Forty years after Michael Myers went on his one and only killing spree, a pair of stereotypically douchie podcasters get access in Michael in the asylum heâs been locked up in all this time. Because we know it is a stupid thing to do, they bring with them his mask. Soon after, the bus transferring Michael crashes and he escapes to randomly run into those podcasters. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is mentioned to NOT be Michaelâs sister, has turned into an angry prepper. Sheâs estranged from her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) because of her combat-training version of motherhood and has a difficult relationship with her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). Allysonâs father is awkward and her boyfriend is a jerk and this and that that donât matter but fill up about 30 minutes of screen time. Eventually Michael starts killing people, most of whom donât have any relation to the plot, but also a babysitter who happens to be Allysonâs best friend as the universe thrives on coincidences. Naturally this leads to a battle between the Strodes and Michael.
Can I call it a major flaw of Halloween 2018 that it is a sleazy cash-grab when Halloween II, 4, 5, 6, H20, and Resurrection, along with the unnecessary Rob Zombie remakes, are already clearly sleazy cash-grabs, and the original was sold as âMurderer stalks teen babysittersâ? It isnât as if the whole franchise isnât a sleazy cash-grab, but it stands out so in this case. Perhaps if writer/director David Gordon Green and his co-writers Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride had anything to say about middle-aged PTSD Laurie Strode, the cash-grab nature wouldnât stand out so. Maybe if they hadnât already made a sequel where they brought back Curtis as a troubled Laurie and ignored most of the previous sequels, but that was H2O. Maybe if this film didnât make constant references to the sequels that are no longer cannon (though I found those the most amusing part of the film). Though really, it was always going to appear to be a sleazy cash-grab because thatâs what it is.
This film has nothing to say and little to do. It just had a bigger advertising budget. Iâd have thought it might have gone the feminist empowerment route, but nope. In fact it is shockingly weak there. With 40 years to prepare, shouldn’t Laurie be more prepared, or more badass. Sarah Connor sheâs not. OK, so if the film isn’t going that direction, then it could go into realistic territory and delve into trauma. But nope, thereâs only lip serviceâlots and lots of lip service. At least they could have chosen one of the female characters to be the lead instead of flopping around between them. Hell, you pay for Jamie Lee Curtis, you stick with Jamie Lee Curtis.
I wonder if it might have been better to leave out the theme music. That music is so good, and the rendition in this score so well rendered, that it makes the filmâs lacking in every other way so much more obvious. Every time that music starts for the briefest moment if feels like Halloween might be something. And then it isnât.
The other films in the franchise are Halloween (1978), Halloween 2 (1981), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5 (1989), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (2002), and the remakes Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009).