Halloween

Cast View all

	Jamie Lee Curtis	Laurie Strode
	Judy Greer	Karen
	Andi Matichak	Allyson
	James Jude Courtney	The Shape
	Nick Castle	The Shape
	Haluk Bilginer	Dr. Sartain
	Will Patton	Officer Hawkins
	Rhian Rees	Dana Haines
	Jefferson Hall	Aaron Korey
	Toby Huss	Ray
	Virginia Gardner	Vicky
	Dylan Arnold	Cameron Elam
	Miles Robbins	Dave
	Drew Scheid	Oscar
	Jibrail Nantambu	Julian
	Michael 'Mick' Harrity	Warden Kuneman
	William Matthew Anderson	Guard Haskell
	Diva Tyler	Caretaker
	Brien Gregorie	Father
	Vince Mattis	Lumpy
	Omar J. Dorsey	Sheriff Barker
	Pedro Lopez	Lynch
	Charlie Benton	Officer Richards
	Christopher Allen Nelson	Officer Francis
	Teresa Johnson	Onlooker

Crew View all

Director	David Gordon Green
Writer	John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green
Producer	Malek Akkad, Laura Altmann, Bill Block, Jason Blum, John Carpenter, Scott Clackum, Jamie Lee Curtis, Zanne Devine, Ryan Freimann, Sean Gowrie, David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Rick Osako, Couper Samuelson, David Thwaites, Ryan Turek, Jeanette Volturno, Atilla Salih Yücer
Musician	Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel A. Davies
Photography	Michael Simmonds

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Notes

My quick rating - 6.3/10. Forty years after the night that changed horror forever, Halloween (2018) promised to be the definitive reckoning between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), now a traumatized survivor turned hardened recluse, has spent decades preparing for Michael’s inevitable return. When he escapes during a transfer from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, her lifelong paranoia proves justified. But as The Shape resumes his silent, relentless killing spree, the real question becomes whether Laurie’s obsession with the Boogeyman has consumed her more than the evil she fears.

I went into this with high expectations—waiting until I was back in Australia in 2019 to finally give it a watch—and unfortunately, it wasn’t worth the wait. It’s not a bad movie, especially by slasher standards, but it’s far too monotonous. The pacing plods along, draining much of the tension that made the 1978 original such a nerve-shredder. The setup of Michael being kept alive and transferred feels rushed, glossed over to get to the meat of the story. Laurie’s decades-long trauma and her obsessive preparation for a showdown that, on paper, should’ve been cathartic.

Curtis gives it her all, and her portrayal of Laurie as a woman scarred but unbroken is compelling. The problem lies in how the movie treats the horror. The kills are surprisingly restrained, which could’ve worked if the tension compensated—but it doesn’t. Instead, long stretches of characters slowly poking around dark hallways replace any real suspense. A full third of the movie feels like one endless search sequence that halts the momentum entirely.

Visually, though, Halloween nails the autumnal atmosphere. The orange-hued leaves, suburban streets, and eerie lighting evoke the spirit of Carpenter’s original. There’s craft here, especially in how the cinematography mirrors the first film’s voyeuristic framing. But the movie itself is rarely scary. Too many scenes show Michael casually strolling into homes and killing strangers without buildup or payoff. The result feels more mechanical than menacing. Michael becomes less a force of evil and more of a bored factory worker clocking in for another night shift of murder.

For what it’s worth, it serves as a passable 40-year-later wrap-up (though we all know it didn’t really end there). It looks great, Curtis delivers, and the respect for the original’s tone is clear. But Halloween just doesn’t pack the punch it should’ve. It’s eerie but dull and lifeless—a flick that, much like its masked villain, refuses to die but doesn’t quite know why it’s still walking. We shall see if Michael gets his bearings in Halloween Kills.

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