BY Anthony Del Vecchio
A&E Editor
40 years ago, horror fans everywhere got to experience the original “Halloween,” on the big screen and since then, a lot has changed within the film franchise and the story of Michael Myers.
Eight sequels have been made after John Carpenter’s classic, as well as a remake which even got its own sequel, written and directed by shock rock star Rob Zombie.
The most recent installment from Paramount Pictures, titled “Halloween,” premiered Oct. 19 and was directed by David Gordon Green.
It takes place 40 years after the original, with the plot being that the serial killer Michael Myers has escaped from a mental institution he has lived in since his killings in the first film.
Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode, now seen as a crazy grandmother to her family after fearing Michael for years. Strode is now finally ready to take care of Myers for good.
“This is what needed to happen,” said senior Nicolas Valentin. “I honestly can’t stop thinking about some scenes.”
This new story changes the storyline of the entire series, which is something I had hoped would happen.
After the last few installments, it was unclear if anyone knew how to do the story and character of Michael Myers right.
I thought that the story would be left in the past or just shadowed by past sequels that were mostly disappointing. The exception being “Halloween II,” which was released in 1980 and is a well-made film.
With that exception, the series went down a mad rabbit hole of weirdness which we also saw happen with the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises.
Mostly weak sequels, disappointing reboots and awkward storytelling are just a couple of factors that brought down the legendary horror movie villains we’ve come to know, love and fear, yet we still want them.
The horror genre in general needed a wakeup call and so did Michael Myers. There is a reason why people still want to see his story told and expanded on and this new film proves just that.
From the first trailer I saw the trailer, I saw potential in the film. I didn’t know the directors work, but it looked raw, John Carpenter composed the entire score and it just felt like a real “Halloween,” film.
Carpenters original 1978 score was completely made on a synthesizer and keyboard and he adapts his sound by bringing in classical piano and distorted guitar sounds, including sliding the bow of a violin bow on the guitar’s strings.
However, the thing that interested the most, was the writers. David Gordon Green directed and wrote it with Jeff Fradley and comedic actor and writer Danny McBride who has been in comedy films like Superbad, Pineapple Express and This Is the End.
McBride was also an executive producer on the film and as a fan of his work I was very excited to see what exactly he was going to do in a horror blockbuster.
I can say now that they did not disappoint. I was skeptical going into the film, but all those worries went away as soon as the film started.
The camera work and composition of some of the even more brutal scenes, were beautifully shot and made audience members jump in the theaters. As for the plot, it wasn’t perfect, but it was solid and offered a true horror story worth of the name.
“Michael hasn’t been this threatening since the original,” said senior Brian Welch. “Some of the scenes were absolutely brutal but then in others, it was what you didn’t see that was even more horrifying.”
The comedy in the film wasn’t bad, just didn’t work in some scenes; but overall you need those comedic scenes to add to the sense of realism, helping the audience get connect to characters who they’ll soon fear for.
Just in time for the actual holiday, “Halloween,” revives a franchise and style of a character horror fans have needed back in their lives. Another sequel may come from this story and if it does, critics and fans will be there to see what happens next.
“Halloween,” is #1 on Rotten Tomatoes box office list with a 79% critic score and 76% audience score and can now be seen in local theaters.
