IR Film Review: HALLOWEEN KILLS [Universal]
The path of an icon but also stakes are a tricky aspect in a franchise as long running as "Halloween". Unlike Rob Zombie who took a very specific approach from his point of view, director David Gordon Green and his collaborators including Danny McBride who helped write the script understands the rules of threes. "Halloween Kills" is meant to be a bridge and filters itself according. Granted some of the flairs don't work in playing with horror tropes but, at its core, understanding trilogy structure, it knows what it is doing. Some people will think that Jamie Lee Curtis is not in it enough or sidelined but that is a misunderstanding. It is done with an inherent purpose if one sees the end. The stakes make utter sense because of this.
There is a mythos which is balanced specifically both in Laurie's daughter (played with as much fortitude as Judy Greer can provide in the structure) as well as her grandaughter Aliyson (Andi Matichak). That is the core of what matters in relationship to Michael. Everything else is window dressing pe se in terms of the mythos. The film also integrates earlier people from the series in reflection to what they were in the original like Charlie Cyphers (who played Backett in the 1978 original). This gives the film a sense of inherent continuity while mixing in new characters, who are unfortunately, not as well drawn. The motivation seems right but alot of the actions of the townspeople and the dialogue accompanying it seem a little ham -handed especially that of Tommy Doyle (an almost unrecognizable Anthony Michael Hall). Meyers as always is mostly impenetrable but in having different actors playing him in certain time period while never fully revealing his face (but alluding to it) is an interesting play.
The violence is brutal and doesn't hold back while still maintaining an almost old school approach (which could also be Blumhouse's mandate on budget). It helps that much of the score is actually John Carpenter doing some new stuff (integrating the old theme) so there is an authenticity and not a reboot quality that you get maybe from the upcoming "Scream". But again, it is a set up and lead in to the final entry in Gordon Green's trilogy "Halloween Ends" [already in post production] so it needs to show that inherent offensive as a build up. Some of the most interesting moments have Curtis' Laurie and Will Patton's Officer Hawkins in a hospital room together as bedlam is moving around them and yet it is a quiet scene. There are some moments of textured brilliance in "Kills" but it does have to play to a certain denominator and set up which is does adequately despite some shoddy structure, questionable dialogue and barely flushed out characters save for the core. C+
By Tim Wassberg
