Halloween – ICM Film Review

Halloween is directed by David Gordon Green and I have to say that I went into this completely out of my mind with excitement, after all the 1978 original would probably have to be one of my favourite horror films of all time. Believe it or not, there have been tonnes of sequels, not that I’d recommend watching any of them though as they’re all terrible. This one gave me hope though because it was continuing from the first and telling us to forget the others had ever happened. I can relate to that like removing myself from the stupid things I’ve done or said on a night out, if I don’t think about it, it never happened!

Here we also have Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode and I absolutely love the approach that they took with her character in this movie. She’s like a volcano that could go any second, dangerous and totally unstable. Her whole life has become about preparing for the return of Michael Myers. She’s ended up alienating herself from her own family after trying to force this obsessively paranoid lifestyle on them. It’s a fascinating dynamic, but unfortunately, one that we don’t get to see as much of as we’d perhaps like to. Instead, the film also makes us sit through a handful of scenes with Laurie’s granddaughter, it’s unnecessary filler, it really is, and you’ll just find yourself desperately wanting to get back to what really matters.

I think what makes the original so special to me is the suspenseful and unsettling atmosphere John Carpenter managed to create. Yes, the film did have its fair share of jump scares like most horror movies, but that wasn’t the only tool utilised to make us feel nervous and on edge, because jump scares aren’t everything.
I’ve often said that music and film complement each other so graciously, when you think back to some of the most iconic scenes throughout the history of cinema, there’s often an equally recognisable piece of music behind every one of them. 1978’s Halloween is a prime example of this, the music is so simple and yet so effective. It’s as fundamental as John Williams score is to the opening of every Star Wars movie, there is no room for substitutes.

It was such a relief to find that in 2018’s Halloween this had been acknowledged, the soundtrack was mostly untouched with only some very minor alterations. I wouldn’t have thought this would be possible, but it sounds even more menacing now which makes sense given that the stakes are so much higher in this movie. There’s one scene in particular that takes place in this secluded gas station and I have to say Carpenter’s new score really peaks there, topped off with a truly awesome shot of Myers being reunited with that faithful mask of his. I can imagine it now, people discussing the film at parties and so ongoing “Oh my god, the gas station scene!” it’s definitely one of those. So, overall, I’d say you can have a pretty good time with 2018’s Halloween, although thinking about it in too much detail afterwards can definitely sour the experience somewhat.