Halloween

[Mel81x+]

This is a solid 5/10 if you enjoy gore and the usual getting one-upped by MM.  Otherwise its actually pretty dire and the explanations were imo a bit over the top and unnecessary. 

[Cicero]

Alright so after viewing the film, my thoughts are this. 

The Good: 

The Flashback. This I have to get out of the way first. I thought it was brilliant they took us back to Halloween night 1978. It felt very authentic (even bringing back some of the original scores) and definitely started the film out strong.

Michael's persona. I thought they made a good attempt to take a deeper dive into what exactly cracked Michael. The original film captured audience's with its terrifying tagline, "The Night He Came Home", and in this film they tried to build on that. There was always an attraction to Michael and his home, particularly his sister's room and her bedroom window. In the film they gave us a hint that this attraction may be spiritual, as many speculated why Michael was always looking out the window, when in fact he was merely looking within. We also had the scene of Michael mutilating the husband victim after he killed him, with his dying wife watching. This gave us a first hand experience into Michael's rage as this type of mutilation was always showed off camera in the films prior. 

The Mob ending scene. I thought it was a different but good approach. The mob surrounding Michael and then beating the absolute shite out of him. It was great to have the shoe on the other foot, where it was Michael who was helpless. What followed after however, was ridiculous. 

The Bad:

The explanations. Any film or television series that has to explain virtually everything instead of showing the audience, will always be a poor film. The characters were explaining the blatant obvious as if it somehow builds the film on or its suspense. Felt like this film was made to the audience who are completely new to the franchise or need a refresher. Annoying.

Dialogue. Christ almighty the dialogue. The amount of one liners and poor screenplay sets this film back tremendously compared to the first one (2018). 

Bringing back too many characters. Now I for one loved seeing some familiar faces, but Christ did everyone stay in Haddonfield after experiencing a completely traumatic experience 40 years prior? Some of these nostalgic characters became filler characters which genuinely had me fuming. Nurse Chambers and Sherriff Bracket were poorly, poorly written in considering who they were.  

Tommy Doyle. He became the complete opposite of what I expected. This is the character I was looking forward to seeing the most, and it was a completely and utter disappointment.  A drunken, crazy, bat carrying mad man who thought he could take down a man who practically scarred and traumatised his child hood. You don't think any PTSD would kick in at all? His portrayal was all wrong and didn't fit his character in the slightest. Fucking hell, he said it himself as a child, "You can't kill the Boogeyman". So he is all of a sudden this vigilante acting all hard with this baseball bat wanting to take down Michael Myers? Ok. 

The Hospital scene. Ridiculous. That is all I will say on the matter. 

Another slasher film. That's what this film unfortunately became. From the ridiculous Michael vs Firefighters scene, to the ending where he took down the entire Mob. Michael isn't this elite killer who trained with the fucking league of shadows. The original 1978 film had no blood and only a kill count of 3 on screen. He was calculated in his kills and very patient.  In this film, there is so much blood and gore that it completely lost track of what made this franchise different compared to the other slasher films. 

 

6.5/10, and I am being generous here. 

 

[Mel81x+]

On 18/10/2021 at 01:27, Cicero said:

The Hospital scene. Ridiculous. That is all I will say on the matter. 

If they spent this time actually gutting someone or a few people I'd have given it a higher rating honestly. 

[Cicero]

8 hours ago, Mel81x said:

If they spent this time actually gutting someone or a few people I'd have given it a higher rating honestly. 

They were chasing a midget dwarf when Michael is over 6 feet. They then said, oh we don’t know what he looks like he always wore a mask. You’re telling me a notorious killer’s face was never shown after his initial arrest or when he escaped? And would this actually constitute a mob of this magnitude when the killer only killed 3 people over 40 years ago? Like, before 80% of the people in the mob were born?  
 

And the evil dies tonight chant, fucking hell. 

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, Cicero said:

And the evil dies tonight chant, fucking hell. 

To me thats a cheap attempt at social media marketing. Which may have worked, except it really wasn't thought out very clearly. I think the whole premise of hunting him down was good but honestly I expected more of a "we tried and guess what hes still able to come out of it with our heads in hands" vs this whole movement style writing which seemed very off-pace.

[Cicero]

5 hours ago, Mel81x said:

To me thats a cheap attempt at social media marketing. Which may have worked, except it really wasn't thought out very clearly. I think the whole premise of hunting him down was good but honestly I expected more of a "we tried and guess what hes still able to come out of it with our heads in hands" vs this whole movement style writing which seemed very off-pace.

The only thing that really saves the film from being a total flop was the flashback scene that showed the aftermath of Halloween night 1978. That was brilliantly done and a scene that belongs with the very best of the franchise. 

A deeper analysis into Michael and what drives him, along with the mob ending scene where they confront Michael also stood out. 

 

[Mel81x+]

21 minutes ago, Cicero said:

The only thing that really saves the film from being a total flop was the flashback scene that showed the aftermath of Halloween night 1978. That was brilliantly done and a scene that belongs with the very best of the franchise. 

A deeper analysis into Michael and what drives him, along with the mob ending scene where they confront Michael also stood out. 

 

Someone I know who is into the horror genre actually pointed out how a lot of it was recreated from all the components of the 1978 classic and you can see that they did spend a lot of time on it too. Best part of the movie for me as well.

[Cicero]

8 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Someone I know who is into the horror genre actually pointed out how a lot of it was recreated from all the components of the 1978 classic and you can see that they did spend a lot of time on it too. Best part of the movie for me as well.

Felt very authentic. From the dark lighting that brought out the 70's vibe like the original, to the original Carpenter scores + Michael's mask and body frame. 

Nearly perfect until Dr.Loomis opened his mouth 

"The Evil is here!"

"Did Michael kill againeee?"

[Bluewolf]

Something I found out about today... 

The mask used in Halloween is actually a mould of William Shatner that they used for Star Trek... 

Speaking to Jake Hamilton on the Jake’s Takes YouTube channel, the 90-year-old recalls thinking it was a prank that someone was trying to pull on him when he heard about the origins of the mask.

“I don’t remember the exact moment but I thought, ‘Is that a joke? Are they kidding?” he said.

Shatner added that “the death mask” was created so that he wouldn’t have to be available every time they needed his face on Star Trek. “They made a mask of my face on ‘Star Trek’ out of clay so I would not have to be available for the prosthetics they would have to put on my face to look old or evil or whatever it was they were making me look like,” said the star.

“So somewhere along the line, someone got that mask and made a mask of it for [the holiday] Halloween.”

William Shatner thought it was ‘a joke’ that the Halloween mask was based on his face (msn.com)

[Guest]

I was gonna watch this at the cinema. Wont bother though now as the reviews haven't been great. It's a shame because I really did like the last film 

[Cicero]

27 minutes ago, Gunnersauraus said:

I was gonna watch this at the cinema. Wont bother though now as the reviews haven't been great. It's a shame because I really did like the last film 

I would urge you to go and still watch it in Cinema. You might enjoy it despite the reviews. Those that love slasher type films will enjoy it, and even fans of the original Halloween can find some elements in Halloween Kills to appreciate. 

 

 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Cicero said:

I would urge you to go and still watch it in Cinema. You might enjoy it despite the reviews. Those that love slasher type films will enjoy it, and even fans of the original Halloween can find some elements in Halloween Kills to appreciate. 

 

 

To be honest I always have plans to watch films and never go. The actual idea of a group of people hunting Myers down does sound interesting. To be honest reviews are really just opinions. We all have films which have been poorly reviewed which we like.

 

[Cicero]

Always bewildered me why they removed this scene from the original. 

 

 

[Rick]

Watched Halloween Kills the other night and I share the same thoughts as you @Cicero though, my score is a bit lower. I found the flashback to be the films only redeeming parts. The hospital scene was infuriating and the mob scene ending was enough for me. 

[Cicero]

We will be watching. 
 

 

[DeadLinesman]

On 01/11/2021 at 15:42, Cicero said:

Always bewildered me why they removed this scene from the original. 

 

 

How could they try him as an adult years after the crime

[Cicero]

6 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

How could they try him as an adult years after the crime

Midwest States typically have children tried as adults given the nature of the crime or murder. 

[DeadLinesman]

46 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Midwest States typically have children tried as adults given the nature of the crime or murder. 

Years after the event though? Because the doctor states “we’ll wait till he’s 21”. That’s just nonsensical. I realise I’m discussing this in a Halloween thread….

[Cicero]

15 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

Years after the event though? Because the doctor states “we’ll wait till he’s 21”. That’s just nonsensical. I realise I’m discussing this in a Halloween thread….

Think in these child cases they typically have doctors and social workers working with the child for a number of years before they determine how to trial him. In Michael's case they were analysing him for 8 years until they reached the consensus there is genuinely no conscious in him. Loomis said he spent 8 years trying to reach him and then 7 years trying to push the courts to lock him away forever given he can't be rehabilitated. 

[DeadLinesman]

2 hours ago, Cicero said:

Think in these child cases they typically have doctors and social workers working with the child for a number of years before they determine how to trial him. In Michael's case they were analysing him for 8 years until they reached the consensus there is genuinely no conscious in him. Loomis said he spent 8 years trying to reach him and then 7 years trying to push the courts to lock him away forever given he can't be rehabilitated. 

Oh I absolutely get that. “He had the blackest of eyes, the Devils eyes”. Still committed the crime as a minor though. You can’t wait and then try someone after they turn into an adult, that was my take.

[Lucas]

First one of the 'newer' trilogy was very decent. The Second one was majorly disappointing. Hopefully this ends things on a high.

[Cicero]

Saw Halloween Ends last night. 7.5/10
 

Majority of people disliked it for its different approach, which I understand. I for one enjoyed it and respect they didn’t go the safe, ‘for sure thing’ route, which I firmly believe people will come to appreciate in the future. It was more character driven and thought provoking. The tone, score, and cinematography is the best of three. 100%
 

Complete redemption after Halloween Kills and they absolutely nailed it with the closure. Will post more after the weekend. 

[Mel81x+]

12 hours ago, Cicero said:

Saw Halloween Ends last night. 7.5/10
 

Majority of people disliked it for its different approach, which I understand. I for one enjoyed it and respect they didn’t go the safe, ‘for sure thing’ route, which I firmly believe people will come to appreciate in the future. It was more character driven and thought provoking. The tone, score, and cinematography is the best of three. 100%
 

Complete redemption after Halloween Kills and they absolutely nailed it with the closure. Will post more after the weekend. 

Going for it today. Giving it a 7.5 means they did a complete u-turn on the shit-show that was the last one so I am hopeful.

[Mel81x+]

 

[Lucas]

Just saw the film now.

I too am a little perplexed its been as panned as it has. I quite enjoyed it and liked the direction they took with it.

The soundtrack was pretty cool and Corey was a good character. I'm glad the ending was pretty conclusive.

 

I did wonder if they were going to leave it open with Corey and I also was surprised Laurie made it alive.

Two things I'd have changed though in hindsight.

Firstly, they should have introduced Corey in Halloween Kills and let him build and establish a relationship with Allyson and the audience. That way come this film, the 'turn' in his personna would have felt more shocking for the viewer. They missed a trick there.

Secondly, I felt he went out too easy. I guess they did it that way to show that whilst he had gone full serial killer mode, he was still young and a rookie in that role which is why he was quite sloppy in his work.

Shame, I kinda felt that maybe he should have killed Laurie and it was down to Allyson to kill him/or leave it open in true Halloween style.

Michael probably needed more screen time too. He took a massive back seat in this movie bar the final third and perhaps fans of the franchise would have likes to have seen more from the main protagonist of the series.