Halloween Kills is going to be the middle child of this trilogy, and I have high hopes will work a lot better once viewed as a whole. There are definitely shortcomings of the film, but the superb kills and interesting traits they give Michael Myers in this story, for me, makes it an enjoyable watch. With a wealth of extras, including an Extended Cut, add this one to your collection today!
“The Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn’t over yet. Michael manages to free himself from Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) trap to resume his ritual bloodbath. As Laurie fights for her life from injuries from her last encounter with Michael, she inspires her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), to rise up against their unstoppable monster. The vigilante mob then sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Evil dies tonight.”
After getting over the fact this new Halloween franchise, set to be a trilogy, was written by Danny McBride and directed by David Gordon Green, who brought us Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and Your Highness, it was easy to get excited for this. Although the franchise had a lengthy and fruitful run, the 2018 Halloween did something exceptionally rare, and rather bold: it told a story that subsequently ignored everything after the first film, even those films in which Jamie Lee Curtis herself was a part of. The franchise had it’s ups and downs, and I enjoyed, mostly, the majority of the films in the series, but what this accomplished most was to remove the supernatural elements to Michael’s character that he had some kind of evil curse or was immortal. That, and the fact that he and Laurie were siblings, were the two biggest changes from ignoring everything that came after. It was a fresh start for all the characters, and the 2018 film was done extremely well. So, what do we have in store for us in the middle film of the series?
Halloween Kills was another film affected by the pandemic. The decision was made to release it the same day as the in-theater date on the new Peacock streaming service. Still, it didn’t hurt it that bad financially, earning 6.5 times its budget worldwide to date. Unfortunately, the film was plagued with bad reviews from the beginning, and while I don’t necessarily believe the film is bad, it certainly doesn’t deserve some of the harsh criticism it’s received.
Now the 12th Halloween film, there’s a certain limit what you can do with a character that doesn’t talk or emote in any kind of way besides brutally murder. That leaves the protagonist to carry the story, which unfortunately is hard to do, because she was horribly gutted at the end of the previous film. Jamie Lee Curtis spends the majority of the film unconscious and basically all the film in a hospital. It’s logical, she literally had life-saving surgery in which we actually see doctors putting her guts back in her stomach. Instead, the film introduces us to some characters most of us fans of the original film will be familiar with: Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), Lonnie (Robert Longstreet), Marion and Lindsey, played by the same actresses who portrayed them in the 1978 film, Nancy Stephens and Kyle Richards respectively. For me, this was a really cool nod to the original, and a chance for these characters to face their fears they’ve been living with for 40 years. For the most part, though, these characters are squandered, with Tommy Doyle relegated to inciting a mob to go after first an escaped mental patient mistaken for Michael Myers, then Myers himself. I entirely believe that in a small-town scarred by the events from the first film, a mob would instantly form, especially in today’s society. What I don’t believe is that this should have been the crux of the story that contains the majority of the action and sequences taking place besides a hospital and with others characters that can actually speak. It’s great these characters get to come back and shine, but they sacrifice real storytelling time with a mindless mob mentality. With Lorie stuck in the hospital, the only other option would to follow Michael and see him kill random people. We saw that in Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II, and it was horrible. The writers essentially wrote themselves into a corner in this second film that takes place immediately after the first by benching the main protagonist and not giving us an effective replacement to further the story.
The shortcomings of the story and lack of protagonist development are the main issues I have with the film. This could all make sense once the third one is released, we don’t know yet. What I did enjoy about the film was all the different things that were done with Michael. He may be the antagonist, but his story was the most developed of all. His obsession with positioning the people he kills in certain positions, as well as his obsession with the window he looked out of as a child. There is some inner conflict in him that we don’t understand yet, and I’m hoping it will be the main focus of the third film, which may make things make more sense in this one. If I remember correctly, there is a line in the film that says something to the effect of “we don’t understand his motivations, no one does”, there isn’t anything more true about this in Halloween Kills.
Video
Halloween Kills is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. While my choice would obviously be 4k in this instance, I was very surprised at just how great the Blu-ray looked. Taking place all at night, everything was extremely detailed and well-defined. Colors were very vibrant, and sequences such as the beginning when Michael emerges from the house engulfed in flames was particularly breathtaking visually. You can’t go wrong either way on this release, it looks great!
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos. What more could you ask for in an audio track? With John Carpenter’s iconic theme consistently playing throughout the film, we’re also gifted some impressive audio in terms of kills and effects of those kills that will make you think Michael Myers is right behind you. Very well-balanced levels throughout the film between the surrounds and center channel.
Special Features
The Blu-ray set is extremely cool. While I don’t know if the 4k is designed the same way, the Blu-ray slip cover has raised areas on Michael’s mask in the areas that have been burned by the fire. It’s such a cool feature, and since slip covers usually disappear from these releases as time goes on and more batches are released, it’s just one more reason to grab this sooner rather than later, if nothing else to complete your Halloween set. Additionally, another notch in the physical media column is the choice to watch the Theatrical or Extended Cuts, with the latter offering an alternate ending. While I won’t spoil the ending of either, not a ton has changed, but it does add something substantial at the very end that l was confused as to why they chose not to include the first time around. If you’re a first-time viewer and wanting to know which one you should watch, go with the Extended, it’s only about 4 minutes longer.
The set also comes with a Digital Copy and extras that include:
- Gag Reel
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Haddonfield’s Open Wounds
- The Kill Team
- Strode Family Values
- 1978 Transformations
- The Power of Fear
- Kill Count
- Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer David Gordon Green and Stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer
Halloween Kills is far from perfect, but still presents a Halloween story about Michael Myers that is, most important of all, different from the other sequels it chose to ignore. I do think that the third film is going to tie this all together perfectly, and when ultimately watched in succession, will be considered favorably in the horror genre. Pick this one up today!
