Halloween (2018) – Movie Reviews by Ry!
Halloween (2018) – Slasher on the Prowl
Dread comes in many forms. You may tremble at the touch of the supernatural or become paralyzed by the sight of blood. In that moment, a sense of fear surrounds your body that brings out an experience you will never forget. A sense of knowing ‘what is scary’ may seem ambiguous, but when a slasher returns from a dormant 40-year slumber, you can only hope to tell the tale of something that truly defines a haunted story.
A horror classic coming back to life, it is a story that brings a sense of respect towards the original. Completely wiping the existing sequels out of continuity, Halloween (2018) takes a direct approach of righting the wrongs of bad direction. At the heart of the storytelling is a ‘back to basic’ mentality. The writers pay homage to the original, driving the plot through a modern setting where you see how Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) are living 40 years after the incident. The intertwining of characterization with the ‘aftermath’ creates a string where personality confronts the horrid truth of emotional decay. From the ‘ominous’ aura of Myer’s persona to the paranoia that encompasses Strode’s life, the turmoil brings layers of emotions that are sincere but menacing at its core. That reflection builds upon a fragile spectrum, revealing a character driven story with horror to fill around the edges. This drives the typical outline of a slasher film through an endearing perspective, where you get to see a combination of classic horror tropes play against realistic situations. This adds dynamism towards common dread. You know how Myers works (because of the prior films), but the sinister actions are still mysterious enough to create dread. The Myers vs. Strode dynamic breaks the norms of all horror tropes, providing a true likeness of triumph not seen in the genre.
Even with the strong characterization, the film’s clichés do wane on the experience. By playing too close to the source material, it doesn’t sway to far from the obvious deaths and ‘folly’ characters. Even with these scenarios, Halloween (2018) manages to inject a mixture of drama, humor and an unlikely heroine to create a formidable horror film. There is enough for me to say it is worth seeing at the theaters.
Final Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Matinee)