‘Halloween’s’ Stab at Refreshing the Horror Series

Photo Credit / Universal Picture "Halloween" has been a long-running series that began in the late 1970's It's returned now as a sequel that was a hit in the box office.

Nasir Cooper

Contributing Writer

Michael Myers killed the box office during its opening weekend, making over $76.2 million according to Forbes. The latest “Halloween” (2018) received a whopping 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, 16% less than the original.

The horror-thriller sticks to the original “Halloween” (1978) storyline though this time the story is centered around Michael’s two nieces and sister Boo. The focus on the family leaves uncertainty for the audience, which creates more suspense, but less fear. The tempestuous relationship between Boo and Michael Meyers makes the movie along with its modern adjustments and the underlying theme of good versus evil.

“Halloween” presents the ethical dilemma of having to do seemingly evil things to protect the greater good. The callbacks to the previous movies were a treat for the audience even though much of the format is similar to Rob Zombie’s version of “Halloween” (2007)from how the characters are introduced down to their actions.

The introduction to a free Michael Myers, who breaks loose from a bus that would have transferred him to prison forever, sets the precedence for many of the killing scenes throughout the movie.

Most of the victims were overly oblivious, there were unrealistic slips and a few satirical unsynced movements from the infamously fluid Michael Myers. Characters lose track of Myers to elongate the movie, allowing him to make it to his final destination.

The writers didn’t seem to have much of a plan for Myers beside to have him kill a few random people and level up until the final scene. One kid provides great comedic relief for ten minutes, but eventually, things get goofy and overdone.

Seeing an old Michael Myers was exciting as a somewhat familiar fan. The strength of Michael Myers remains unmatched, sometimes.

“The Boogeyman” doesn’t speak through words, only actions which is consistent throughout the movie although it would have been a nice addition. He breaks jaws, chokes, rips the teeth, silencing his victims forever. He even shows a sense of humor, using one of his victim’s head as a jack-o-lantern.

Cringeworthy, yes, but there’s something about the sociopath that makes the crowd root for him to get what he wants. One character makes a good point about Michael just being a man who stabbed some people.

Decades ago it may have been easier to get away with this story, but it seemed forced to make Michael Myers larger than life when there is a myriad of exceptional horror movies at our fingertips.

Much of the horror and fear felt in the audience comes from an item rather than a person, which is introduced to us through two journalists in the opening scene.

Hoping to stir up any feeling from our stony protagonist who is currently in a mental hospital, they have brought the infamous Michael Myers mask. The energy that Michael and the mask exude causes those in the audience to stop breathing.

The patients around Michael are screeching in fear, they feel evil stirring about, maybe even death, everything is getting louder, this is intriguing. We then follow the journalists to the seemingly-abandoned home of Laurie Strode, aka Boo.

Boo becoming the protector against Michael is fascinating because some of us know her to be the baby that Michael spared during his first mass murder.

She survived Halloween night many years ago but is tormented for the rest of her life, which affects the relationship between her and her family. She has prepared for this moment, making her the hunter this time.

Good and evil, family, new and old collide in the suspenseful thriller. Hopefully, fans don’t die of laughter this time around. Happy belated Halloween.

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