Halloween (2018) just came to theaters last Friday, continuing the famous film series that began in 1978 with the first Halloween movie.
In the original movie, deranged murderer Michael Myers escapes from a mental institution 15 years after brutally murdering his 17-year-old sister when he was six. He returns on Halloween night to terrorize teenage babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), also killing a handful of her friends.
The rest of the franchise includes a series of movies that track Michael’s obsession with Laurie as she grows older and he continues on his murder sprees. In 2007, a remake of the original was released, with a new sequel following it in 2009, which didn’t star Jamie Lee Curtis, but she has made a comeback in the new 2018 version, also entitled Halloween.
The new film follows the life of Laurie Strode 40 years later, and illustrates the effects Michael Myers’ Halloween attack had on her life and her family. This remake disregards the narrative created in the following sequels to the original, representing an alternative sequel to the original that we’ve never seen before.
In this film, Michael Myers escapes from incarceration on Halloween night, exactly 40 years since the babysitter murders. Laurie, now paranoid and neurotic, helps her daughter (Judy Greer) and granddaughter (Andi Matichak) escape from the crazed serial killer throughout the movie.
I thought this movie was incredible because, not only do I love myself a good slasher/thriller category film, but I loved the connections this movie made to the original. It’s so fascinating to watch Laurie, who’s been traumatized by her attacker for years, finally face him again as he comes for the rest of her family– and this time she’s ready.
The film also says a lot about mental health and the lack of mental attention Laurie has received since her attack, as well as the paranoia that she has passed on to her daughter’s life. Jamie Lee Curtis herself even spoke on behalf of the movie in an interview, stating that even though it isn’t necessarily a political movie, “it weirdly enough is about women taking back the narrative of their lives because it has been taken from them by a predator.” I couldn’t have said it better– this movie does do exactly that.
Even if you’re not looking for the satisfaction of seeing a woman finally face her attacker after years of trauma, or rooting for the badass female leads in this movie, it still is a great scary movie to see before Halloween. If you’re into slasher movies, or just want to see how Laurie and Michael’s story finally ends, this is the movie for you. Get to theater and check it out! Oh, and Happy Halloween.