Spoiler alert! Halloween Kills. Well, I think it is safe to say, love it or hate it, this addition to the franchise has garnered a lot of attention! We delve right back into the action that occurred on that fateful night in 2018 as we see Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), Karen (Judy Greer), and Allyson (Andi Matichak) rushing to the hospital as a fire truck whizzes by despite the firm protests of Laurie to "let it burn!" which gave us chills. This movie doesn't focus heavily on the Laurie Strode trauma and leans instead on a mob mentality and what happens to a town when they reach their breaking point. Introducing, Tommy (Anthony Michael Hall), who leads the pack in their hunt for Michael while touting his slogan "Evil dies tonight!" which, I'll be honest, is possibly declared a little too much. But we get the picture. The film also brings in Halloween alumni Kyle Richards, reprising her role as Lyndsey, and Nancy Stephens reprising her role as Marion. If this doesn't elicit nostalgia for the hardcore Halloween fan, then the flashback scene will! We get to see Loomis as a very talented special effects makeup artist create an unbelievably realistic mask for Tom Jones Jr. to wear in said flashback. This gave the movie more bones, so to speak. The cast as a whole was strong. From our escaped mental patient (Ross Bacon), the torch-wielding villagers, the resident victims, and let's not forget, the introduction of the first-ever gay couple featured in a Halloween movie. This leads me to my next point. I feel this portrayal of a gay couple was both respectful and humorous. From the tiny knife moment to the ‘let's smoke weed and dance’ moment, audiences fell in love with this authentic couple who bought the Myers house and brought it into the 21st century! Big John (Scott MacArthur) and Little John (Michael MacDonald) were truly wonderful. A huge win for LGBT representation. And you’ll notice a bench banner outside the pub that informs viewers that they are real estate agents. I did enjoy the not-so-subtle parallel being drawn between the mob running amuck in hunt of Michael and the current political climate of people blindly following individuals like a herd of sheep. Laurie Strode herself even screams at the masses running around the hospital, calling them sheep. Laurie takes a back seat in this madness as she recovers in the hospital and indulges in nostalgia of her own with Officer Hawkins (Will Patton). This conversation starts as speculation on Myers and ultimately implies Halloween Ends will delve into the supernatural as this being is truly unkillable. This makes sense, but let’s hope the team concludes this new timeline respectively and powerfully. Michael gets gorier and more sinister and we get glimpses into his psyche even further! From using a man as a knife board to thumbs-in-sockets, a truly memorable slaughter of firefighters, and plenty of macabre presentations of his bodies as he plays with his victims in a way he’s never done before, with quite so much relish. Additionally, poking Little John's eyes out and holding a firefighter up as he impaled him. Phew! This movie also made viewers realize just how much he plays with his food. He staged his victims in a twisted way. We have the gay couple which he fondly props up just as they are in a photograph and even plays romantic music for them. These seem to be the only people whose bodies he even slightly cared about. Others were hung from trees, tossed on playground rides, etc. This excited me as I am always thirsty for Michael's psyche! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Karen isn't dead. I adore Judy Greer! If she doesn't reappear in Halloween Ends, I will weep. Speaking of which, what does the future hold? David Gordon Green has hinted that Halloween Ends will jump 4 years into the future! Wow. Again, this just makes me more eager to see how DGG will expand upon this story. For those interested in the stats, BoxOffice Mojo has impressive numbers (over 100 million!). Even more impressive considering COVID is still affecting theatres globally. Let's not forget Producer Jason Blum, who has become a powerhouse in the horror world! All in all, the main critique appears to be the mob mentality storyline dominating the movie, and going from 0 to 100 quickly. Yes, the mass hysteria did take the lead, however, I feel it was interesting to see in a horror movie. A town who’ve had enough. After 40 years they’ve reached their breaking point. They are traumatized and have lost loved ones and are sick of this monster. RIP Ross Bacon. |