'Halloween Kills' Review: Green Lays The Foundation For The Final Showdown Letting Michael Meyers Wreak Havoc While Everyone Else Takes ...

Arlington TX

18 October, 2021

7:38 PM

Description

By Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report October 17, 2021 The second chapter of the David Gordon Green trilogy will likely experience Middle Child Syndrome as it begins where 2018's "Halloween" ends. The trick, or in this case treat, to enjoying the film is to grasp its objective. "Halloween Kills" is neither the cornerstone nor the capstone of the series. Its purpose is to lay the foundation for the final chapter "Halloween Ends" which will reputedly close out the Michael Meyers saga. Carpenter returns to score the film, old characters are reintroduced, Meyers kills with reckless abandon, Haddonfield is whipped into a frenzy, and then it all comes to a grinding halt. Perhaps a "To Be Continued" would have softened the blow. If "Halloween Kills" was a video game, the Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Deputy Hawkins (Will Patton) characters would be in respawn mode while antagonist Michael Meyers aka The Shape (James Jude Courtney) continues scoring points with each new kill. The player, or in this case, viewer, feels frustrated waiting for both characters to get back in the game. Meanwhile, a bunch of Easter eggs are unlocked as Nancy Stephens returns to the franchise to reprise her role as Marion Chambers, the Smith's Grove Sanitarium nurse and assistant to Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) featured in the 1978 film. Plus, the two kids Laurie was babysitting "the night he came home" are back as well, now all grown up. Kyle Richards reprises her role as Lindsey Wallace while Anthony Michael Hall takes on Tommy Doyle, and from the acclaimed Netflix series "Midnight Mass," actor Robert Longstreet jumps into the role of Lonnie Elam, the sixth-grader who bullied Tommy back in '78. The most surprising and welcomed comeback honors go to veteran character actor Charles Cyphers as Sheriff Leigh Brackett from the first two "Halloween" films. His daughter Annie succumbed to Meyers in the original classic so he's on a personal vendetta. There is a lot to love about "Halloween Kills" including franchise creator John Carpenter back behind the synthesizers with help from son Cody Carpenter and Daniel A. Davies, to score Green's sophomore film. Still, there's also a lot of downtime for everyone especially Jamie Lee Curtis who remains in a hospital bed for most of the film. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.