HALLOWEEN (2018)

Michael

HALLOWEEN  (2018). Director: David Gordon Green. 

Forty years after his killing spree in Haddonfield, IL, Michael Myers is transferred to a different facility and, naturally, escapes. His sister, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has turned her home into a fortress in preparation for his return, sets out with her shotgun to kill him. Meanwhile, Michael murders several individuals. Will Laurie finally wipe out the brother who tried to kill her? 

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie

Who cares? I was never a particularly big fan of the original Halloween, only saw a couple of the mostly mediocre sequels, and found this one (which, I believe, ignores the events of the previous "sequels") to be distinctly unoriginal, and eventually, rather dull. The script is disjointed, the pacing is off, and there are only a couple of moments of suspense and very few thrills. Oddly, critics seemed to like the movie even more than the fans, some even finding it "terrifying" and "well-directed." I can only imagine they fell asleep and had a scary nightmare. 

Laurie's daughter and grand-daughter in the cellar

One critic liked the film because of its suggestion of female empowerment, since Laurie, her daughter, and her grand-daughter, all square off against Michael at the climax, but apparently this very young reviewer hasn't seen many slasher films and has no awareness of the whole "final girl" trope. There are a couple of likable kids in the movie: a young boy who tells his father that he likes spending time with him hunting, but would rather go to dance class that night (Billy Elliot?) -- too bad that he doesn't -- and little Julian (Jibrail Nanttambu), a black kid whose babysitter comes to a bad end. 

Verdict: The film doesn't have enough energy for its own good. *1/2.