Halloween

The 2018 version of the movie Halloween is the direct sequel to the 1978 movie that started this slasher franchise. I am not someone who has got a lot of exposure to this genre of films and so the review will be from that perspective. At a time when we are sort of getting bombarded with Conjuring kind of horror movies, the return of the slasher genre gives a sense of freshness to the spookiness. This one is a direct sequel and the spine-chilling horror of events made it a compelling and exciting cinema.

So after forty years of the events in the first movie, Michael Myers is now in a highly secure prison under the treatment of a doctor. And Laurie Strode is living alone in a home preparing herself for a faceoff with Myers. And eventually Michael escapes from the prison during a prison transfer and how he goes after Laurie and family and how they try to escape from his deeds is what the 2018 version of Halloween showing us.

This is a slasher genre film and the fear here is not about a ghost who can do anything superhuman. But the antagonist here is a supremely fit human being who is on a killing spree. There is no backstory or reasoning to the habit and that does make it extremely chilling. The film is made in the most visually gory way with you seeing bloodshed and killing in the most horrifying style. From the moment Michael Myers enters the street during Halloween, you as a viewer will feel the tension and it is not that horror movie like scenario where you might ridicule the behavior of the victim. The killer here is not a supremely intelligent guy, he is just an enormously intimidating figure and that itself is enough to scare the crap out of you.

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Jamie Lee Curtis reprises the role of Laurie Strode. And this time she is not the vulnerable one we saw in the 78 version. She has pretty much lost a lot because of the impact Michael created in her life and you can clearly see that madness and toughness in Laurie. Andy Matichak as Allyson Nelson was fine as the understanding granddaughter. Judy Greer plays the role of Laurie’s daughter Karen and she was also impressive. Her last “Gotcha” really made the scared audience whistle and clap.

David Gordon Green isn’t trying to make this something similar to the horror movies we see. There is a sense of rawness in the making which makes Myers a seriously menacing figure. Green prefers goriness over being gimmicky. The only noticeable background score is the classic Halloween BGM which whenever comes makes you uncomfortable. Other than just being a killing spree, there is an attempt to focus on the why’s of this nature and we could see that with the character of the doctor who treats Myers. The climax subtly demolishes the cliché of women being vulnerable and helpless during these moments and the very last visual in the movie was a representation of that. The cinematography plays with the darkness neatly and the edits had a major role in keeping things real and extremely scary.

Halloween is one of those movies where you won’t laugh after the moment of a scare, something that often happens inside cinema halls while watching horror movies. With pretty much no compromise being made in making it an R rated slasher movie, this one is has a gripping narrative to its credit.

Rating: 3.5/5