Go ahead and watch this if you must. There are some good things to see, though you'll have to wait a while to get to them. See it for Jamie Lee Curtis, if nothing else. She has stuck it out through most of this franchise, even some really lame entries, and her performance is top drawer as always. The Halloween series has deviated from straight-up slasher status in the past and taken a few chances for better or worse. And this is not just a film dealing with Michael Meyers going around killing people. For quite a while it looked like Michael was only going to be a symbolic idea for the evil inside each of us, or some such psychobabble. Maybe not even really there at all. But then the final act comes, and we get what we are expecting.
The film takes place a few years after Halloween Kills. Haddonfield remains on edge, as Michael was never brought to justice back then. Laurie Strode is trying to get on with a new life as a writer while living with her granddaughter. A new character, nerdy Corey is introduced. A terrible accident (or was it an accident?) happens to a kid he is babysitting. Corey becomes an outcast, yet somehow starts up a relationship with Laurie's decent-looking granddaughter. Bodies start piling up. Is it Michael? Corey? Both??
Overall I'd rate this a little higher than most. Mostly because I'm a sucker for this series. The pacing is awkwardly slow in the first half. Top billed people from the previous films hardly appear at all. This Corey kid is mostly the central character and he's neither likable or that interesting. Kind of looks like David Koresh. Sure it's a nice callback to the original film to cast Kyle Richards, but there just isn't much for her to do here. Not even get killed. Will Patton is a welcome sight too but again he really isn't needed. Once the gore starts flowing, we get a decent payoff though it's easy to see who will be on the chopping block. Endless annoying characters and Easter Eggs to older horror films are not really a substitute for a good story. 6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
The film takes place a few years after Halloween Kills. Haddonfield remains on edge, as Michael was never brought to justice back then. Laurie Strode is trying to get on with a new life as a writer while living with her granddaughter. A new character, nerdy Corey is introduced. A terrible accident (or was it an accident?) happens to a kid he is babysitting. Corey becomes an outcast, yet somehow starts up a relationship with Laurie's decent-looking granddaughter. Bodies start piling up. Is it Michael? Corey? Both??
Overall I'd rate this a little higher than most. Mostly because I'm a sucker for this series. The pacing is awkwardly slow in the first half. Top billed people from the previous films hardly appear at all. This Corey kid is mostly the central character and he's neither likable or that interesting. Kind of looks like David Koresh. Sure it's a nice callback to the original film to cast Kyle Richards, but there just isn't much for her to do here. Not even get killed. Will Patton is a welcome sight too but again he really isn't needed. Once the gore starts flowing, we get a decent payoff though it's easy to see who will be on the chopping block. Endless annoying characters and Easter Eggs to older horror films are not really a substitute for a good story. 6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.