In 1978, horror in pop culture was given a new face in Michael Myers, the masked madman of John Carpenter’s Halloween. The film took the yearly night of trick-or-treating for candy and threw a murderer in the middle of it. Shot under guerrilla measures, the film was an unexpected smash hit that launched the careers of both director/co-writer/composer John Carpenter as well as lead actress Jamie Lee Curtis who played Laurie Strode. Carpenter returned to write Halloween II and Curtis reprised her role as Laurie and while the film was well-received for the most part, it did not make as much money as the original. While many fans acknowledge that the film has its thrills, it comes to mind as a quickly-made sequel, unremarkable except for establishing a familial link between predator and prey: Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are in fact brother and sister.
Unfortunately, the franchise would only get more convoluted from here. The producers of the series decided to turn the Halloween title into an anthology brand with Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which does not have anything to do with Michael Myers. Most audiences were confused by the lack of connection with the previous films and denounced it upon release; though today it has since gotten some level of approval from fans. Heeding the call of the box office, 10 years after his initial appearance, the Shape returned in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. This launched a new trilogy of films where it is established that Laurie Strode was killed in a car accident and left behind a daughter named Jamie. Through muddled plotlines and exposition, the idea of a cult being behind the murderous mind of Michael Myers and the possibility of such a thing being able to be passed down is brought forward and by the sixth film, The Curse of Michael Myers, was flat-lined.
20 years after the original film, Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. This film established a new continuity in which following Halloween II, Laurie faked her death in that car accident, had a son named John instead of a daughter named Jamie, and moved to California. That, of course, would not stop Michael Myers and a deadly confrontation eventually ensues with Laurie finally beheading the Shape once and for all. As this film made more money than any of the other previous Halloween films, the producers of the franchise could not leave well enough alone and proceeded on a sequel to this film, Halloween: Resurrection. In this film, the ending of H20 is recapped and it is revealed that Michael had switched places (and clothes) with an innocent paramedic and that is who Laurie Strode killed. As a result, she is put into an insane asylum where she spends her days awaiting the day that the real Michael Myers will come back. Lo and behold, he does and she is able to get the drop on him via a pulley system she came up with on the roof of the asylum. But she has to be sure that this masked Shape is actually Michael. This turns out to be a fatal mistake as Michael is able to wrangle his out of the trap and stabs Laurie. His long-term nemesis finally deceased, Michael returns to his Haddonfield home only to find that Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks have taken it over for a reality show with teenagers spending a night in the Myers house. Like any reasonable person would in this situation, Michael begins a brutal killing spree. After Resurrection, a remake of the original Halloween and its sequel followed – both directed by Rob Zombie. Critics largely derided these films for being torturous beyond just horror. One positive element that was highlighted was the performance of Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Samuel Loomis, Michael’s psychiatrist, taking over for Donald Pleasance (who appeared in Halloween 1-2, 4-6). A third film, Halloween 3D, was planned for release in 2012, but ultimately production never moved forward.
The rights of the franchise soon fell into the hands of Jason Blum, the head of Blumhouse, who produce such horror films as Insidious, Paranormal Activity and the Academy Award-winning Get Out. Blum, who had previously learned the lesson of not straying away from the source material with the box office flop Jem and the Holograms, decided the film would not be any good without getting the approval of original director John Carpenter. Carpenter, who had previously seen his earlier work like Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog remade to dismal results, was quite disinterested with Blum's efforts to impress until Blum declared that he would step away from the film if Carpenter did not approve. He also warned that Universal Pictures was going to make the movie with or without him, so it would be nothing but beneficial if he was involved. Taken with Blum's smooth salesmanship, he not only agreed to be creative consultant to the project but also to return as composer (with his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies). Blum recruited David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, who had previously worked together on comedies like Pineapple Express and Your Highness to bring the new Halloween to life. Coming up with a new concept involving erasing all continuity but the original 1978 film, the two set about to bring back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. Curtis was initially skeptical of returning but after a phone call from Jake Gyllenhaal, Curtis’ unofficial godson and star of Green’s previous film Stronger, she was back onboard.
40 years after the babysitter murders of Haddonfield, Illinois, psychotic murderer Michael Myers is about to be transferred from the county prison to a maximum penitentiary where he will spend the rest of his days. Two podcasters from England arrive the day before his transfer to attempt to interview him regarding his actions. Getting nothing out of him, they decide to track down Laurie Strode, his sole survivor. However, Laurie has become a reclusive survivalist and other than offering vague warnings, she too has nothing to say. In the process of transfer, the prisoner bus crashes and Michael escapes. He first goes after the podcasters who taunted him with his own mask and sets out for Haddonfield. Laurie learns of the crash and tries to convince her estranged family – including daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) – that it is no longer safe with Michael wandering the streets. The only place that is safe is her stronghold that Laurie has tricked out with all sorts of gadgets and weaponry to prepare herself for the increasingly inevitable confrontation 40 years in the waiting.
I am not a horror film fan by far, but I do have respect for the classics ala Psycho and The Shining. I have since come to a respect of the original Halloween by John Carpenter whose work I admire. Through watching Brad “The Cinema Snob” Jones’ reviews of the franchise, I was brought up to speed on the history of the Halloween franchise that I tried my best to summarize as briefly as possible above. What helps this film immensely is the erasing of all the previous continuity – just get rid of everything that does not matter and focus on the simplicity of Laurie Strode’s story. The nightmare she has long feared is now coming true – the Shape is back. Everything in the film that revolves around her is very well done. Everything else that does not have Jamie Lee Curtis is a watered down retread of the first film, right down to shot recreations which border from okay to unnecessary. The teen elements of the film aggravated me the most. It just screams of corporate executives filling the movie with things they hope the “young people” will like.
The ancillary characters – ranging from the podcasters to the annoying adolescents – are merely here for Michael to slaughter. You do not feel anything for them at all. Granted, Laurie’s friends in the original film are not given the most dignified deaths but at least you got to know them. Young Allyson’s friends are largely grating and you are just sitting there waiting for Michael to stab them. There is a minor twist involving Michael’s new psychiatrist wanting him to fight Laurie again so he can study how 40 years between confrontations can change people. It is established and then tossed away within a matter of minutes.
But the element of the film that everyone is the most interested in – the sole reason the movie exists in the first place – is Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role that began her career. Curtis has made no secret that despite her gratitude to Halloween and other horror films in her early life, she much prefers making anything but horror movies. However, she is actually given a role of substance here where the hunted become the hunter. She takes on a very Sarah Connor Terminator 2 vibe in this film that is very welcome to see. Scenes I enjoyed the most involved Laurie driving around in her pickup truck listening to police scanners, trying to track Michael down. The movie also does not shy away from the negative aspects of her life – the fact that she very clearly projected her fears onto her daughter from a young age and alienated her as an adult.
All in all, Halloween (the third film in this series with the exact same title) is best when it is doing its own new thing as opposed to what we have already seen before. Jamie Lee Curtis delivers one of her strongest performances to date and John Carpenter returns to compose a fitting score to the film, revamping his original themes. However, the film is dragged down by the additions of unnecessary and grating characters with little to no likability or influence on the plot. The triumphant ending leaves little indication that Michael could return but as this franchise has proven time and time again that it only takes a weak box office to stop Michael Myers.
