TIFF 2018: Halloween Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. If you would like to keep up with our content, click here. For photos of the premiere, check out our social media accounts (link below).

Synopsis: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. (IMDB)

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak

Writers: Jeff Fradley, David Gordon Green, and Danny McBride

Director: David Gordon Green

Rating: R (United States)

Running Time: 109mins

Trailer:

This new film ignores all the sequels to the original Halloween and follows a damaged Laurie Strode (Curtis) who still suffered from the events of that faithful Halloween night 40 years prior. This trauma has remained with her ever since much to the detriment of her several marriages and family. She was not willing to let this incident define her and she was determined to get her revenge. Of course she would get the chance to exact that revenge after Michael Myers manages to escape during a prison transfer.

This doesn’t happen often but this film is legitimately scary.  Myers is obviously an imposing presence and this was the case here as he had his way with his victims. The sheer brutality on display definitely earn the film its R rating. The difference between this film and others is the lack of mindlessness. Instead of taking the gratuitous route, the script was very calculated and created several moments of genuine horror and tension. Aiding this sense of tension was its great score co-created by John Carpenter who uses some of the music he created for the original and some new work.

This film was scary and was also surprisingly funny and deep which both helped to break the tension but never took away from the horror. The horror was thrilling to watch, however, its family angle was just as compelling. Curtis was phenomenal as Strode, going from damaged to badass on a dime. Greer, as Strode’s estranged daughter Karen, was great as well while Mattichak in her first feature role as Karen’s daughter Allyson excelled.

Overall, this was an excellent, modernized entry of the classic horror series that still payed homage to the original. The horror and tension were there along with a surprising amount of humor and depth thanks to a sharp script. Curtis still has it and was phenomenal here. If the series ends here, it’s a worthy end.

Score: 9.5/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.