The Halloween franchise is one that seems to be as immortal as the primary antagonist of the series. However, rather than making just another sequel, the new Halloween takes the novel approach of ignoring every film that's been made except for the 1978 original. How well does this strategy work? Well, we here at CinemaBlend think it works pretty well. Our official review was written by Eric Eisenberg and he thinks it works very well. Eric gave the movie 4.5 stars and says...
With the exception of the Michael Myers-less Season Of The Witch (which I will staunchly defend), the legacy of the Halloween franchise has not been a strong one. And yet, in one fell swoop David Gordon Green has managed to both clean the slate and redeem the brand. It's a frightening and fun homage to the original that also breathes on its own - wonderfully subverting expectations and tropes on its path. It further intensifies the on-going horror boom, and is nothing short of a marvel.
Those are some pretty strong words of praise, but Eric's not the only one that feels that way. The main thing the new Halloween needed to be was something more than "just another sequel" and it seems that it largely succeeded. CinemaBlend Managing Director Sean O'Connell has pretty similar feelings about Halloween, saying that the movie is as likely to make new fans as it is to satisfy the old ones.
What Halloween pulls off isn't quite impossible, but it's very difficult. It revives a classic horror series -- one that has been beaten and exhausted by its own sequels -- and makes it feel fresh, relevant, original and vital. It continues, and satisfyingly closes, Laurie's journey. But it also serves as a thrilling slasher throwback in its own right. Halloween plays to die-hard fans, but also remembers it needs to create new ones. It is terrifying and funny, tense and shocking. It's the Halloween sequel loyal fans have been waiting for.
Needless to say, the new Halloween had a lot of responsibility. There were surely many different people who wanted many different things from it. While the film might not acknowledge any of the previous sequels, there are fans of the films that still want this movie to feel distinctly like a Halloween movie. There are also younger fans of horror that may not be as familiar with the original film, but have expectations for what a modern horror movie should be. The good news, at least according to CB's Braden Roberts is that the film delivers all of it.
Halloween manages to walk the line between nostalgia and fresh scares. There's something for everyone, from truly disturbing horror to dark comedy. Halloween is a compliment to original and is a great addition to the recent uptick in quality horror films.
While there really isn't a dissenting voice at CinemaBlend, project manager Cody Beck at least doesn't speak of Halloween in quite as glowing terms. While he admits it's the best Halloween sequel to date, that may be somewhat faint praise. While the film eventually finds its groove, Cody felt it took its sweet time getting there...
Halloween opens with a not-quite-convincing-enough scene of terror and continues to roll slowly for the first 30 min- even through some pretty brutal stuff. It definitely isn't shy about what it is, with numerous callbacks to the original as well as a quick jab at the sequels. A little bit of humor throughout, a few nice twists and some very violent kills, it's easily the best follow-up to John Carpenter's original.
It seems quite clear that Halloween will do well appealing to fans of the franchise, but just how well does it do with people who aren't necessarily all-in for Michael Myers? There are a couple of us who weren't necessarily looking for a new Halloween movie, but are still glad we found one. CinemaBlend Sr. Movie Contributor Mike Reyes admits that the Halloween franchise doesn't mean the same thing to him that it does to many moviegoers, but he was absolutely a fan of this movie.
As someone who didn't grow up idolizing John Carpenter's original, 2018's sequel to Halloween made me see just why the series, in its best form, has had such a lasting impact. David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley have created a tense roller coaster of a film that not only stands out as a horror hit, but also qualifies as an exemplary family drama/thriller in the process. Let's hope the franchise stays on this path and never let's down its bad ass trio of female leads or its audience.
I'm very much in this same boat. Horror really isn't my genre if I'm being honest. Jump scares will get me literally every single time and I end up spilling my popcorn and getting annoyed. Also, I find the original Halloween to be a bit too slow in its build and most of the characters to be less than interesting, and thus their deaths less than tragic. Having said all that, I enjoyed the new Halloween more than I expected to. While it clearly pays homage to the original, it's not married to do doing things the way that movie did, which helps a great deal.
If you're a serious horror or Michael Myers fan I'm not the guy to tell you if Halloween is worth your time, but I enjoyed it well enough. It's not as streamlined as the original and it doesn't take itself 100% seriously, (like 80-85% seriously) but to me, that's a benefit.
Overall, it seems clear that if you're looking for a horror movie to watch this Halloween season, you could hardly do better than the new Halloween. It works if you're a big fan of the original, it works if you're not. It may or may not go down in history as the best Halloween sequel or a particularly great horror movie, but you could certainly do worse. It's in theaters now.
