UNITED STATES: Halloween Kills is a follow-up to Halloween 2018, which is a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s Halloween 1978. The most recent film serves as a franchise that has wiped out all prior sequels.
The plot picks up just after the climactic events of Halloween 2018. Where the ferocious combat made us believe Michael Myers was dead, it wasn’t enough to put the Boogeyman to rest. Laurie Strode, Karen, and Allyson continue on their journey, hoping that their horror will come to an end.
Their hope is shattered when firefighters approach the house where Michael was supposed to meet his end. This brings the onslaught of the firefighters to a close, igniting the start of a new chapter. Who will be Michael’s next victim now that he is free and on the verge of a murdering spree?
David Gordon Green joins once again as director and also as one of the writers along with Danny McBride. He was able to successfully resurrect the Halloween series with his direct sequel Halloween 2018, which was itself a tribute to John Carpenter’s classic creation. Everything about the film, from the opening scene to the background score, was a perfect fit for the current reimagining of the slasher genre.
Ensemble Cast
Everyone from the previous movie returns which includes Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie, Judy Greer as Karen, Andi Matichak as Allyson, and Will Patton as Deputy Frank. They all keep on their excellent performance, molding their characters to the sentiments they left at the close of the previous film. However, the character alignment was off, with Jamie Lee Curtis getting less screen time.
Some new faces also join the cast, Anthony Michael Hall, Tommy, Robert Longstreet as Lonnie, and a few others. Kyle Richards also returns to the role of Lindsey Wallace, who was last seen alongside Tommy in Halloween 1978. This is a fantastic pick because it keeps the nostalgic vibes going, by including characters from earlier franchises. But this doesn’t add anything fresh; their characters have nothing to do and only exist to serve the plot.
Director’s vision
This time, David Gordon Green takes a different approach to the film, portraying it from the perspective of Haddonfield survivors who had faced Michael Mayer’s horrors and lived to tell the tale. When Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace learn that Michael is still alive, they assemble a vigilante mob to track down the Boogymen. The entire community went on a hunting rage with the formation of a chaotic situation, unleashing the monster within them.
The spectacle of blood and gore
The film offers a lot of gore as a horror and slasher picture. Michael is on the edge of murdering anyone who crosses his path in the most heinous manner conceivable. The opening sequence which sets Michael against the firefighters is the spectacle of a bloodbath. The first half of the film also introduces some new and returning characters from Halloween 1978. Which offers something new, to begin with. The flashback scene clears the motive of every character and their motive to hunt down Michael.
A complete Michael Myers story that drags miserably
The actions of a certain figure, particularly one from the mob, are unreasonable in every sense. Since they are fighting an unstoppable killing machine, they should have weapons like firearms, knives, and an axe, but instead, they only have a baseball bat and some useless weaponry. When they have a chance to kill Michael, instead of delivering a fatal blow, they tend to engage in a series of talks that give Michael ample time to recover and kill them.
The film is missing a key element, which is the absence of the protagonist. Laurie Strode is injured and hospitalized which explains her absence from the narrative. However, someone else must have been cast as the protagonist, such as Allyson who must have shown as a torchbearer to end her grandmother’s revenge but her role is entirely wasted.
Deputy Frank has a lot to offer as a prominent character because the film depicts his backstory at the beginning, which clarifies his motivation to hunt Michael, but his character serves little function other than to lie on a hospital bed.
Verdict
The film begins like a complete Michael Myers film, which succeeds at first but quickly devolves into a dull and cliched slasher story with inexplicable character acts.
Transcontinental Times ratings: 2.5/5
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