The Halloween franchise has made a name for itself ever since the first movie was released in 1978, with several sequels to follow, Director David Gordon Green decided to resurrect the franchise with 2018’s Halloween. The 2018 version took place 40 years after the first-ever Halloween, and Halloween Kills picks up right where Halloween (2018) ends. Now that you understand the timeline, the question remains: was Halloween Kills a successful sequel?
For 40 years, Michael Myers has haunted the town of Haddonfield, and this film shows how a traumatic event still impacts people decades later. The 2018 film focused on Laurie Strode, and how she was directly impacted by Michael’s attack. This film focuses on the community of Haddonfield. This movie brings back original characters from Halloween (1978) such as Lindsey Wallace, Tommy Doyle, Sheriff Bracket and Marion Chambers, and while I recognize this was primarily a fan service, I found their roles in the film were significant to the storyline. They complete the movie. If you are a fan of the original franchise having original characters back for this movie was very special. However, if you are just an average horror movie watcher, this choice probably didn’t mean anything to you.
While the movie’s main focus is on the community of Haddonfield, it also showcases Laurie Strode’s vulnerable moments as well as documenting Michael’s brutal kills throughout the entire film. This film is very successful in building suspense–there were scenes where I felt my heart sink to my stomach because I had no idea what was going to happen next. The kills in this film are very brutal and creative and very reminiscent of a classic 80’s slasher movie. This movie also incorporated flashbacks scenes which I found to be very effective, it felt like I was transported back to 1978, which is not easy to do, so I was very impressed that this movie pulled it off.
When making a trilogy, it is very difficult for the second film to not feel like a filler movie. With that said, I did not feel like Halloween Kills was that. Some people think this movie takes itself too seriously, but I found it was equally as entertaining as it was symbolic. I don’t think those two techniques are mutually exclusive. While it did feel like the message was being spoon-fed to the audience at times, it was still effective.
The main critique I have with this film is with the ending, but I have to give it some leeway because they are setting up the story for the third film in the trilogy. Halloween Kills is a character-driven film which is why some people feel like it lacks a strong plot. However, I found it to be a successful sequel because it highlighted characters very important to the franchise, provided audiences Halloween nostalgia and most importantly was terrifying.
I would definitely recommend checking this movie out this season if you want a good scare.
Happy Halloween, V