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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
Halloween Kills was initially supposed to be released in October 2020. However, almost every film releasing this month was delayed to this year. The film has seen a release in theaters and is also available to watch on the Peacock streaming service. It is a sequel to 2018’s Halloween and the twelfth film in John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s Halloween franchise overall.
Halloween features Jamie Lee Curtis in her fifth appearance as Laurie Strode, while James Jude Courtney reprises his role as Michael Myers from the 2018 film. Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, and Will Patton reprise their respective roles as well. David Gordon Green helms this slasher horror once again. He also serves as the co-writers alongside Danny McBride & Scott Teems. Meanwhile, Jason Blum serves as the producer under Blumhouse Productions.
No spoilers will be present in this article, but there may be a gore warning if you’re a bit squeamish.
Discussion
The film quite literally delivers on the kill factor; it’s a straight-up slasher. Michael Myers (Courtney and Nick Castle) terrorizes Haddonfield in every way possible, all the while remaining incognito to the police and seemingly confusing almost everyone. That is, except for Allyson (Matichak), Cameron Elam (Dylan Arnold), and his father, Lonnie (Robert Longstreet).
The kills are insane and no one is safe, even the most random bystander. The cinematography is fantastic and delivers perhaps some of the series’ most eerie shots and moments. The anticipation factor was extremely tense this time, too. There’s an interesting subplot that just gets bigger and bigger. Although, the first moments of the subplot are a little nerve-racking. There are also several callbacks to other Halloween films, however, that’s probably the script’s best parts.
The writing is just okay; the writers make a good few comedic moments here and there. Despite that, the plot doesn’t really make sense sometimes. It isn’t that you can’t follow along. It moves along fine, but there’s just a few moments that could’ve been left out; otherwise, everything else works.
Performances
The cast is outstanding and everyone meshes very well. The new cast members are welcoming to the story, and Halloween Kills fills in a few gaps in the established reboot timeline. A great example is a flashback to 1978 of a young Officer Hawkins (Thomas Mann) facing Michael on that fateful night. Mann and Anthony Michael Hall are welcoming to the series as well and like I mentioned, no one is safe.
Returning characters Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), and Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) make great appearances. Plus, if you caught it, the doctor and nurse costume couple from the 2018 film – Michael seemingly went into another house as they left theirs. They have a little bit of a larger role in this one, although you can probably guess their ending. That’s another issue…
Final Thoughts
The film’s ending is just okay. Hopefully, the next film provides a definite ending, although The Shape seems something other than mortal.
Despite the smaller issues, the film is great and worth coming back to in the future. It’s an enjoyable watch and a great slasher film that does great as a Michael Myers film. Green’s direction, along with the cinematography, is well done and the film’s kills are some of the most insane of the series. The final confrontation between Strode and Myers – Halloween Ends – is scheduled to hit movie theaters in one year.
4.5/5 stars.
Halloween Kills is now in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
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