Halloween (2018) is Aiming to Please the Fans, Not The Oscars Crowd

Posted 2018/10/28 674

It’s been exactly 40 years since the great John Carpenter made a frenzy in the movie industry with low-budget Halloween, setting off one of the longest and best-known horror genres. Thanks to this independent movie, everyone knows who Michael Myers(fictional character) is, and the white mask, combined with a dirty dressing suit and a huge kitchen knife, has become a pop-culture phenomenon that is visible and recognizable everywhere.

Movie title: Halloween

Year: (2018)

Rated: R

Length: 1h 46min

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Director: David Gordon Green

Actors: Andi Matichak, Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Miles Robbins, Nick Castle, Virginia Gardner, Will Patton

Related: Watch Halloween 2018 Online in HD

Going into details on Halloween Movies

Let me write in detail about every part of the series, about the crazy directions in which history takes over, about the few robots, about the attempt to explain the origin of Michael, (Laurie Strode) is a headache that I do not want to cause to myself or to you. Do not get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of the franchise and I like (almost) every sequel in it. I’m also one of the few fans of what Rob Zombie did with Michael Myers. The problem is that after Halloween II (2009) Zombie literally buried the hero and not only left a large audience with a bitter taste in the mouth but did not leave room for adequate future extensions (which, as we know, is almost indispensable in such successful series).

It has been almost ten years since then and, in view of the whole history of the franchise, director David Gordon Green took the most sensible decision, namely a full recon. Let’s just ignore everything that has happened since the end of the first film to this day, to go back to what Michael has made a real nightmare for Haddonfield residents, and draw inspiration from the minimalist technique that John Carpenter has made the hero so successful. Company in this endeavor is made by writers Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley who, with the support of Blumhouse and Malek Akkad, as well as with John Carpenter’s blessing, succeed in resurrecting Michael and breathe life into an almost forgotten series.

The action of the new film is developing exactly 40 years after the end of the original ’78s. Laurie Strode (played by great Jamie Lee Curtis once again) lives in complete isolation, struggling to cope with post-traumatic stress from the Halloween night in which Michael Myers kills a few people and almost manages to kill her. Since then, he has spent four decades locked in a madhouse, where he finally escapes and returns home to finish the job. But this time Lori is prepared for him …

Is Green the right choice for directing Halloween (2018)?

Green is definitely a strange choice for directing such a project, given his films (Stronger, Pineapple Express and other comedies / dramas), but that does not prevent him from doing well with his task. The film is packed with generic footage in front and back, alternation of light and shadows, as well as frames shown through Michael’s eyes. A certain scene is a direct oversight to the original, consisting of a long single shot that traces the terror Michael unleashes over the Haddonfield. Humor is in limited quantities, though at times it comes in more. There are definitely a few scenes that could be shortened or cut out, but they are not so long as to take away from the overall presentation.

ICYMI: @jamieleecurtis is killing it. Biggest horror movie opening with a female lead. ✅

Biggest movie opening with a female lead over 55. ✅

Slaying on the black carpet and everywhere else. ✅

??? pic.twitter.com/9KgJUMKJAf — Blumhouse (@blumhouse) October 22, 2018

Diving into synopsis of Halloween (2018)

Jamie Lee Curtis had thought she had finished with the series, but just like Michael, and she always came back for more. Here we see it in a totally different light. It’s been 40 years, and Lorrie Strode is not the same defenseless nurse who’s hiding and relying on the police to save her. Today we have a strong and painful woman who wants not only to face her past, but also to beat him to find peace. The house where Laurie lives is more like a vault that can be accessed through many locks and codes than a home. The interior and lighting in the house are scarce, and she has become a soldier who understands more than weapons and traps than human relationships. In H20, we saw hints about the effect of post-traumatic stress caused by Michael, but here the subject is wider and much better deployed. Laurie has become the typical “final girl” of the genre in the last defense of her family from evil. This topic works extremely well and is justified given how long it has been.

To our total joy, John Carpenter himself decided to return after long negotiations and to (re) write the soundtrack to the film. Instead of directing, the veteran chooses to participate in musical arrangement and at the same time to be a creative consultant, giving advice and assuring that the series will move in the right direction. Music is one of the things that has transformed the original ’78s into a cult, and it is also present here. The use of slow piano and synthesizer melodies succeeds in creating the necessary suspense, and Michael’s iconic melody repeats at the right times and is still impressive. In some places, Carpenter used the original 1: 1 original soundtrack directly, while others seem to have chosen to upgrade it, creating a mix of nostalgia and contemporary sound.

Halloween (2018) is for the fans not for the Oscars

“Halloween” does not seek to take an Oscar or make more than a billion dollars in revenue. The purpose of the film is quite different – to please the old fans, to win back the hearts of those who lost faith in the franchise, to attract new fans, but most importantly, just to make a good horror film. The creators of a bloody teaspoon of each of these paragraphs successfully turn Halloween not only into one of the best horseraders of the year, but also one of the best spirits for the past decade.