Halloween

Mad killer Michael Myers is free and goes after Laurie Strode, who escaped him on his first spree. She's a mental wreck, but she's been preparing for this confrontation for 40 years. Only one can survive, but anyone can die... The new Halloween follows in the footsteps of the original one, refusing to conform to new trends and contemporary styles. It's old-school, unafraid to build tension for long, knows how to get under the skin and refuses cheap violence. Instead of gratuitous brutality, it relies on uncomfortable chills, excellent actors and the most traditional "Halloween" scares in the style of the classic first film. If you want modern horror, look elsewhere. But if you're a fan of Carpenter's film, you couldn't possibly get anything better in the cinema. (17/10/2018)

The sequel that the original Halloween deserved. If we assume that making a sequel four decades later is a good idea, I can’t imagine how it could have been done better. On the other hand, I also have no idea what would have to happen for a thoroughbred slasher to truly excite me in 2018. In an era when prime horror films are not only scary and superbly crafted, but also try to go a bit further, the simple slasher movie is inevitably a step lower. Proof that Halloween, and the sub-genre as a whole, is a relic from the past can be seen when the creators, in a surprising twist, attempt to deviate a little and address the unhealthy obsession of the public with horror icons, which in a slasher movie is a bit too much. Though it does make sense conceptually and fits into the logic of the plot, I cringed at the screen because I was watching something that had no business doing in a slasher flick. Other than that, it’s really brilliant. A masked killing machine immune to psychological analysis, American suburbia and scared teenagers. The moment when Alysson sees her friend skewered on the fence and runs hysterically down the street is the closest to the sheer terror of the original film. (20/10/2018)

David Gordon Green, director of the great comedies Pineapple Express and Your Highness, pays homage to and follows up the classic Halloween from 1978, and I don't think John Carpenter can be offended. While I should point out that the original Halloween is not one of my favourite films and more or less only became a cult thing because it was the first at the time and therefore shocking to people, due to the lack of blood and the few murders it doesn’t stand out with me as a slasher, but I'm exceedingly pleased with the 2018 version. Michael Myers rages more than ever and his work is definitely enjoyable to watch. Quite a few victims fall, blood is not spared and there are some very nice explicit scenes, but again, it's nothing the average viewer won't digest. The nostalgia is nicely buzzed by the original soundtrack and I really liked the new one, they complement each other perfectly. The atmosphere is great, especially the finale in the building is built up so that I couldn't breathe at times and the silence in the hall with the cinema packed was unbelievable. The acting is also very decent, led by Jamie Lee Curtis, who is quite physically fit for her old age and is quite good with guns. The role of the young black man is also great, as he lightens the dark atmosphere with humour for a few minutes. The downside for me was the slower pacing (before Michael escapes from the asylum it's a bit uninspiring), and also the absence of boobs, which were abundant in the original. All in all, I'm satisfied and definitely the best Halloween (sorry Rob Zombie and Carpenter) and of course another golden hit this year next to Hereditary and A Quiet Place. 80% (19/10/2018)

A typically painful sequel or the expected flush down the toilet. The new Halloween may be good in terms of craftsmanship, but by the most part is a characterless homage to the original that coldly copies Carpenter’s style, and every attempt at a signature of its own and to subjectivise the titular evil in potentially climactic scenes is paradoxically buried by Michael Myers’s legendary ghostly aura. The intro is a modern spasm that has nothing to do with the darkness of the first one, there’s one key twist that suddenly develops dementia and there are moments when it feels like a Wes Craven flick (the wisecracking black kid). At least the rest is an above-average, lively and at times inventive slasher, the kind we get in cinemas every now and again, but as a direct sequel to a horror legend, unfortunately, it’s not worth much. 55% (18/10/2018)

Michael Myers doesn’t like to be forced into a conversation. The new Halloween is a conventional (it couldn’t have been otherwise), yet beautifully filmed sequel which, above all, compliments the original – it faithfully copies the environment and selected scenes from the initial picture, playfully adjusting or expanding some of them. Besides, there’s a noteworthy work on nostalgia (when Michael put on his iconic mask, the packed cinema exploded with euphoria). I would divide the film into two imaginary parts. The first one depicts a generous dose of murderous rampage across Haddonfield City, where Michael destroys a whole bunch of more or less shallow characters that the viewer won’t emotionally cling to. Therefore, that part will delight the fans of gory slashers, with throttling, stabbing and neck breaking galore. Then, about halfway through, the behaviour of one character takes a very debatable U-turn – a crutch to push ahead with the story. Finally, for the second half, we’re moving into a house where the chase after the main heroines begins and the viewer starts to feel concerned about them. From there, the flick intensifies into a proper heart-wrenching horror full of tension. David Gordon Green made a brilliant contribution to the horror series. And it’s worth noticing that quality Halloween films only come every twenty years (1978, 1998, 2018). [Sitges 2018] (13/10/2018)