Halloween (2018)

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Kinda surprised this doesn’t already have a thread but I’ll get it rolling since the trailer dropped today. Can’t embed right now, my apologies.

TRAILER:

[Halfcan]

I was excited to see this having watched the original in 1978, back on Chanel Z, the first cable station around here. When you go into a "horror" movie you expect to suspend belief in certain situations between scary parts, but this was too much. The writing and plot were so bad in this one it pretty much overruled what was good about it.

Spoiler!

The movie showed promise with the reporters and JLC character being a shut-in now. If it would have stayed on this trajectory it would have been a classic. Instead, it veered off into huge plot holes, terrible acting, and a ridiculous timeline. This ended up being one of the worst Halloween movies yet.

The reporter angle was very interesting- except how did they get his original mask? Kinda dumb. I liked the first scene where MM was chained in the square. That would have been the time for an escape- but NO, they did the old transport bus scene again for the 50th time in a movie. This starts the downhill slide into the ridiculous.

A. How did he escape? The guards are up front in a caged protected area- so how did they get outside? The scene with the kid and old man was very dumb and made zero sense.

B. The Old man goes out to see what's up, which nobody would ever do. Of course, MM kills him. So the kid gets out of the running car and checks to find a guard still alive (outside) and shoots the doctor- who miraculously recovers later. Meantime, MM has killed the Dad, somehow circled back around behind the kid and did the old hide in the back seat trick- another movie cliche. Why would he not just take the car? Oh and how exactly does MM know how to drive after spending most of his life inside a mental institution?

Then MM conveniently happens to pull into the exact same gas station in broad daylight as the reporters. Laughable. He gets out with his white crazy clothes still on- Male reporter does not notice, or anyone else. And then MM proceeds to bend time again.

A. As the woman reporter leaves the office, MM goes into the garage and kills two guys without the cashier noticing, changes into a jumpsuit, kills the cashier and extracts all of his teeth, then slips back out of the garage without dumb male reporter hearing or seeing anything and gets into the bathroom while the woman is still doing her business. Pretty efficient. Of course, it is all set up so MM can get his mask- the Ahh Hah moment of the movie, like Indiana Jones putting on his hat or Superman changing into his cape. Poor writing all around this scene.

JLC daughter is annoying, obnoxious, terrible actress and would never shut up. Her husband, who looks like he could be her Dad, is not politically correct, annoying and even dumber. Is the Dad really suppose to represent all the middle-aged men in this country? Burned out old partiers that have to have a woman do their thinking?

I really liked the black kid being watched by the babysitter- he was the most real and funny character in the movie. The toenail clipping line was priceless. Also when he says- "Dave, you are going to die" and runs out of the house. The movie needed more of this. Movie Cliche #3- clothes on the line on Halloween at night?


Now the movie works backward to get MM trapped into the basement where JLC has planned to kill him for 40 years. Nothing makes a bit of sense from this point on.

A. The Doctor turning killer- dumb- used to get MM to the house where JLC was waiting.

B. MM smashing the doctor but not touching the girl after he wakes up- girl runs into the dark woods instead of to the cops a few blocks down? MM somehow kills both cops- drives to the house ( why THIS house) he had no idea JLC was inside? Which leads to C.

C. MM suspends time again. So he drives the car to the house- the dumb dad watches it on the screen while playing with a yo-yo (who does that) and by the time he looks out the window, the car is pulling up. So from the window until the Dad opened the front door- MM has planted the dead cop in the front seat and then high-tailed it around the side of the house- so when of course- the dumb dad is fooled and comes out of the safe house- he can sneak up from behind and kill him. MM later in between attacking JLC- goes back out in the yard and plants the Dad in a closet, tucked neatly on a shelf. laughable. Such an elaborate set up to trick JLC instead of chasing her around the house.

JLC proceeds to keep the house dark of course, and has every room rigged with a caged door- except the one MM is somehow hiding behind some mannikins. JLC get stabbed in the gut and thrown off the roof- then does the disappearing trick on MM that he pulled in the original. Even after all that, she is unhurt and strong enough to fight MM again.

MM takes a direct headshot- the dumb daughters only contribution in the movie. Then they get MM down into the TRAP! And burn the house down.

The granddaughter flags down a passing car and the three jump in. But somehow the girl went back into the burning house and got the bloody butcher knife, so the director can do a slow pan and set up the next horrible money grab.

They had 40 years to write this and failed miserably. Rob Zombie made the best one since the original and the series should have ended there.

[Deberg_1990]

Agree 100% Halfcan.

They had a kernel of a great idea with the Laurie PTSD and the hunted becomes the hunter. But then they ruined it with the worlds stupidest script.

[Rasputin]

I have Prom Night 1&2 with JLC and she is much younger in those i think i'll watch them this week.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Agree 100% Halfcan.

They had a kernel of a great idea with the Laurie PTSD and the hunted becomes the hunter. But then they ruined it with the worlds stupidest script.

Spoiler!

One of the great scenes was at the beginning in the mental institution. The male reporter was right there holding the mask for the taking.

It was intense with the dogs barking and the other patients going nuts. Perfect time to bust out and grab the Original mask. Instead, that scene just ends? I think that was a major flaw. By using the reporters/podcasters the director could have really tied this movie to the original. It would have been more interesting to delve into the JLC character's past and her own descent into insanity instead of just a summary of twice divorced, ect. I think the director missed a great opportunity ruining that suspenseful mental institute scene- instead choosing the clunky gas station debacle to get the mask and the dumb bus breakout.

The security light murder was a classic scene- excellent use of light and suspense. I liked the scene where the kid was in bed and MM was in the closet as well. It makes you wonder what happened to the rest of the movie?

They had two really great angles to pull this off along with fine acting by JLC and her background- plus the reporters with all the material from the other movies. Instead, the plot and script fell off a cliff. This franchise and its fans deserved more than this garbled nonsense. This script was not as bad as the last Jurassic Park, but pretty close.

One more thing- JLC makes her property into Fort Knox / shooting range with the trap basement...But then has a front door with two long glass sections that are easily smashed. Of Course, she put her back to the door with her face right by the glass sections knowing MM is right outside. Then MM breaks the glass and gets her. Why not just shoot his ass through the door. Who in the world would put their back to the door and make sure their face was easily seen through the glass? How did she manage to shoot his fingers off when they were around her neck?

[ThaVirus]

Spoiler!

Halfcan, I think it's heavily implied that Myers' escape was probably expedited a bit by the crazy doctor.

I do agree on Laurie putting her back to the front door, though. Now we know that she was trying to get him in the house the whole time, but that's ****ing stupid regardless.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Spoiler!

Halfcan, I think it's heavily implied that Myers' escape was probably expedited a bit by the crazy doctor.

I do agree on Laurie putting her back to the front door, though. Now we know that she was trying to get him in the house the whole time, but that's ****ing stupid regardless.

[SPOILER] Yes, you are exactly right. So, somehow the doctor must have had the key to unlock all of the inmate's restraints And the back door. He let all the inmates loose, causing the bus driver to swerve and stop on the deserted road.

The guards got off the bus to round them up and then he let MM go, who killed one and left the other for dead. The doctor hid on the bus until getting shot. That is a lot of stuff they left out for the viewers to try and piece together.

It would have been better to have MM bust loose and take the mask from the reporter at the mental hospital. This movie had a lot of very great scenes but the script was way too hard to follow- even for a horror movie where you expect the people to make dumb choices.
[SPOILER]

[Easy 6]

Watching the original for the third time this week right now, still love it... Mike is spooky

This movie struck pure golden terror in my young heart

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Just a great job if making a movie geared towards the fan base. Star Wars could learn from this one.

GMAFB "This gameplan worked for my kid's Pop Warner team. Maybe the Chiefs should try it out?"

[kysirsoze]

Thoughts...

Spoiler!

I liked this a lot. Great throwback slasher. Best in a long time, I think. Well shot and acted. Good suspense and brutal kills while being fun to watch. Few problems:

1. Laurie was WAY too crazy. Going full Sarah Conner was just too much. Kinda wrecked the legitimate themes of trauma and victimhood they were clearly trying to tackle.

2. Judy Greer was ****ING terrible. Really detracted from a strong performance cast-wide.

3. If I am going to accept that Laurie has gone crazy, she needed to have a WAY better plan than she did. My god that house was basically built to maximize Michael's advantage. Darkness, close quarters, dead ends, and even WHITE ****ING MANNEQUINS. She didn't even fortify the front door's windows?! Jesus Christ!

That said, I really did enjoy it. That long tracking shot was awesome. It could have been a lame gimmick, but it totally supported the story and his character. I don't know if we've ever gotten a better killer POV sequence before. Really fun. The bathroom scene was tense as ****. Really scary. Low key MVP was the dad. Funny and likable. Gave the sometimes too serious film some levity without being silly and it was sad to see him go.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Saw it for the 2nd time last night with a different group. Came away liking it more as I picked up on more subtle details.

I still think they could have shown Michael in the stalker role more than they did—much like the original. But other than that, I’ve got few issues with it.

Now I just hope they don’t ruin it again with crappy sequels. They’ve broken records in the box office, so I know another will be coming. But please don’t get goofy with it.

[penguinz]

https://youtu.be/pRf_A07Elyw

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Saw it for the 2nd time last night with a different group. Came away liking it more as I picked up on more subtle details.

I still think they could have shown Michael in the stalker role more than they did—much like the original. But other than that, I’ve got few issues with it.

Now I just hope they don’t ruin it again with crappy sequels. They’ve broken records in the box office, so I know another will be coming. But please don’t get goofy with it.

in all intents and purposes Halloween/Michael Myers is a finite franchise because he's not a zombie like Jason in Friday the 13th part 4 and up

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

in all intents and purposes Halloween/Michael Myers is a finite franchise because he's not a zombie like Jason in Friday the 13th part 4 and up

Well that’s what I hope is the case—I don’t want to see him turn into another immortal type of character much like he did after H2 in 1981.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Well that’s what I hope is the case—I don’t want to see him turn into another immortal type of character much like he did after H2 in 1981.

Wasn't Myers shot multiple times, fell out a window, then disappeared from the lawn in the original Halloween? Seems pretty zombie-like to me.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by sedated

Wasn't Myers shot multiple times, fell out a window, then disappeared from the lawn in the original Halloween? Seems pretty zombie-like to me.

He was stabbed in the eye and neck as well, IIRC.