[Once
again I'm going to attempt to do a horror(ish) movie review a day for
the entire month of October. I've done this the last few years on The
Cleveland Movie Blog. Most of the time I succeeded (usually with the
help of a few other writers). Other times I didn't. We'll see if I can
pull it off this year.]
This is a longer review than usual because this is a film that warrants it.
This is a longer review than usual because this is a film that warrants it.
I have no doubt that writer/director David Gordon Green is a
fan of the horror genre in general and John Carpenter’s 1978 HALLOWEEN in particular. The director of both
notable indie films like GEORGE
WASHINGTON, and stupid but fun
stoner comedies like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS,
Green has expressed interest in making a horror film for a while. In fact, he
had been attached to direct a remake of SUSPIRIA
and had evidently spent some time developing it. However, that fell through. Instead
Green, along with his writing partners Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, wound up
making HALLOWEEN, a higher profile
project that comes with both greater risks and greater potential rewards.
Off the bat, it’s fair to say that HALLOWEEN is not some half-assed quickie cash-in. Whatever
criticisms one might level against it (and I will be leveling some shortly), it
treats John Carpenter’s original and its fans with respect. It also treats the
film’s sequels, which range in quality from mediocre to downright awful, with
no respect, acting as if none of them ever happened. So if nothing else, I
appreciate HALLOWEEN for that.
The premise is that sometime after the final scene of
Carpenter’s film, killer and alleged literal boogeyman Michael Meyers was captured
and returned to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Now 40 years later, Meyers (Nick
Castle, who played the role in the original film, and stuntman James Jude
Courtney) is about to be moved to a new mental institution.
Actor Donald Pleasance having long departed this mortal
coil, the film replaces his Dr. Loomis with Dr. Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer).
And when I say he’s replaced Loomis, I mean he even has the same accent and penchant
for florid dialogue. That said, he differs from Loomis in at least one big way,
having a far more sympathetic view of his patient. Which, given that Loomis
felt Michael was pure evil personified and should not just be killed, but
incinerated just to be sure, is a pretty low bar to clear.
In a pre-credits sequence, Sartain allows a couple of
British podcasters (Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees) to attempt an interview with
Michael, despite the fact that the guy isn’t exactly known for being talkative.
He’s also encouraged them to bring along Michael’s old mask, figuring that
might loosen Michael’s tongue. All it does is disturb the other patients in the
yard, at which point the iconic Halloween theme starts to play over the
credits, which depict a smashed pumpkin reconstituting itself. Kind of a nice
little metaphor there.
Since Michael didn’t exactly give them a lot of quotes, the
podcasters next pay a visit to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who managed to
survive Michael’s reign of terror in the first film. Laurie was understandably
traumatized by her experiences, and now lives in a fortified cabin surrounded
by a gate and security cameras. On the plus side, though, at least that
horrible wig she wore in HALLOWEEN II
got retconned out of her past. Anyway, she agrees to let the podcasters in
after they offer to pay her $3000.
Finally, we get to the meat of the main plot. Laurie had a daughter
at some point after the original film. Since Laurie gave her little girl sort of a Unabomber childhood focused on survivalist training, children’s services eventually intervened.
Laurie’s daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), is now an adult and
married to Ray (Toby Huss). She also has a daughter of her own, teenage Allyson
(Andi Matichak). Laurie is marginally a part of their lives, but the way she
goes on about how they need to be ready in case Michael escapes drives a wedge
between them.
But wait, there are still more semi-major characters to get
to know: Allyson’s best friend Vicky (Virginia Gardner), boyfriend Cameron
(Dylan Arnold), and would-be boyfriend Oscar (Drew Scheid). And representing
the forces of law and order, police officer Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) and his
superior, Sheriff Barker (Omar J. Dorsey).
All these characters, most of whom have at least some kind
of arc, detract from the central plot of Laurie being a survivor of assault,
and the ways that has affected not only her, but her family. Even if you don’t
care about the movie on that level, it doesn’t exactly make for a smooth
flowing horror film, either. And honestly, some of these characters could
easily have been eliminated to streamline the film, their mostly minor
functions in the plot given to someone else.
Instead we have to wait for Michael to start shearing off
some of the film’s fat in brutal fashion. Green doesn’t revel in violence and
gore to the degree Rob Zombie did in his remake, but this is still a much
bloodier film with a much higher body count than Carpenter’s original. Depending
on your tastes in horror that could be either a plus or a minus. I’ll just say
I don’t think the way Green stages the kills is nearly as effective as Carpenter, although
you can see him at least trying.
When the film keeps its focus on Laurie, her family, and
Michael, it works pretty well. You can see why Carpenter would have thought
there was enough potential here to lend the film extra credence with his name
and participation, and why Curtiss as an actress would have wanted to come back
to the role that made her a star. Less satisfying are the story arcs for Dr.
Sartain and the Brit podcasters. And with all the other characters vying for
screen time, Allyson’s friends are little more than potential victims rather
than the fully formed characters that Laurie’s friends were in Carpenter’s
film.
I also have to say I found some of the dialogue grating.
Yes, Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN features
plenty of slang and cultural aspects that make it very firmly of its time. But some
of the words coming out of the character’s mouths in this film aren’t so much of their time
as they are of Danny McBride. There are a few instances of comic relief that
could just as easily have come from an episode of EASTBOUND AND DOWN or VICE
PRINCIPALS. Thankfully there aren’t a huge number of those moments, but the
ones that are here took me out of the film. On a similar note, while some of
the nods to the original film are fine, others stuck out to me as a bit too
cutesy.
On the plus side, Jamie Leigh Curtis kills it. But then we
all knew she would, right? I also liked a small, throwaway scene between
Allyson’s friend Vicky and the little boy she’s babysitting (Jibrail Nantambu)
that showed some real heart. And it’s no surprise that John Carpenter, along
with his son Cody and Daniel A. Davies (son of Kinks guitar player Dave) have
composed a score that brings back the best motifs from the original film, while
adding some impressive new cues.
I know it probably seems like this review is a bit hard on
the movie. For sure, I’ve given cheaper, shoddier films than this more positive
sounding reviews. But that’s because when you aim higher, as Green and company
have, even minor issues tend to stick out more. At least for me, they do. And
while I didn’t hate this HALLOWEEN,
the chances that I’ll feel the need to put it on every time the holiday rolls
around like I do the original are pretty slim. Feel free to leave your hate-filled
rebuttals in the comments section.
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