HALLOWEEN by David Gordon Green

The Plot: 40 years after the happenings of the first movie, Michael Myers escapes from the psychiatric hospital where he’s confined and returns to Haddonfield. This time, Laurie Strode, the only survivor of the first movie, is ready for him and she’s up for revenge.

The Movie: The 1978 original by John Carpenter is one of my favorite movies of all times and none of the sequels or remakes came close to its excellency. This time around, director David Gordon Green decided to ignore all the other movies of the series and picks up the story 40 years later, with an older traumatized Laurie Strode struggling to live without fear and trying to protect her daughter and granddaughter. The result isn’t bad, but it should have been better. 

The beginning at the hospital is a strong one (it’s a pity the trailer shows too much about it) and the last 10 minutes are really good, but the rest is dull, with Michael on a killing spree and no suspense at all. There’s only other scene that is worthy of our attention, the one with the bus off the road and the kid looking for his father.

The homage to the original is clear, from the “dirty” cinematography to a balcony scene that take us back to the end of the original, but in an inverse way. Unfortunately, the new teenagers are very stupid (are all teenagers like these?) and the new characters are uninteresting; even Dr. Sartan, who has a predictable personal agenda. As for the crimes, do we need all that gore? I don’t have anything against it, but the movie isn’t better because of it. We didn’t have much blood on the original, but we were glued to our seats; the original was and is an excellent example that less is better and a fabulous course in simplicity. Sometimes, this movie reminded me of the first sequel, where Michael goes on a killing spree through the neighborhood until he arrives at the hospital to where Laurie was taken; for me, that sequel was better than this new movie.

The best thing about this new movie is Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s great as a kick-ass Laurie and her personality outshines everything that happens on the movie. There’s talk about a sequel and since it’s a box-office hit that won’t surprise me, but in fact we don’t need it.

In conclusion, this isn’t bad and is entertaining enough, but I wish it was shorter and more intense.

My Rate: 5 (from 1 to 10)