure out a way that he can come back for the next one. I remember Jamie Lee talking about this and getting so mad during the filming of H20 that they kept trying to change the ending to where it seemed like he might still be alive. She finally agreed to do it if her character and the audience both assumed Michael was dead. They shot the twist (where Michael kills the ambulance driver and dresses up like him) during the filming of H20 to play during the opening of Resurrection.

I assume Green and McBride already figured out Michael's escape route from the burning basement. In the original ending that was shot, he and Laurie were to have a knife fight on the lawn, Laurie's mortally wounded, and he runs off into the night, wounded himself.

>>There's a clause in the contract

lol, yeah, in whose contract?

The series' producer, Moustappha Akkad, had one that his son, Malek, has carried out since his death that said Michael can never be officially killed. There must always be a way he can come back. He can appear to be dead, but never officially killed. That's why they got away with H20, because the character of Laurie and the audience believed that Michael was dead, but they'd already written and shot the scenes to show that it wasn't Michael that Laurie killed to explain his return in the next sequel. It was very sneaky and Jamie Lee didn't seem thrilled about it. That's why she's in Resurrection. Akkad and Dimension knew H20 would be a big hit, so they contracted her to appear in a bit of the sequel if one were to be made.

Didn't know any of that R500

R498 wow that's some Days of Our Lives shit right there

They constantly kill off characters and bring them back, sine characters "died" 4 times!

R500, I highly doubt your entire post.

R500 speaks the truth. Michael can never be killed, at least until they get to Halloween 22, cause that's how many Donald Pleasance said he'd make so that's how many Moustapha Akkad said he'd make. Jamie Lee was contractually obligated to appear in Resurrection, which was already planned during H20. For Jamie to be satisfied, the ending of H20 had to have Laurie/Keri and the audience truly believe Michael was dead.

I never understood why she signed a contract that made her appear in a sequel. She didn't need to do H20. The series was dead. They needed her more than she needed them.

I find it funny that the Akkads are so protective of Michael Myers but could never make sure that the mask was right.

I thought I was the only one who referred to HALLOWEEN: 20 YEARS LATER as H20.

I think a lot of people do R207

H20 was Jamie Lee's idea. In fact, Dimension was ready to make the Halloween franchise a direct to video franchise after The Curse of Michael Myers, following in the esteemed tradition of the Children of the Corn and Hellraiser franchises. Jamie Lee getting the idea to revisit Laurie 20 years later was quite an event at the time and I remember the film doing very well. Even non-horror fans seemed intrigued.

Jamie Lee wanted John Carpenter and Debra Hill to return and Hill was game, but Carpenter wanted more money. As it got closer to production, the script started going off into some directions Jamie Lee didn't like, but she couldn't do much since they'd already hired a crew and a cast, so she had to do it even despite her reservations. I think it was the ending that bothered her. They kept trying to hand her endings where you never see Laurie officially kill Michael. She wanted him dead and for this to be the final installment, but they knew it would be a hit and there would be other sequels, so they kept trying to find ways to not show Michael actually dying on screen. Eventually, they came up with the ending they used in the film and Jamie Lee was happy with that.

Jesus, where's Forry Ackerman when you need him to cut thriugh all this bulllshit...!

What's that mean?

Watched it again and the build up was anti-climactic. H2O did a much better job of the build up. However, it was a good film it just needed a much better overall ending. More Laurie/MM scenes. The black kid was funny but they needed to dial it back several notches when he was attacked. The film should have been longer. Easily another 45 minutes.

45 minutes? Yeah...some good an extra 45 minutes did the new Suspiria. I think it would have been wiser to delete Michael's doctor completely after the bus crash and have him killed and give any of his screen time to developing the characters and adding some suspense.

The new Suspiria was way too long and it still didn't make complete sense.

But it did try to make its own identity more than Halloween '18.

I think her booby trapped house should have been a surprise at the end. I think they should have made it seem she was fragile and weak in the beginning then, through her daughter and granddaughter, reveal she has been lying in wait for him and was ready to kill him.

Again, I enjoyed it. The continuous scene through the neighborhood was great. I don't remember anyone saying the rumor was they were brother and sister. If they do another one, and it looks like they will, they should not kill off Laurie. I do think they should keep her alive because Halloween without her is boring.

The booby trapped house as a surprise might have worked a lot better than it did in what we got. One of my biggest issues with the film was that Laurie was this hardened, tough as nails badass and it took a lot of the fear out, because I never, for a second, thought she wouldn't be able to take Michael (like how Judy Greer pretended to be too weak to shoot the gun to psyche out Michael). Starting her out as weak and having her show what she can really do at the end would have been amazing and given her an actual character arc. As is, her character was pretty flat throughout with no growth. There were little hints of emotion here and there that came out of nowhere and felt awkwardly shoehorned in.

I thought it was a good idea, in her impenetrable fortress, that she should have glass panels in her front door, convenient for Michael Myers to stick his beefy hands and arms through...

Ideally, the scripts of Halloween 2018 and H2O would merge and cut out the lamer elements. I love both in different ways, but the booby-trapped house in 2018 just pulled me right the fuck out. I know the technology exists but seeing that kitchen island swing open just seemed gimmickey. Same with the metal doors sliding down throughout her house when she went through the rooms. Not just that she can rig all that up (or have it done for her) but it made Michael seem like the unkillable murder machine of all those stupid sequels, that he eluded all those traps. He's human, he's evil/psychotic but he's not undamageable (I know that's not a word). That said, that's one area where 2018 got it right. There are moments where he's clearly aged, and the scene where Laurie's daughter (the woman from Arrested Development, whatever her name is) shoots him from the cellar it's obvious he FEELS it, and is injured. He's much older but still has the superhuman strength of a psycho.

I just felt more for H2O's Laurie, ultimately. She just made more sense as the boozy wreck still dealing (very unsuccessfully) with what happened to her and her friends than she did as the survivalist heroine she was in the new film.

But I still had a blast watching Halloween 2018 in the theater!

I agree. 2018 Laurie was pretty one-note, but H20 Laurie at least had an arc. She went from running her entire life and trying to self-medicate to finally stepping up and confronting her fears. H20 is just as flawed as the new film, but I liked the Laurie characterization a lot more. She felt more relatable and had more to do.

It seems that a lot of the booby trap stuff was added in reshoots and the original confrontation was a knife fight between Laurie and Michael on the front lawn where Laurie is stabbed and critically injured (notice how it seems like she's almost close to death when they carry her onto the truck at the end? This was left over from the original ending.). The underground lair was always there, but I think a lot of the last 5/10 minutes were reshot which would have included all the booby trapped rooms and stuff.

JLC seemed to have a lot more screen time in H20 than the 2018 film. I agree Laurie had a better arc in H20. The ending was also more satisfying. I wouldn't have minded if MM ran off wounded in this new film. Or the Doc drug him off leaving us thinking he was dead, the doc believing he was dead.

I still liked this film. Watching a second time I see the flaws more. It was still thrilling to see Laurie Strode, alive, going at it with MM again.

I was so happy to see that the predictions for Jamie Lee Curtis' Oscar nomination were right on the money...

R521 The nominations this year are a joke. Major snubs for Actress for far, far less worthy performances. What a joke. So, yes, with the weak year it was, JLC being nominated for H2018 was not that crazy. You have a desperate bitch playing herself getting nominated so why not JLC?

If any actress in a horror movie deserved a nom, it was Toni Collette. THAT was a performance and a movie that gave its leading lady something to do.

r523 Yes and what a shame someone playing themselves got a nom over Toni. Schmoozing and payola help with noms.

Somehow, the Oscar nomination list I'm looking at doesn't have JLC nominated for Best Actress nor H2018 nominated as Best Picture.

I thought we were guaranteed that from the OP.

r525 No one said Best Picture, did they? Actress, in this weak year in acting and movies, maybe. She got great reviews. She is well liked and respected. However, being in a horror movie is a non-starter.

I remember Armistead Maupin talking about how devastated Billy was when Jennifer ended their engagement. He was in tears on the set. Poor baby. Still gorgeous.

>>However, being in a horror movie is a non-starter.

Um, excuse us?

I was in FIRESTARTER.

I love the music Tangerine Dream did for that movie R529

r528 With rare exception plus those were not seen as slasher movies.

R526 said being in a "horror" (not slasher) movie was a non-starter, and there are several examples where his statement is not supported by the facts...

They should have cast Kyle Richards as grown up Lindsey. - I was thinking this too; and then she could've bored Michael to death about the tedious details of her life, while Michael collapses from exhaustion & boredom....

I love the Will Patton cop character - for about 2/3 of the movie, he appears to be only cop in town! Plus, a bus full of patients from the psychiatric hospital crashes with a notorious murderer on board & the entire town isn't freaked out? But Michael's still got his code in that he'll kill young women, but not kids, so Michael is more scruples than mass shooters, so I guess there's that.

I usually like Judy Greer, but she seemed oddly out of place in this movie and kind of shrill. It wasn't a scary movie at all in the way the original one was (and still kind of is), but it was campy fun & you could tell JLC was having fun.

R533- Michael did kill a kid in Halloween 2018!!!! I will let you rewatch.

The murder of that white boy was disturbing. I have a thing about head injuries ever since the Natasha Richardson thing , so when Michael kept slamming his head it was cringeworthy galore!

Some people are mad that he killed a kid, but weren't 4 and 5 all about him trying to kill a little girl? People's memories are slipping.

I also wondered why they wouldn't cancel all the Halloween festivities for the evening considering the town's most famous resident just escaped and has a thing for carving up teenagers on Halloween night. I guess they really wanted a scene where Michael goes out on Halloween night and shares the street with trick 'r treaters. It would make sense if Michael had simply just disappeared all those years ago and just randomly showed back up since no one would be expecting him, but you know his ass just escaped and you're not going to even implement a damn curfew? C'mon!

I don't think the town knew he escaped until way later. Didn't he kill the woman in her window who had just gotten a call about the escape? She was in the process of closing her blinds.

R536, I think audiences knew he wasn't going to kill her since she was the last of his bloodline and then there would be no more story.

Ah, you're right R534 - I forgot about the kid that wanted to go to dance lessons rather than hunt! Bashing that kid's head in (along with the brit podcaster, though he was considerably less sympathetic) was extremely brutal.

The ballet kid was probably the most interesting character in the movie.

What ballet kid?

I thought he broke the dance kids neck?

He ultimately broke his neck, but not before brutally bashing his head against the side window. Actually that kid & Julian, the kid with the babysitter, were the best parts of the movie.

I liked the kids and the babysitter the most out of all the characters. I kinda wish it had just been about them. They seemed like human beings.

Laurie's daughter and granddaughter were insufferable and whiny. Michael needed to kill them both for shitty personalities.

The babysitter and the kids were more likable and sympathetic.

If they'd really wanted to go back to the basics, they could have simply made it about Michael returning to stalk baby-sitters like in the original film. That would have been a much more interesting film I think. Maybe they could have worked Laurie in as the kooky old lady who lives next door and all of a sudden witnesses distress across the street and gathers the strength to go over there and put an end to this once and for all.

I finally decided to watch it tonight. I'm not sure I watched the same film all the critics raved about because the one I saw fucking sucked - the story felt totally disjointed and the actors had zero chemistry. I knew it was gonna suck after that laughable opening scene. Luckily I watched Unfriended 2 right after that and that turned out to be one of the most entertaining horror films I've seen in a long time.

Do tell about Unfriended 2. Was it really that good? I've heard zero about it.

R548 Yeah, it was awesome. Other than the title, it doesn't really have anything to do with the first film. I didn't like the first one at all because of the stupid supernatural elements in the story but luckily this one ditched those. It's very similar to the 2013 film "The Den" but even more entertaining. I highly recommend it.

It's Unfriended- Dark Web not Unfriended 2.

My brother, his girlfriend, and I watched UNFRIENDED several years ago when it came out on DVD. We smoked a couple of bowls and also had several cocktails during. Needless to say, it really enhanced the viewing experience and freaked us all out! LOL

Blumhouse is killing it in the horror movie game! I just read Jason Blum wants to reboot Scream and Hellraiser too. Scream was my favorite horror series growing up, I'd love to see another. Maybe Sydney, Gale and Dewey don't have to be involved but have a new crop of teens and a new Ghostface. The TV show never really did it for me

Scream would be good. I agree, I would love to have the original Scream cast back again but I don't want any of them to die so I would rather a completely new storyline.

You need to calm the fuck down. The latest Halloween remake was mediocre at best.

If they did another Scream sequel, maybe it'd be worthwhile, but without Wes Craven on board, I don't really see the point. At least maybe Blumhouse would hire Kevin Williamson to write a new one and not bring in another writer to fuck up what he'd written like the last two films. This is another reason why I hated Weinstein. He always fucked up people's work and brought in new writers and even new directors to tweak things to, in his mind, make them more marketable. It almost always backfired and led to the films feeling like there were too many cooks in the kitchen and that they lacked a cohesive vision. It's no secret that just about every film Dimension made had an original cut that featured totally different scenes.

r555 I don't know if I want another sequel. I would LOVE to have the original survivors back if they had a bad ass story and if they all lived. I think they shot their wad with Scream 4 which I liked but wasn't good enough to be the final chapter it should have been.

Scream 4 felt almost like a parody at times and it felt a bit too light hearted in places. I think they need at least one of the original three to die if they do another sequel. I still admire them for killing off Randy in the 2nd film. It really made you feel unsafe.

r557 Which is why I don't want them to make a sequel- I don't want any of the original 3 to die. I agree about Scream 4 being too light hearted in places. But it would have worked being a little darker in places and the original 3 lived. I think it needed a really brutal, fight filled ending.

It's been a while since I've seen Scream films but wasn't the third one (the one with Parker Posey) the funny one? I don't remember Scream 4 being particulary light hearted.

r559 It was in moments and didn't have any, for lack of a better word, gravitas. I felt all 3 originals could have had more time together and more time on their characters, esp Gale. Gale is kick ass. She had her moments, and C Cox looked amazing, but for a sequel everyone waited for for so long it was good, but not great.

I think a sequel should either not be Laurie focused (maybe she comes in at the end and kills MM) or if it is Laurie centered, they really need to get it right. And do not kill her off. SHE needs to be the one who finally kills MM for good.

They'll never kill Michael. Unfortunately. All the sequels (the recent one included) and remakes just prove that Halloween should have been a one-off exploitation horror flick. Call me crazy, but I actually liked the original idea of continuing the series as an anthology series. At least that was original and would have probably kept Carpenter and Hill on board in a creative capacity.

R562 He can be killed eventually. He is old now. They could always reboot and start over later. End it with Laurie actually killing him. I don't care if there is a clause saying he could never die. If they don't follow up with another movie AFTER the current MM is in his 60's/Laurie "kills" him, it would be presumed he is dead. End of that. Then start over with a fresh, new story line set today with a young MM but better than Rob Zombie did.

I'm wondering in which direction the sequel to this Halloween will go.

If Michael Myers (after being burned in the basement after being locked down there with all the flaring gas jets as the house burns down over him) is still alive, it's going to be pretty stupid for him to suddenly pop up and menace Laurie and the rest of the Haddonfield populace all over again. Dude is fucking OLD.

Will Laurie and co go out in search of newer serial killers and hunt them down? Or will they do a Scream 2 and have other psychos copycatting Michael and targeting Laurie but with their own backstories? That would be embarrassing.

This points to the main issue with the franchise - it was always scarier when Michael was a random killer. Halloween II is flawed (Jamie Lee has zilch to do and sports that awful wig and the hospital staff aren't very well developed), but it's still fairly effective in its first 2/3rds before the Laurie/Michael sibling twist because it still feels random. He could have eventually gotten her, killed her (or not), evaded Loomis again, and disappeared into the night only to appear a few years later somewhere else. That would have been scarier. Once they tried to explain Michael's evil, it got goofy and became unrelatable. Don't wanna get killed by Michael? Don't visit Haddonfield on Halloween or befriend one of his relatives.

I think the new film would have been much more effective if they hadn't tried to shoehorn in Michael or the shrink's obsession with Laurie. It would have been more interesting if he'd escaped again during the transfer, gone back to Haddonfield, killed some people, and encountered Laurie more organically. Imagine if she was picking up her granddaughter from the dance and saw him or something or if she went to someone's house and discovered them dead and had to face her fears one last time. To make her this doomsday, Linda Hamilton clone was a lousy choice and made her semi-unlikable.

I don't see how Laurie being his sister made him less scary. They could have had their cake and eat it, too. He IS an crazy killing machine. He didn't have to just be obsessed with killing Laurie Strode. They could have made it that he was obsessed with killing LS but also he has such a blood lust he looks to kill anyone and everyone he encounters or who peaks his interest.

I found the sister thing intriguing and interesting. It gave the films a different twist than the other slasher films. It made it more compelling and sets up an eventual showdown other films cannot achieve. I think it is why it works so many years later. MM and his sister Laurie face off again. You are actually invested.

A sequel is looking very likely. JLC is onboard but she said Laurie's story was told so the next one would need to be someone else's. I don't think Laurie's story is told. There is a thought that MM is scarier if this isn't about Laurie but that he is just a maniac killer. Can't it be both? Can't we hae a story where it is about Laurie on some level but also that he is a maniac killer? The Laurie aspect makes it interesting. Otherwise, what is so special about it?

I think they can keep the Laurie/MM dynamic AND keep it that, yes, he is a maniac killer who wants to kill everyone.

They would be foolish to kill her off. If they want the focus to be less on her for the next film, whatever, but keep that relationship there. In the end, she should be the one who finally kills him.

Don’t worry, R567. If she gets killed off in the next film, she’ll be brought back to life for H60. Maybe she’ll have a son in that one, Michael will be her brother again, and JLC will be waxing poetically on talk shows about how this installment is actually, for reals-y about trauma and that the Linda Hamilton shit from 2018 was a total miscalculation that wasn’t true to the spirit of the character from the original.

I think Laurie could still make sense in a sequel if it's a continuation of the last film Halloween II style where it picks up exactly where the last one left off. Now that they aren't related, if it picks up 5 years later, that's just going to be idiotic for Laurie to still be running after him or Michael to be trailing her.

To be honest, they didn't focus on Laurie that much in this last movie. I felt like I never got to know this new Laurie. She seemed nothing like the girl from '78. What happened to her parents? Her husband(s)? How does she afford this ridiculous Looney Toons cartoon fortress? Instead, we got a bunch of uninteresting cardboard characters, unfunny attempts at humor, idiotic "twists", and no suspense. If they'd really spent more time with Laurie, it might have been halfway decent.

To me, H20 did the trauma thing better. It wasn't a perfect movie, but I believed that could have been a grown up version of that girl from '78. Besides, it's far more interesting to watch a character just barely keep it together. She was a self-medicating alcoholic, but she was teetering on the edge at all times. It was much more fascinating to watch than the withered, bitter, crazy old granny we got in this movie who has, for some reason, spent her entire life preparing for Michael's return.

I disagree, R565. They leaned heavily into the “random killer” aspect in the new film and it absolutely killed the tension. There needs to be some cat and mouse drive to it and he has to have some prompting for it have any affect. They were able to find a good balance for that in the original, but definitely not in the new one where he just seemed to be stumbling around and slaying without any suspense.

r569 and r570 I agree with both of you. I actually loved both H20 and the 2018 film. However, both had flaws and strengths. I don't think the new one focused more on LS as they think they did and the the climax, while great for fans of the original, still fell way short of what was needed. I wanted more interaction b/w them. The ending of the new film failed on a number of levels. The entire film got a lot right, but a lot wrong. Some could have been easily fixed. More on Laurie. Way more. Killing her off at any point is stupid. They should be able to see, as with the original, H20 and 2018, with Laurie and the cat/mouse aspect, it amps up the tension. Their dynamic MAKES the film more enjoyable and the payoff more worth it.

Thanks for the input. I actually enjoyed H20 more but this film had aspects I loved as well. Enjoying 2018 as much as I did, looking back, they missed the mark on some major things.

The poster upthread said it best. H40 is enjoyable enough on its first viewing but completely falls apart when looking at it again.

Which isn’t good for the film since most people will be watching it on AMC rotations every October.

I just hated how self righteously the filmmaker spoke about how they were going to fix the problems of the sequels and completely copped out on all of them. Yes, Michael Myers is scarier when he’s “real”...yet this sixty something year old man is able to survive the violence of this film AND escape a locked basement inferno? Give me a fucking break. He ended up being more like the supernatural Jason than MM from even the shittiest sequels.

r572 True. I loved H20 and it was on the cusp of being a great film. I don't know why JLC dislikes it (I assume she does based on some comments here) but the 2018 film doesn't portray her better. I like both LSs. The 2018 film doesn't focus enough on her. The tension is diminished when you can't figure out if he is coming for her or not. An earlier reveal of the twist would have helped. The climax for both could have been better but it was MUCH better in H20.

LS needs to be apart of the films no matter what. The only person who should end MM is LS.

Look as long as we don't get another Season Of The Witch, i'll be happy.

I agree that the confrontation between Laurie and Michael was anti-climactic. You never even get the sense that Michael knows that it's Laurie. As much as I love seeing JLC in a Halloween film, the fact that they can't really have Michael die ruins her story arcs.

r575 Yes, and to have to be so tough, waiting for him all these years preparing to actually be a blithering drunk was odd. H20 did it MUCH better, I agree.

I think, if they were agile writers, LS could always be a foil to MM no matter the fact he can't "die". But at some point, he is in this 60's, and I get a man of that age and in the state of mania he is in, can be a force, he needs to die to start to series over again

Both films had good beginning but I especially liked H20 with that cutey JGL. I was 13 when the film came out and this was the first R movie I was allowed to see after my parents made sure there wasn't any sex or nudity. So it has a special place in my heart.

[Quote] Both films had good beginning but I especially liked H20 with that cutey JGL.

And he's only in it for about 5 mins....prob less.

r577 That was enough for this 13 year old. LOL

R578 Lol fair enough. I was more of a Hartnett fan.

r579 Don't think this 13 year old wasn't fapping furiously over the newly discovered Josh Hartnett. I watched every Hartnett movie after that. I was in heaven when Pearl Harbor came out. I told my mom he was my favorite character because I wanted to be a pilot like he was in the movie. She was like, "Since when?" and I was thinking, "Of course, I'm just telling you this so you don't wonder why I am watching his scenes so intently!"

He was, and still is, gorgeous. As is JGL.

R580 Lol now that's dedication.

I don't think Jamie Lee hates H20. She was proud of what they did in that film, but she was pissed off because she had to sign a contract to be a part of sequel and they found a way in which to make Laurie think she'd really killed Michael, but it was instead a paramedic that he'd switched places with. She wanted H20 to be the last one. It's not perfect, but it does have a killer final 15/20 minutes and some actual suspense here and there, which the new film was sorely lacking.

Add me to the list of people who liked drunken, hiding out Laurie more than the one in the new version. It have her character more of a fully rounded arc where she has to finally stop running and hiding and face her demons. I found it oddly moving in some ways.

H20 did have a much better, far superior, ending. I am truly baffled how weak the climax is in the H2018. We needed more dialogue between them or her to him. It would have been bad ass if he did utter a word to her in H2018.

I think the initial high of H2018 clouded my judgment. I still like it and it has some bad ass moments and we never thought we would see JLC do another one but it is now shocking how little it focused on her vs H20. H20 climax was very satisfying on many levels. It focused more on her. If only it had a better middle.

Doing the sequel only to kill her off so stupidly infuriated me. If anything, they should have had her come in at the last and "kill" him. Killing her off was such a shitty thing to do. They should never kill LS off.

H20 also had LL Cool J as the security guard who secretly writes romance novels 😄

r584 That was awful!

There's a clause in the Akkad contract that says Michael can never die. It can appear that he has, but he can never definitely be dead. Akkad had joked with Donald Pleasance that they should cut the series off after 22 entries. I don't know how much of a joke that was, but maybe that's in the contract, too.

Because of this, even if it seems Laurie ends up killing Michael definitively in the next film, you can never be too sure. You can never put anything past them. If it makes money, they'll find a way to bring him back.

It's times like this I really wish the anthology idea that started with Season of the Witch would have taken off. Maybe bring back Michael for special occasions like the 10th, 20th, 30th, and 40th anniversaries.

Eventually, they have to start over. So, LS can kill him in the last one before they start over. They can hint he isn't dead but for all intents and purposes, he will be in our minds.

Then they can start over with a fresh start and maybe not even have LS as a character in it?

You bitches kill me. I LOVED Halloween 2018. It gets better on repeated viewings YET!!! I agree with you about Jamie Lee's character development here.

I still tie this as my 2nd favorite in the franchise- and get this!! Halloween 2 is my FAVORITE!!!! +ducks head++ The original is 3rd on my list.

Now that brings me to Halloween H20- Just watched after not seeing in 10 years. Its not as BAD as I remembered. It is a technically well done film. And I have to say, Jamie Lee is excellent and her personal story is much better- almost more realistic. The suspense just isn't there for me as the film plays like a DRAMA, not a horror film. The soundtrack is BIZARRE- its mainly orchestral, which doesn't fit this at all. The film is too Hollywood and it plays like any Kiss The Girls style late 90's Ashley Judd type film.

I do LOVE the setting- that campus was gorgeous.

Zero gore. Which I thought was bizarre. It's all so LIGHT. But it's still better than I remembered and its very well made. Almost "classy"!! And that's the problem.

The Michael going after Jamie in the classroom part really works for me. The film needed more of that.

r588 Oh H2018 is still very good. It is top 4 of the franchise. I loved H2 as well. Great movie. I don't know about rank but, although H2018 lost some luster for me, it is still a really good film. Agree about H20- the middle part was very lacking. They blew it there.

I dug it a lot. I actually kinda wish they'd just leave it there because it did such a good job bringing full circle/closure and giving Laurie a catharsis.

I think Kevin Williamson had a lot to do with how well Laurie was portrayed in H20. He proved he was able to portray three dimensional female characters with traumatic pasts with Sidney in Scream.

The new film just reeked of two douchey straight guys getting drunk and saying “Bro, wouldn’t it be awesome if she turned into this bad ass chick with an artilary?” It was the kind of mischaracterizarion that would’ve been altered in development if the creative crew had less successful credits. If you watch anything about victims of crimes forty years later, they’re more like Laurie in H20 than H40.

And as much as people hate the brother storyline, it justifies Laurie’s return and gives her some pathos to play. She felt out of place in the plot for this one and I think that had a lot to do with it. Erasing the second one and altering the ending of the first to strip it of its suspense was a bad miscalculation.

And it was so phony of JLC to promote this as the #MeToo horror movie. She knew exactly what she was signing onto. It was a paycheck movie.

R590- Agreed!!! I am hoping that the script might even be BETTER- for Halloween 2020-

Danny McBride's script has some real hokey-ness which I will not miss.

I will say that some of the sequences were pretty thrilling. The motion light part was insane.

I cannot say how much Carpenter's score added to this film. I have the entire thing on my I Phone. It is perfection.

Oh my god R591- There is only one point I agree with you on- but I agree so much-

These guys never should have left out Part 2 like it never happened.

The brother angle somehow worked and never seemed farfetched to me.

Again, loved this film- but the part with the doctor and that "twist" was SO over the top, that the hypocrisy of their attitude to the sequels was a little ridiculous.

r590 Which movie? I think Laurie has so much more story left. H2018 didn't give us enough. H20 did a great job with LS and it would have been great to leave it there yet they had to do the next one which SHITS on her. Ruined H20. All that for him to kill her off in the way he did? MM should never kill LS.

And who is going to start thread II on this? LOL.

r591 I don't get the hate for the brother storyline either. He can be a maniac killer who wants to kill everyone AND also stalk his sister.

JLC seemed VERY into this new movie. More so than she did H20 but I was only 13 then so I may not be remembering things accurately. I would think she felt LS had better character dev in H20 than H2018 though I see the allure of LS waiting for him while preparing the way she did.

R590 100% is talking about Halloween 2018.

Let me speak for the bitch!! She has taste.

If they do a sequel, I don't want them to fuck things up. If they are even thinking of killing LS, leave things where they are.

Agreed 100% R596. I actually thought Laurie was going to die in H2018.

I don't ever want to see Laurie die. Ever.

I remember being heartbroken when they spoiler.......

killed Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3. Fucked up move.

New thread, or feel free to start another!!!

The Halloween theme music pulses

and pulses... and brings us to our conclusion.......