Halloween (2018): ‘Masks of Vengeance’ – A Film Review

Introduction

In 1978 Halloween brought Giallo films to the forefront of American cinema in what would become known as Slasher films. The genre was wildly successful spawning many films, sequels, remakes and spoofs. The indestructible plodding of a man (or man-like creature) after a group of teens with a weapon is a wildly known aspect of the genre. Halloween certainly was victim to its many sequels and attempted reboots. 2018 and 40 years later, we’re due for the next sequel to breathe new life into the franchise and, much like other franchises, we’re seeing some faces returning to give it a hand. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role of Laurie Strode, as well as Nick Castle as The Shape with John Carpenter attached as producer and providing music for the film. They certainly seem to want to build up the hype for this continuing film series.

Film Realism

One iconic element of a lot of Slasher films is that the antagonist seems to refuse to die. This does blur the believable reigns of reality with the emotional intent of the scene or sequence. Bearing that in mind, Halloween (2018) brings forth many moments and concepts that feel to run the line between believable and ridiculous. The mood is dark and establishes the horror of the film but sometimes this tone is confused with an almost comedic edge. The protagonist and antagonist conflict reaches levels that feels at best to be like Godzilla’s let them fight or Terminator 2: Judgment Day’s Sarah Connor or at worst Jaws: The Revenge’s Shark vs Ellen Brody. Although framed as the light comedy within a horror some moments push this edge too. SPOILERS: A victim using Michael Myers as an agony uncle after striking out or Michael Myers as an old man are good examples, but also 2018 has a trend of horror villains going trick or treating – The Predator another example. END OF SPOILERS. Similarly speaking the references that Halloween (2018) has to the original, seem to approach parody as the reversals feel a bit strange.

The Horror Setting

Despite these problems inherent in Halloween (2018) it’s hard to actually distract the audience from the good performances, great look and classic horror tone that the film sets throughout. The characters are varied enough with a good cast behind them to bolster the story, though almost too much – we effectively get three storylines interweaving the films plot. The deaths are frequent and daring enough to give a satisfactory amount of gore to be okay and to add to the sense of danger. The Cinematography is slick enough to give a good and dark look to everything that happens. The music also helps a lot to establish this world for everything to happen within. John Carpenter’s iconic music has a few twists but it’s not too far from its base self; allowing it to be new but fearsomely back to its roots, at the same time.

Conclusion

Halloween (2018) makes for a good sequel and entry into the franchise and may breathe some life into the franchise after a nine-year absence. It isn’t everything that the filmmakers would hope it would be. It’s not a big game changer nor a big climax to the franchise nor even living up to the original film. It’s a fairly respectable tribute to the franchise, whilst bringing in a modern look. Despite this it brings some pretty bad ideas to the storyline of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, whilst keeping an entertaining atmosphere to cover it up – just about. SPOILERS: Michael Myers in prison and aged, the vengeance obsession of Laurie Strode, the doctor Michael Myers wannabe, the agony uncle and the James Bond house, rank high amongst them. END OF SPOILERS.

Synopsis

Michael Myers is in prison and Laurie Strode is in isolation, after building a fortress of weapon training and traps for any home. When moving Michael Myers, he escapes and begins slaughtering people, whilst Laurie Strode stars her hunt for her old Nemesis.

Ratings

Entertainment:
Performances:
Predictability:
Technical:

A Note on My Reviews

Please read ‘On Reviews‘ for a guide to how I write film reviews. Any spoilers are appropriately marked and, though I personally prefer to know little about a film before seeing it, there is a synopsis below the review for any who wish to see one.

Films Mentioned

Godzilla / Gojira (d. Gareth Edwards USA/Japan 2014)

Halloween (d. John Carpenter USA 1978)

Halloween (d. David Gordon Green USA 2018)

Jaws: The Revenge (d. Joseph Sargent USA 1987)

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (d. James Cameron USA/France 1991)

The Predator (d. Shane Black USA/Canada 2018)

Halloween (2018): ‘Masks of Vengeance’ – A Film Review

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