Film of the Week: Halloween (2018)

Bridging the gap between the original Halloween which was released in 1978 and even though it’s the eleventh film in the franchise, it disregards every film that had been made since the first. This is a direct sequel set 40 years later, with the only surviving character, Laurie Strode (played by the original actress, Jamie Lee Curtis), suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and spent the entirety of the 40 years preparing for Michael Myers’ return.

We don’t get to see Michael’s true strength and power until an hour into a two-hour film; the first utilising setting up his escape back into the world from being locked up in an asylum for 40 years. Having not said a word, Michael’s mind increasingly intrigues that of the head psychiatrist, Dr. Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), and it’s not made clear if Michael’s escape was intentional or was generally a mistake, but we do see Dr. Ranbir become psychotic himself in the hopes of understanding Michael even more. This was a surprising twist, but an understandable one. It made sense within the story, and even more sense when Michael instantly turned on Dr. Sartain as a way of getting his revenge for keeping him held captive for 40 years, without saying a word.

Michael’s infamy also gained the attention of two true-crime podcasters who want to study Michael and what happened way back in 1978. Upon Michael’s escape, his first port of call is to track down those who are diving deep into his life. The way the story was introduced with these two characters, it was to be believed they would get caught up in the main conflict between Michael and Laurie, but they were killed off. The two characters served their purpose of both introducing new people to the franchise and reintroducing fans of the franchise, and once the plot need not their services anymore, Michael hunted them down. It was a surprise to see them go, and a genuinely sad moment as well. These two podcasters innocently investigating a part of history being so brutally hunted by Michael.

Their two deaths also serve as an established means to showcase just how twisted and evil Michael Myers truly is. A character that has equally seeped into our own lists of iconic horror character, but in their world as well. This film explores the person behind the mask, whilst also pandering towards fan-service. A new avenue meets an old one, blended together to make a generally interesting film which I’m not trained to dive deep into.

But is it scary? It is to someone who’s not used to horrors. It is to someone who not used to the psychology displayed in the film. It isn’t to someone who unfortunately can see the clichés within, which can pull them out of the story. The most predictable moment was when two characters outright stated they were going to take a shortcut – within a horror movie. One of them is dead. But, that’s where the fan service comes in – it’s half a classic horror from the 1970’s and half a new horror from the 2010’s. To blend the two avenues together, both new fans and old fans have to agree and get along with each other. Then they would be able to enjoy the film equally.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

P.S. I'm aware this is a week late...