David Gordon Green’s Halloween is something of a miracle. After all, the creative team, whose experience is exclusively in comedy, had to deliver legitimate scares while making sense of a franchise with 11 films' worth of convoluted history, and simultaneously doing something new. The odds seemed stacked against it, but Green presents an astonishing work that dives into the consequences of the 1978 original while still moving into uncharted territory.

In this age of reboots, remakes and rehashes, Halloween utilizes arguably the most intriguing approach to resurrecting a dormant property: the legacy sequel, which typically take place in the same same universe as the original, and frequently feature returning cast members, but make use of the time gap to present the franchise to a new generation. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Disney’s Tron: Legacy have found mild success in that arena, but the revived Star Wars saga holds the real blueprint for injecting life into these old stories. And while Halloween doesn’t reach the heights of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it certainly represents a high-water mark, respectful of the past but never restrained by it.

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Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the series for the first time in 20 years as the original final girl, Laurie Strode. Writers Green, Danny McBride (yep, that Danny McBride) and Jeff Fradley decided to ignore every entry in the series that came after the John Carpenter original, which permitted them to effectively start from scratch. It’s 40 years to the day after Michael Myers terrorized Laurie and killed her friends, and the trauma of that experience has taken over her life. She’s spent four decades preparing for Michael’s return, basically barricading herself in a fortress, surrounded by weapons. Excavating real-world consequences from a 40-year-old slasher film is an interesting turn for the series, reminiscent of how Creed found a way to explore a darker fallout from the goofy Rocky IV. Curtis plays the role perfectly, transforming into a seemingly hardened warrior, who nevertheless frequently cracks under the paranoia that comes from having faced evil himself.

Halloween 2018

The portrayal of Michael also works surprisingly well, fleshing out the horror icon while retaining a necessary sense of mystery. The audience is introduced to Old Man Michael in the opening minutes as he's interrogated by true-crime podcasters. Intriguingly, he doesn’t wear his classic mask until about a third of the way through the film, and it's exactly that kind of restraint that makes this new vision of Halloween so great. Green withholds the mask from the viewers, waiting to unleash it at just the right time. The decision pays off, as Michael Myers’ first real moment back in costume is one of the best horror scenes in years, a tracking shot that follows The Shape in a violent return to form.

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Michael’s impact on the story can be felt in every scene, even when he’s absent. Laurie’s fear of the killer has poisoned her relationship with her family. Daughter Karen (Judy Greer), who was raised to prepare for Michael’s return, resents her mother’s all-consuming fear, but as the story begins, granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) is desperate for her grandmother to play a role in her life.

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Among the most interesting parts of Halloween is how it uses the generational dynamic to investigate the lasting impacts of trauma. It's odd to see such deep themes in a sequel to a 90-minute slasher, but it works surprisingly well. Laurie’s experience with Michael in 1978 could stand in for any harrowing experience, and Green’s point would remain: Allowing your life to become overwhelmed by fear is permitting evil to win. As the family starts to come together once again, it’s touching to see that dawn finally on Laurie.

When Halloween approaches its conclusion, it appears as if Green will take the easy way out, setting up a third act that goes for a recreation of the original’s. But just as you think you know how the rest of the film will play out, it takes an unexpected turn, and ends with a climax as surprising as it is thrilling. The final 45 minutes or so are wall-to-wall payoff -- edge-of-your-seat filmmaking that’s both terrifying and electrifying.

With a creative team out of left field and the seemingly head-scratching decision to ignore 40 years of continuity, there weren’t many reasons to be optimistic about Halloween. But expectations be damned, the film is a blast from start to finish. The return of Laurie Strode, to say nothing of the mystery and brutality of Michael Myers, is welcome, but it's the new additions that help to make Halloween a deeper, richer film than any the series has seen before. Respectful of the past but bold enough to push the series into the future, it’s among the best legacy sequels audiences could hope to see.


Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner and Nick Castle. The film screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, ahead of its Oct. 19 theatrical release.