This iconic horror sequel may not have reinvented a genre-defining wheel – but succeeds by sticking to solid foundations laid in the original.
It doesn’t take too many risks, but by using the template from the first film – the trademark intro sequence, chilling original musical score, brutal straight-to-the-point (literally) killings by the murderous Michael Myers stalking from the shadows etc – this is easily the second best film in the franchise since it started in 1978.
Actor/producer Danny McBride (Alien: Covenant) combined forces with his directing buddy David Gordon Green – who teamed up on acclaimed TV comedy series Eastbound & Down – to cleverly dispense with all sequels and make this a direct follow-up forty years later, with Jamie Lee Curtis’ legendary Laurie Strode returning.
She’s marooned herself in her compound – still haunted by the evil presence of the masked Myers four decades on – neurotically awaiting the killer’s return which she believes will happen, especially as he’s due to be moved to a new high-security prison.
And alas, when two reporters wielding his iconic mask try to interview the mute Myers, he escapes from the prison bus and wreaks havoc in the town of Haddonfield on Halloween night once again.
Said town includes Strode’s daughter Karen (Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Judy Greer), grand-daughter Allyson (newcomer Andi Matichak) and her pals, so Strode – with the aid of Deputy Sheriff Frank Hawkins (The Punisher’s Will Patton) – must relive her nightmare once again to save her family.
There’s a few glaringly inexplicable plot holes where Myers continues his murderous spree unhindered, but it’s in fact the moments where you don’t ‘know where he is’ that the film is at its best – evoking the tension and anxiety that made the original such a classic.
Lee Curtis and co do their job in a supporting role to him, and it all solidly slices and dices its way to a truly competent ‘proper’ sequel that comes complete with noteworthy production values to make this very watchable to anybody who loves the first film – or the genre in general.
It’s great to see Lee Curtis, and particularly Myers, killing it again.
Rating: 3.5/5
Gavin Miller
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Patton, Andi Matichak, Judy Greer, Haluk Bilinger, Jefferson Hall, Rhian Rees, Toby Huss, Virginia Gardner, Dylan Arnold, Drew Scheid, Miles Robbins, Nick Castle & James Jude Courtney
Running Time: 1 Hr 46 Mins
Director: David Gordon Green
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