Directed By: David Gordon Green

Well this is maybe a first for me in that I’m doing a review of something that’s fresh out. It’s a sequel to one of my favourite movies from a director I like a lot, so of course I was going to see it as soon as possible.

It’s forty years after the events of the original movie and Laurie Stroud is somewhat of a mess. She’s had two failed marriages and a strained relationship with a daughter who was taken away from her. She lives in a home that she’s set up like a doomsday prepper and gladly takes money for interviews.

Michael Myers though is much the same as he always is. He’s stayed silent all this time, much to the chagrin of his doctor. However, he’s set to be transferred to a new facility and Laurie is sure that something is going to go wrong. Sure enough it does and Michael Myers once again stalks the streets of Haddonfield on halloween night.

So I’m not going to say too much about this other than to say I liked it…albeit with some caveats. There’s stuff I want to talk about but that would give too much plot away so I’ll focus on what I can.

The trauma that Myers inflicted doesn’t end with Laurie, it extends to her daughter and to her granddaughter. Laurie is paranoid, and a wreck and can’t seem to have a normal relationship with anyone. So it seems appropriate in the era of #metoo that this has generations of women overcoming the trauma inflicted on them by a man. This is stuff that Halloween: H20 explores as well, so I think it’s a little unfair that Jamie Lee Curtis has thrown it under the bus recently. I don’t particularly like the movie all that much (It’s visually bland), but I think it does well by her.

Even so, something about the movie doesn’t quite work thematically. This is probably because despite almost matching the run time of the original it has to introduce a lot more characters. We get a group of teens, Laurie’s immediate family, a new doctor, a new sheriff and a pair of podcasters to spend time with, so at times it feels as though the movie gets pulled in all directions.

However, it is nicely restrained when Michael does start his killing spree. He’s more sharklike here than we’ve seen him before. There’s less of the restrained stalking of the first movie and more of Michael near enough killing anyone he comes across. Of course, I have to give special mention to the music. John Carpenter came on as composer and it’s great to see he’s still got it. You cant beat that theme, but all of his synth/guitar work here was fantastic.

All in all it was a good time at the cinema. It’s not going to replace by beloved Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, but it’s easily the best of the remaining sequels.