Directed by David Gordon Green

Main Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Anthony Michael Hall

Run Time: 106 minutes

Rating: 2.5/5

Halloween Kills begins with a series of six or seven scenes seemingly unrelated and featuring a large number of different characters.  It is sloppy and confusing, and this style continues for the rest of the 90 minutes. Still, it is incredibly scary and really, really fun. 

Halloween Kills is the direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween, itself a sequel/reboot of the Halloween franchise. The movie starts exactly when the previous movie ends; Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode and her family seemingly have killed the infamous Michael Myers. However, this installment chooses to shift the focus from Laurie Strode and her family to the citizens of Haddonfield.

Sidelining Jamie Lee Curtis in her own franchise is a bold move on behalf of the film’s creators. In her small amount of screen time, Jamie Lee Curtis is captivating – the movie likely would have benefited from a bigger role. It is likely that the creators wanted to test if the Halloween franchise is viable without Jamie Lee Curtis’ involvement in preparation for future films.

Do the creators prove that they can make a Halloween movie without Jamie Lee Curtis? Generally, yes. The supporting cast all maintain the film enough, even with some lackluster acting. Standouts include Thomas Mann as young Hawkins (who makes a large impression in a small scene) and Dylan Arnold as Cameron Elam. Scott MacArthur and Micheal McDonald are tasked with providing the comic relief as Big John and Little John, and do so extremely effectively – their few scenes provide the most fun in the entire film. Anthony Micheal Hall is asked to anchor the cast as Tommy Doyle and does so to mixed results.

The real weakness of the film lies in the writing and directing. The script for Halloween Kills is sloppy and often laughable. The dialogue is cringey, the story rushed, and the tone wildly inconsistent. The writers and director seem torn between this movie being a dark, terrifying thriller or a light, campy movie. Either one of those options would have been better than the mixture they created. Additionally, the movie is unnecessarily gorey, often becoming unwatchable to no effect.

While the writing and directing are bad, Halloween Kills manages to get arguably the most important thing right: Michael Myers is genuinely terrifying throughout the film. From the way he walks to his ruthless kills, Michael Myers is the perfect horror movie villain. The movie is scary and atmospheric, exactly how it is supposed to be.

Basically, “Halloween Kills” is a mixed bag. If you are looking for a scary, fun theatergoing experience, this movie could provide some fun. If you are looking for a sophisticated horror movie, you may want to skip this one.

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