Review Tuesday: HALLOWEEN KILLS [2020/21]

 

 HALLOWEEN

KILLS

Michael Myers continues his killing spree. 

I don't often get a STAB at sneak previews, but I happened to be in one of the test audiences back on FEBRUARY 26, 2020 but had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and couldn't discuss it UNTIL NOW! Additionally I got to see the finished product and could compare the two. 

This is a direct continuation from the 2018 HALLOWEEN that ignored ALL of the films since the original. (See review HERE). It starts off with Michael Myers, aka THE SHAPE, caught in the trap set by Laurie Strode. He's locked in the basement of a burning house. Laurie, her daughter and granddaughter are headed to the hospital. Unfortunately, the fire department arrived on the scene to put out the fire. Normally, this would be a good thing, but they unwittingly set The Shape loose on Haddonfield, Ill. 

 

What's interesting about this film is that, while The Shape accounts for plenty of violence and gore, how the fear he creates within the town makes the folks monsters as well. There's nothing like the lynch mob mentality for quick and brutal injustice. 

Like the previous installment, this movie is brutal in how real the gore appears. Additionally, they expand on the mystery of what motivates The Shape. Has it really been some personal vendetta against Laurie after 40 years? The movie offers some suggestions but we can never know what really makes a serial killer tick. 

 

The movie is exceedingly well done. Great cast. Great characters. Most of the survivors from the original 1978 come back for this installment. The world-building in this middle part of the current trilogy is excellent. In the original film, I felt like the entire was merely a few blocks. Haddonfield was some tiny dump-water town that might not even show up on maps. Now, however, it seems much bigger. More like a small city, or something like a suburb of a big city. They have a substantial police force, as well as other first responders. There also appears to be a fairly large central hospital. 

 

Since they announced years ago that this movie would be followed up with a third and final installment in a current trilogy called HALLOWEEN ENDS, I don't think I would be spoiling anything by saying that the way this movie ends and how The Shape survives is truly shocking.... and brutal. 

 

Since I got to see a preview, and I was able to remember it after all this time, I was able to reconcile in my mind the various differences. Really, there were more tweaks and refinements. There were several scenes that were edited down or corrected to make the film more watchable and run more smoothly. EG: There was one murder scene that was cut down because the actions of the victim were stupid bordering on laughable, which has no place in something like this. 

   

If you are a fan of horror, especially the HALLOWEEN franchise, I would highly recommend watching this film for this spooky season. 

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