300 Words on "Halloween" (2018)

The incandescence of the original Halloween has burned brightly for 40 years. Through every sequel, reboot, remake, and countless imitators, the brilliance of John Carpenter’s original masterpiece has not been eclipsed. David Gordon Green’s first foray into the horror genre seeks not to extinguish that flame but preserve it and let it burn.

Jettisoning every franchise convolution of the last four decades, Green and co-writers Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley restore their film to the eerily effective, simplistic nature of the original. In tone, Halloween 2018 is the closest that any have come to utilizing suspense and tension to manipulate the audience since the first. There are plenty of scenes in the movie where Michael Meyers lurks just out of focus in the corner of the screen while we wait for him to strike again. It is an intense and visceral kind of horror which has become a lost art in modern movie-making.

But, Halloween knows that its monster is only as good as those fighting it, and to combat evil once more is Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode. Curtis is the highlight of the film and she delivers a nuanced, carefully-crafted performance, and through her delicate portrayal the audience – like never before – gets to witness the consequences of the terror which horror movie protagonists must endure.

What Halloween does choose to pull from the original’s follow-ups is an increased body count and heavy reliance on blood and gore, but it is hardly a major blight to the film. And, as all the film’s action is underscored by music composed by a returning John Carpenter, even if the squeamish must avert their eyes, the film will still be a treat for the ears.

Halloween 2018 is at once an affectionate homage to its illustrious predecessor and a film which stands on its own. Today in a market which is (happily) flooded with horror, Halloween is unique: a slasher film which feels just as rooted in today as it does in an age which is long gone.