5 Reasons You Need to Watch the New Halloween

The Boogeyman Is Back

It’s the night he came home…again! The original “Halloween” came out in 1978 and successfully terrified a generation of horror film enthusiasts, making them wonder whether any gratifying closure would ever come for Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. While there have been seven sequels that attempted to do so and continue the momentum of the franchise since, none of them received a response even remotely close to the success of the original and we were left unsatisfied and pessimistic towards reboots of the classic slasher film. 40 years have now passed and finally, a sequel that has critics screaming is here. The new “Halloween” is coming to theatres this Friday, October 19th and is looking like the ultimate redemption sequel that you don’t want to miss, but in case you’re still unsure, here are 5 reasons you need to see this movie.

#5: It’s the Best “Halloween” Sequel

Although “Halloween” is one of the most well-known horror franchises, the 1978 original classic was, for a long time, the only entry from it that held a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Halloween H20” fell just short and, weirdly enough, the next best score belongs to “Halloween III: Season of the Witch,” which was universally hated by fans upon release due to the lack of Michael Myers, but later developed a cult following. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2018’s “Halloween” broke the losing streak with a plethora of enthusiastic reviews. While it doesn’t surpass the original, the film is being deemed the “best “Halloween” sequel ever” by Nerdist and a wide margin of other sources.

#4: It’s Terrifyingly Intense, yet Still Subtle

There’s no denying that the original “Halloween” is a masterpiece of horror. Peter Debruge of Variety brought up something interesting in his review, though. The first film only has a kill count of five… well, technically seven if you include those two dogs. Either ways, that’s a pretty small number for a slasher flick, at least by modern standards. According to Debruge, this follow-up ups the ante by tripling the casualties. Of course more violence and gore doesn’t necessarily equal a good movie, as proven by some of the other “Halloween” sequels. The violence here, however, has been applauded for being stylish and effective while still leaving room for scares based on subtle, slow-building tension. But don’t let the terror push you away, “Halloween” seems to strike a balance of humor and horror where the filmmakers aren’t afraid to incorporate a self-aware sense of humor, with Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt calling it “fundamental, and funny too.”

#3: It Will Appeal to Hardcore Fans

Many critics agree that the latest “Halloween” is accessible to newcomers, but it’s also for audiences who have been following this series over the years, working in more than enough fan service. The return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode and Nick Castle as Michael Myers already had us hooked. Although this movie retcons everything that happened after the original, the filmmakers still have fun with some of the ideas introduced in the sequels. For example, it’s established upfront that Laurie and Michael aren’t brother and sister this time around. The movie also dishes out plenty of Easter eggs and in-jokes that fans will recognize, including the Silver Shamrock masks from “Halloween III.”

#2: It Does the Original Justice

After several failed attempts to breathe new life into the franchise, fans assumed that they’d never get a worthy successor. Well, it might’ve taken 40 years, but the consensus is that this direct follow-up has finally done the original justice. On Twitter, critic Emma Stefansky compares the old-meets-new remixed approach of this “Halloween” to that of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”:

HALLOWEEN is THE FORCE AWAKENS of HALLOWEEN movies: all the stuff you want, plus some new stuff, some dumb stuff, some delightfully remixed stuff. definitely the best time I’ve had at a #TIFF18 screening thus far

— Amma Stefansky (@stefabsky) September 9, 2018

E. Oliver Whitney for ScreenCrush, notes that Green “doesn’t try to mimic” Carpenter’s film, “but affectionately pays tribute to it with buckets of grisly violence, prickly tension, and snarky humor.” The film also comes with a seal of approval from Carpenter, who returns as a producer and helped compose the music.

#1: Jamie Lee Curtis Knocks It out of the Park

This film really wouldn’t work without Jamie Lee Curtis, who not only broke out into stardom as Laurie Strode, but also largely popularized the “final girl” trope. The sequel does something we’ve never really seen in a horror movie before, exploring what happens to “the final girl” years after surviving such as a traumatizing ordeal. In Laurie’s case, she’s become much like a soldier who returns from war and can no longer function in society. This approach to the iconic character has been met with acclaim from critics, with Andre Todd of Polygon stating that Curtis “gives an emotionally raw performance that makes Laurie the heart of the film.”

Are you going to see “Halloween” this Friday…or are you too scared???

For more reasons to watch the new sequel, check out the video below to find out the Top 10 Things Critics Are Saying About Halloween (2018)

And if you’re curious to know what this iconic horror villain would be like in real life, check out our new video What If Michael Myers Were Real?