Michael Myers Continues His Epic Rampage of Carnage in "Halloween Kills"

 

Scary movie season is upon us! I've been looking forward to seeing Halloween Kills from the moment the credits rolled on my first viewing of Halloween (2018). Well, it's finally here, the second installment of a new trilogy within the iconic Halloween franchise. In my book, this movie had a lot to live up to, because the movie that came before was so stinking good. I love Halloween (2018), and how wonderfully it continues the story from the very first Halloween film back in 1978. Seeing Jamie Lee Curtis as a seasoned Laurie Strode taking on the masked menace Michael Myers was thrilling, tense, and an epic ride. So, naturally, the continuation of that story - made by the same people who made the first one in 2018 - should be just as thrilling, just as tense, and just as epic, right?...Right?!

Halloween Kills picks up right where Halloween (2018) ended, save for a flashback scene at the beginning which is meant to establish some context for what happens later in the film (an aspect of the film that happens far too often, I'm afraid). Michael Myers survived the fire and is on a vicious rampage of death and carnage. Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) begin this chapter thinking they've won - they've killed the boogeyman. But, we learn the hard way that there's no killing the boogeyman. What plays out instead is the jarring, somewhat distorted narrative about the manifestation of fear and the transcendent nature of Michael Myers. There are many kills, way more than the first one, and the introduction of some newer characters feels a bit over-the-top, but when all is said and done, I don't know how I feel entirely about this movie; truthfully I have mixed feeling about it. The only thing I do know for sure is that I'm pretty sure I liked it, though it's not nearly as good as its predecessor.

The standout aspects from Halloween (2018), for me at least, were the characters. Laurie and her family were fully fleshed out people, and they made sense within the world created by this franchise. Laurie's progression from when we first see her in 1978 to 2018 is extremely believable. Everything else was just a wonderful addition to the ensemble. Michael Myers doesn't need to be anything other than menacing as he lumbers about, ending people's lives. From start to finish, that movie made sense. Halloween Kills makes sense most of the time, and abandons some of what made the first movie so great by doubling down on the chaos and mayhem. Some of it worked, some of it didn't, and what we're left with is a sort of jumbled mess with glimmering moments of awesomeness. Laurie is sidelined for the entire movie, which part of me gets - she was injured pretty badly in the last one. But the new characters didn't have enough time to really establish themselves to the point of me wanting to care, so Laurie felt missed. There is more for Karen and Allyson to do, which was great, but even then some of those story beats didn't make sense. Instead, there's a greater emphasis on this idea that Michael manifests fear on a massive level, turning the citizens of Haddonfield into a raging mob of lunatics. Michael himself is far more brutal here, and he gets extremely creative with his kills - which is funny, given that he's probably one of the slowest-moving slashers out there. 

But here's where it gets tricky for me: as a premise, I really dug that idea. You got to bring something new to the table, so elevating Michael Myers to almost mythic proportions is extremely compelling, and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the mayhem and brutality he wrought. What dampened the experience for me was the overuse if spoon-fed nostalgia through so many flashbacks that needed to occur in order to justify so many of the choices made throughout the film. There was so much attention spent on establishing these new characters that, honestly, they really didn't bring much to the story and felt like a waste of time. Then again - and here's where I get mixed feeling about it once more - it almost makes sense that we don't get to know these people all that well, since the focus is on what or how Michael's presence festers and infects the town. That being said, Curtis and company killed it performance-wise. I just wish we had more of it. Director David Gordon Green knows how to create tension, and he continues that practice here, but not nearly as effective as the last.

So, did I like this movie? Yes...but I wished I liked it more. Maybe my expectations were too high? Who knows, perhaps a second viewing might change things for me. I didn't get a chance to rewatch Halloween (2018) before my viewing tonight, and the whole time I was watching Halloween Kills I was wishing I had. Now that it's available to stream on Peacock, I think a double-feature might be in my future. When all is said and done, at least for now, Halloween Kills elevates the franchise, taking it to new territory, but isn't quite as good as the movie before it. It's flawed but brutally entertaining. Basically, it's good, when I wanted it to be really great. Despite its flaws, though, I think it's worth checking out, and I'm really anxious for the final chapter, Halloween Ends, to cap this epic journey off - which comes out next year (maybe?). See this movie in theaters, for sure, and go with friends. Tis the season for movies like this, and in that regard, Halloween Kills fits the bill nicely.