30. Halloween (2018), dir. David Gordon Green

[strange_complex]

Serial killer movies just ain't my bag, and I only watched this because we were ushered into a premiere screening of it during the Brașov Dracula Congress which I attended in October, without being told what we were going to see. I have seen the original film a million years ago (though not any of the intervening sequels), and as far as I can tell this one was trying to be a clever, modern, self-aware take on it while actually really being not all that different from it at all. It was marketed as being about women fighting back, and indeed Jamie Lee Curtis' character (Laurie Strode) is well-developed and well-acted, while the film ends with her, her daughter and her granddaughter managing to reconcile their differences and defeat Michael Myers after multiple men have died in the attempt. But we're still shown flash-backs into Michael Myers' childhood which include his sister sitting naked in front of her dressing table brushing her hair, before being murdered by him and ending up on the floor as a Sexy Corpse. There are a couple of references to chess-sets early on, presumably to help establish Myers and Strode as deadly opponents, and some stuff about how Myers' prison psychiatrist has become obsessed with him as an object of study to the point of enabling his crimes. But fundamentally, the plot boils down to a lot of people dying, usually shortly after scenes which have portrayed them as stupid or assholes - another big hoary old trope strongly rooted in the original Halloween. I mean, don't get me wrong - I'm well aware that the Gothic vampire and ghost stories I love best are absolutely packed full of tropes as well, often reflecting the same kind of conservative bent. But a few soaring ruins, dark supernatural beings or pagan shenanigans make all the difference for me. If you liked the original Halloween, and / or the wider serial killer genre, you'll probably like this film - but all I really got out of it was a reminder of why I don't.

Comments

[thawrecka]

I loved this type of film in the 90s, as a horror-obsessed teenager, but I weirdly feel like I've grown out of slasher films? They're so much about sexy corpses and weird morality tropes.

[strange_complex]

I think in some ways a very strongly-defined format which uses tropes a lot can be quite attractive, with a lot of potential enjoyment coming from how different people have used and played around with the tropes. But if in practice people aren't actually playing around with the tropes all that much, and / or those tropes aren't actually particularly appealing to the viewer anyway, the attraction is going to wear thin.

[lady_lugosi1313]

I adore the 1978 Halloween and Halloween 2 and 3 (the stand alone one which isn't Myers on a murderous rampage) as I have really fond memories of watching them on video with my Dad plus I am a big fan of John Carpenter as a composer (I have already bought and love the soundtrack to this Halloween) - so I must give this a watch at some point.

[strange_complex]

I didn't know about this corner of your horror-watching proclivities! As I've said above, I think anyone who likes the original Halloween will definitely like this, so you should see it for sure.

[lady_lugosi1313]

I have a massive soft spot for films like Friday 13th (I still have a hankering to go to Camp Crystal Lake) My Bloody Valentine, Halloween as they really made me jump at the time plus I watched them with my Dad when perhaps agewise at least I shouldn't have been watching such cinematic fare.
Halloween (1978) is one of the finest examples of 'now you see him, now you don't' not quite jump but unsettle scares which start in the daytime and build to such a murderous climax plus Jamie Leigh Curtis is a such a kick ass knitter she uses her knitting needles as a weapon, plus the score is almost a character in its own right.