The horror genre has been going through a renaissance the past few years, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Filmmakers are putting new and exciting projects into theaters, resulting in critical and box office success. But the genre was built on long running franchises, so some classics have been getting reboots. Perhaps the most successful of these is David Gordon Green's Halloween, which brought Jamie Lee Curtis back to her iconic role as Laurie Strode.
Halloween made a ton of money at the box office, and conversation almost immediately began regarding another possible sequel. Fans of John Carpenter's iconic franchise were delighted to hear that two more movies are coming, titled Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. This was a big surprise to moviegoers, but apparently was the plan from the beginning. As writer/director David Gordon Green put it:
Relaunching it for just one, we wanted it to have a bigger story. We were originally going to even shoot them back to back, but as soon as we got it up and running, we took a look at ourselves and were like, ‘You know what? We should make sure we can do one of them good, before we bite off trying to do three of them.’ So, we just put all of our efforts into trying to make the first one land. There was talk, right away, of us doing more of these. We just needed to get everybody aligned and see if everybody was down with the vision. Luckily, everyone is.
Mind. Blown. While it seemed early talks about more Halloween movies started right after Blumhouse's first sequel arrived, it turns out that they were happening far beforehand. But David Gordon Green and company had to wait and see how the first movie performed, just to play it safe. And perform it did.
David Gordon Green's comments to Collider show that the experiment of a Halloween reboot had a bigger scope than the public realized. The Pineapple Express director is a big fan of the franchise, and put his passion for John Carpenter's property into his reboot, in a project that was very emotional and character driven.
Jamie Lee Curtis' played a traumatized Laurie Strode, who had never recovered from Michael's assault on Haddonfield in the first movie. It's an ordeal that fractured her family, as her daughter Karen was taken away from her. But she did share a bond with her granddaughter Allyson, who was the same age as her during the first movie.
Ultimately three generations of Strode women united to battle Michael Myers, seemingly killing him in Laurie's house/trap. But his breath was heard during the credits, so it's clear he made it out alive.
Narratively, there are a ton of places for the next two Halloween movies to go, creating a new trilogy of sequels for the beloved horror franchise in the process. Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode was the star of Blumhouse's recent addition to the brand, in a new timeline that ignored the myriad sequels that have popped up throughout the years. Laurie was shown dealing with her trauma on a day to day basis, isolating herself from the rest of the world in her armored home.
As Michael makes his escape, it becomes clear just how fractured Laurie's relationships with her family were, especially her daughter Karen (Judy Greer). Karen took umbrage with her mother's fascination with Michael Myers, with the character admonishing Laurie's actions and neuroticism during the movie's first two acts. But Allyson shared a special bond with her grandmother, although she also encouraged Laurie to let it go.
But that changed once The Shape returned to Haddonfield for another rampage of random murder. Karen seemingly realized that Laurie was right all along, once again taking up her childhood rifle to fend Michael Myers off during the final battle. It should be interesting to see if/how their relationship changes in the wake of their shared trauma, and now that Laurie's planning successfully saved the women's lives. Perhaps she owes her emotionally disturbed mother an apology.
Allyson had a close bond with Laurie, but being attacked by Michael Myers will no doubt affect her majorly. She might need to turn to Laurie was a resource, allowing their roles to reverse and for the matriarch of the Strode family to take care of her granddaughter's mental health. This would be in stark juxtaposition to Allyson's care for Laurie during Halloween's dinner scene.
The ending of Halloween saw the Strode women trap The Boogeyman in Laurie's basement. Rather than a tomb or hideaway, it was revealed that her entire home was a giant trap for her attacker. They locked Michael in the basement, and promptly set the place on fire. While this seemed like it might be the villain's death, the ending saw a final shot of the basement, with Michael nowhere to be found. What's more, the credits featured his signature breath from within the mask.
It looks like Michael Myers survived his second attack on Haddonfield, and it's unclear where the mute villain might have headed after escaping Laurie's home. Smith's Grove is obviously one place he'll try to avoid, after spending decades in the institution following his arrest. And with Dr. Loomis long since passed in the current timeline, he doesn't have an anchor, and could perhaps travel far from Haddonfield's city lines.
Since there are two different Halloween movies coming down the pipeline, it seems like anything is possible narratively. David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and company did a stellar job with their first sequel, so fans of the property will likely trust their creative vision. And since Gordon Green was always planning to shoot multiple Halloween movies, the story is likely going to be a methodical one, rather than simply an opportunity to make money.
The narrative will continue when Halloween Kills arrives October 16th 2020, followed by Halloween Ends on October 15th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
