video review : Halloween Kills

video review : Halloween Kills

Jamie Lee Curtis breaks her tradition of dressing up as Laurie Strode every ten years for Halloween Kills; a sequel to Halloween, which itself is a sequel of the original. The title is fitting; the killings have always been the best parts; but the night should’ve ended long ago.

This movie is, like the series itself, a bloody mess. It starts out decent enough; the 1978 flashback bit conjures a sense of nostalgia that suggests it would’ve been better as a pseudo-remake; but the quality drops dead once the stupid vigilante concept comes into play.

my rating : 2 of 5

2021

video review : Halloween : H20 [ 20 Years Later ]

video review : Halloween : H20 [ 20 Years Later ]

Taking a cue from her brother, Laurie from the original Halloween of 1978 is back. She faked her death, she says in a plot reveal made unnecessary since this seemingly final episode, number 7, seems to ignore every other one after 2. That means daughter Jamie apparently never existed. However, Laurie does have a son. He’s 17 and attends the California boarding school she works at.

How an infamous murderer who wears a mask and doesn’t speak travels from Illinois to California undetected is anyone’s guess, but these movies never make sense in regard to Michael Myers. It’s all about the thrill of the kill. That leads to an epic (nostalgic) showdown between he and Laurie. None of the Halloween movies are good, but this one, while bad, might be the best since the first two.

my rating : 2 of 5

1998

video review : Halloween 2

video review : Halloween 2

2 is better than 1 if only because it starts, after a pointless recap, at full thrust. It’s still Halloween night (1978) in the city of Haddonfield and Michael Myers remains on the loose.

Laurie Strode is his prime target and she’s still conveniently inept, at one point waiting for help to walk away to scream for help, but this time it’s revealed why he wants to kill her so bad.

The best parts are the first several minutes after the beginning title sequence before the setting switches to the local hospital; Haddonfield Memorial Hospital; where it stays to the end.

my rating : 3 of 5

1981

video review : Halloween

video review : Halloween

What do you do after finally subduing and taking the knife from the masked murderer who’s been trying relentlessly to stab you to death? Drop it on the floor beside his seemingly unconscious body, of course, and hang around until he gets up.

It’s such dumb decisions that’ll have you rooting not for the protagonist, a girl named Laurie, but The Bogeyman himself; a ruthless killer named Michael. He’s escaped from a psychiatric hospital to wreck havoc on the night of, you guessed it, Halloween.

There are some scary moments here, most notably during the ending climax; the movie wouldn’t be as entertaining as it is if Laurie were smart enough to simply run away; but they’re undermined by all the wacky characterization and plotting.

my rating : 3 of 5

1978

video review : Halloween 2