Special Update: Sphinx’s Spooky Spectacular Horror Film Review - Halloween (2018) - NO SPOILERS

Hello everyone! Welcome to this special update of my spooky spectacular horror film review. For today, I wanted to share with you my trip to see my first horror movie ever in a theater - Halloween that came out this past Friday. As promised in the title, I do not plan to give any spoilers away, but mainly to discuss my movie going experience.

First off, the one and only Deadite accompanied me to the theater, who has been so graciously holding my hand (figuratively, or literally? You decide!) during this horror movie experience this past month. Deadite did not disappoint, pumped and ready to go for watching this movie as he pulled out two brewskies from his coat pocket to enjoy. Don’t worry, he took the cans home with him to get that $0.20 cent deposit. Hopefully no one from AMC 20 reads this blog, otherwise Deadite might be banned for life for bringing in contraband.

The theater atmosphere was definitely an interesting experience; one that I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of before. While sold out, the crowd was not shy in sharing with the rest of the audience their concerns of what’s going on in the movie. Whether it was someone yelling at the screen “I wouldn’t do that!” or the two ladies sitting next me narrating to each other the movie as they switched turns covering their eyes, I must say opening night of a horror movie brings out some interesting people.

In terms of the film experience, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Michael Myers up to his usual business on the big screen. The classic John Carpenter theme playing all around me, the loud wails of police sirens, heavy breathing, and other sounds kept me engaged and anxious. In addition, the darkness of the theater and pure size of the screen all provided a great environment and mood for the film.

As for the film itself, it marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the first Halloween movie and does a lot to please fans of the first movie, making many really cool references from that first movie. A quick example is Laurie’s granddaughter sits in the exact same spot in the classroom that Laurie did when she looked out the window and saw Michael Myers for the first time watching her. Again, someone is outside looking into the classroom at the granddaughter, but I won’t say who that is. There are many other nods to the first film that happen in the movie, which makes sense as this is trying to act as a 40 years later film sequel, ignoring the previous sequels that have already existed. Deadite mentioned how of all the slasher franchises, Halloween is the one that has really struggled with continuity. So by ignoring those movies and sticking with a direct sequel to the original I thought was a cool move that paid off.

The film is directed by David Gordon Green, who pays many respects to the original film by borrowing clips from it and even using the same font that we see in 1978. He co-wrote the film with the comedic actor Danny McBride, as they have worked together on Pineapple Express and the HBO series Eastbound & Down. It’s pretty obvious that McBride had a role in the writing, as there are definitely sprinkles of humor throughout the film that in my opinion were actually done very nicely and helped provide some relief from the horror scenes. John Carpenter was brought on board as an executive producer to do the film’s soundtrack again and Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie, but also acts as an executive producer.

So what did I think of the film? Well, for what it’s set out to do it does a great job. It is definitely a great tribute to the original, and it ups the ante quite a bit in terms of the horror scenes compared to the original. Seeing an older Michael Myers (spending 40 years in a maximum security prison) with his mask worn and tattered was neat, as was seeing Laurie no longer be that teenage girl but instead a crazy grandmother. Since we know the background of these characters from previous films, I found it really interesting how we were able to learn so much more about those two original characters in this film, giving them additional dimensions on their personality. The film also does a great job bringing in more contemporary elements to the film so that it engages its 2018 audience.

If you’re a fan of the Halloween franchise or even just the first film, you will not be disappointed. In general, if slasher horror movies are your thing, I think you should go see this film this Halloween season. I honestly will say I liked this movie more than the original. I respect the original movie and realize it’s relevance and importance for the genre, but this new sequel I found more entertaining. I give this movie a….

B-

Disagree? Please feel free to comment below, on social media, or on our discord.

Don’t forget to listen to my podcast every Monday (Last Action Podcast) with LPJ, and I hope you consider being a patron on patreon at patreon.com/gamezillamedia. For October, our patrons get a special podcast only for them as LPJ and I discuss the career of legendary director John Carpenter.

Sphinx