Reviews by:
@ryan_the_nixon
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2021
18
director: David Gordon Green
starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Maticheck, James Courtney, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Dylan Arnold, Robert Longstreet, Anthony Michael Hall etc
The Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn't over yet. Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie's basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie's trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to revolt against their unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael's first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. I have to say, Halloween Kills was good, but I found it disappointing and anticlimactic.
My first few positives would be the fantastic gore and kills. As well as the amazing soundtrack and sound design. Also, the great flashback sequences and campy tone. The film truly lived up to its name with a much more brutal tone when it came to its kills, that were much gorier, and the body count was much higher. The kills were creative and left an impact truly making Michael Myers even more of a threatening presence within the film. I also thought the soundtrack was amazing as always, the theme tune always gives me so much nostalgia. And it always adds such a cinematic and tense feel to each scene. The sound design as well was particularly strong with the diegetic sound of breathing and the impact of the kills being felt more. I also really loved the campy tone this film had. It really bought similar tonal qualities to the original with the over-the-top performances and dialogue. It felt like a truly classic slasher, and it was a great pay to pay homage to the original. Another great element was the flashback sequences. Not only where they excellently shot to look like the 70’s but they actually had a reason for being there and had importance to the story in the present. So, it wasn’t used just for nostalgia.
My next few positives would be the great cinematography and Jumpscares. As well as the nostalgia of bringing back older characters, adding an interesting dynamic to the film. The cinematography and visuals for this film were very impressive. Some of the shots with Michael Myers, especially the mid shot of when he steps out of the burning house was just amazing. The kill scenes were also excellently shot, and the film tricked the audience into believing Michael was somewhere he wasn’t. With the use of diegetic sound, close ups and tracking shots that was executed brilliantly. These made the jump scares of the film work excellently. They were startling and well executed, as the film made you believe Michael was somewhere he wasn’t, so when he appeared from somewhere different it always was executed well and the threat and danger to the characters made the scenes even better. I loved the nostalgic elements to the film and the interesting dynamic it bought. I think adding characters from the original added a lot of great nostalgia to the film, but it also focused on the victims of Michael and how they survived the ordeal, it added a great dynamic to the film as different generations stood up and fought back against Michael.
However, I had a lot of issues with the film that made it disappointing for me. The script was mediocre, there was a lot of genre tropes used. As well as lapses in the logic, a restrictive plot and messy final act. The script for this film was pretty poor. As a campy slasher you can get away with over-the-top performances and some corny dialogue. But this took it to the extreme, with so many on the nose and corny moments that it actually took some of the enjoyment out of the scenes and made the characters seem dumb. There was also a lot of frustrating genre tropes used with the kills. The first film was mostly just innocent bystanders, but this time around a lot of the characters deliberately put themselves in danger or tripped over when being chased and it made the film feel less original and more generic. I also thought there was a lot of lapses in the logic, mostly due to frustrating character decisions and the film trying to over explain motivations for Michael that just felt unneeded. A lot of the film threw logic out of the window which was never explained until the final act where it felt too late. I also feel like the plot was very restrictive. It felt very much like a middle chapter, where it felt more like set up instead of its own product, always feeling like it was delaying having more plot and trying to distract the audience due to wanting to have more development in Halloween Ends. Because of this the final act was a big mess and it felt anticlimactic. I thought the film got repetitive and had completely unnecessary and unneeded storylines especially within the hospital. And wasted its main characters.
My final few positives would be the interesting elements to the plot and building of tension. As well as some good development with Michael, and strong set up for the final instalment. I think that the film having the residents hunt down Michael added an interesting element to the film. And turned the plot in a different direction compared to the first instalment. It made the film had a fresh and different appeal to it and made it easier to rally behind and support the characters. I also thought the building of tension was strong. Due to the plot development with Michael and his sister, as well as the guilt especially from Officer Hawkins of not killing Michael. Really increased the stakes and tension, as you understood Michael’s motivations more whilst also balancing the fact that he is pure evil and will kill anyone. Finally, I thought the set up for the final instalment is strong. The film introduced some great elements and concepts for Halloween Ends to explore, with the more killing Michael doing the less human he becomes.
Overall, Halloween kills lives up to its title. With a much more gruesome and gritty nature to it. Some very strong visuals and delivered as a campy slasher with some great character moments. But it suffers greatly from its restrictive plot and being a middle chapter. It honestly felt like filler, it didn’t have enough to it to stand out and be anything more than set up for the final instalment.
Overall score 64/100
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