Halloween (2018) #443

Halloween Movie Trailer

In 1978, John Carpenter introduced us to masked killer Michael Meyers and Laurie Strode, one of the most famous final girls in any horror movie. Forty years later both Michael and Laurie in 2018’s film simply titled "Halloween". At first glance, it feels like a path that’s already been on. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the original film, we saw the return of Laurie Strode as Michael's primary focus in "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later". The movie itself does a fine job of ignoring the previous installments of the "Halloween" franchise, taking place twenty years later after "Halloween 2", and wrapping up the the series in a more than adequate fashion. So why do we need this new chapter? Because it's finally been done right.

The original “Halloween” was written, scored, and directed by the incredible John Carpenter who has returned as a producer, offering his spiritual guidance and wisdom regarding the script. Mr Carpenter also helped score this movie as well, presenting a haunting rendition of his original score. The music in this movie is absolutely perfect as ambient tones and sounds as well as the general theme enhance the mood and fill in the quiet moments.

  

While it’s great to see Michael Meyers on the big screen again, the real star of “Halloween” is Laurie Strode, played by the outstanding Jamie Lee Curtis. She is dominant, she is fierce, and she owns every second of screen time that she is given. From the first moment you see her, you feel her pain and her sorrow, having spent everyday for the past forty years waiting and preparing for Michael to return. Her character is reminiscent of Lynda Hamilton’s portrayal of Sarah Connor in “Terminator 2”; both women tried to lead normal lives but their paranoia and other symptoms of ptsd ultimately ruined their relationships with their children. Through Jamie’s gut punching performance, you are given more reason to care about her daughter Karen (played by Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (played by Andi Matichak). Each character is fully developed and gives the audience the rare opportunity to actually care about the characters in a horror movie.

                              

“Halloween” is full of nostalgic moments, drawing ample inspiration from the original with a unique twist, subtle references and setting certain rumors to rest, and little details in staging; they even use the same font for the opening credits! But this film provides its own special moments, including the best dialogue during a babysitting scene I have ever seen. The most important choice that the film makers made was ignoring the sequels and reboots and choosing to set the movie directly after the original “Halloween”. This is the film that we wanted and the film that is worthy enough to properly celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this franchise.

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)

No matter how good the movie itself is, "Halloween 3: Season of the Witch" will always be considered a failure because it wasn't about Michael Myers. Produced by both John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the third installment of the "Halloween" franchise was meant to turn the series into an anthology of films based on the holiday Halloween in some fashion or another with the fourth film planned as a ghost movie. I can understand the general public and various movie critics being confused by this concept after the first two films were both about Michael Myers. It was an ambitious and creative concept that simply went against the norm.

Had it been on it's own and not associated with the "Halloween" franchise, "Season of the Witch" is still a unique and entertaining film. It has elements that I haven't seen elsewhere, solid casting especially with Dan O'Herliy as the villainous Conal Cochran. The version I saw looked restored or otherwise the original version had some very high film and lightening productions values for the time. My only complaints about the film is how often they play the annoying music of the Silver Shamrocks commercial and the cop out demise of Conal Cochran.

I should also add that this is the first film from the "Halloween" franchise that I saw from beginning to end, after being edited for broadcast TV.


Dr. Dan Challis becomes wrapped up in a mystery after a crazed man gripping a popular Halloween mask is admitted to his care. While sedated, the man is attacked and killed by a man in a business suit who promptly goes to his car and pours gasoline all over himself before striking a match, burning himself up and the car in an explosion. Dr. Challis is assisted by the victim's daughter, Ellie, who tells Dan that her father sold the popular masks in his shop near by. The last place he was seen before being admitted to the hospital was at the Silver Shamrocks factory where the masks were made. Dan and Ellie go to the small town where the factory is and soon discover that the factory is manned by dozens of the men who looked like the original assailant. After digging deeper than they should and attracting notice, Dan and Ellie are captured and soon learn about the diabolical scheme that the owner of Silver Shamrocks, Conal Cochran, has planned for all of the children who love to wear his masks.

Cigarette Burns (2005)

John Carpenter is in rate form with his first entry for the "Masters of Horror" series. His episode "Cigarette Burns" is easily one of my favorite productions that he has directed and my overall favorite of the series. It's a simple tale of a man who is hired to find a film that was reportedly destroyed after it was screened once during a film festival, after the audience became violent and started killing themselves. It has a similar vibe that "The 9th Gate" had , as the investigation takes the hero to various countries and meetings with interesting characters. It also has a religious undertone, as the film that is being sought after has a scene where a real angel has its wings cut off. The episode is filled with mysterious tension and suspense which is perfect for this piece. Staring Norman Reedus as the protagonist Kirby, I highly recommend this episode above all other in the "Masters of Horror" series!

Pro-Life (2006)

Sometimes you can watch the work of a particular director and say to yourself that “that was amazing” while other times you are left scratching your head wondering why they were involved with such a horrible production. The episode of “Masters of Horror” titled “Pro-Life” is such an example of a horrible production. This episode was directed by John Carpenter and stars Ron Perlman; both are artists who had been connected to some sup-bar films. “Pro-life” comes across as too preachy without believing in what its saying, the actors are too generic, and the storyline itself is ridiculous. Perlman does a great performance with the time he’s on screen but other than that, this episode is a waste of time.

Two doctors are on their way to work when they see a teenage girl run out of a forest and into the street. They stop after nearly hitting her and find out that she’s in danger. They take her to their place of employment which happens to be an abortion clinic. While they are interviewing her after she demands that they give her an abortion (how convenient!) they learn that she’s the daughter of a very vocal and anger pro-life activist named Dwayne (Pearlman). He wants her daughter back or otherwise he and his three sons will take her by force but the doctors believe that he is the father of her unborn child. In reality, she was raped by a demon and that demon begins telling Dwayne what to do. Dwayne attacks the clinic and sends his sons into harm’s way because he thinks that God is telling him to do this. The ending a violent, messy, and awkward and not worth the buildup or the 55 minutes leading up to it. 

The Fog (2005)

The remake of John Carpenter's "The Fog" is one of saddest remakes I've ever seen. Just like the remake of "Halloween", everything is overly explained as if the audience needs everything pointed out to them. The cast is full of pretty people who can't act; even Selma Blair falls flat more so than usual. The CGI effects are used too much and are not scary. The worst offense is that both John Carpenter and Debra Hill served as producers. This is one of those seemingly rare PG-13 rated movies that just bombs.

The only positive note I can give this film is the fact that they chose to create a remake of this title in the first place. Unless you are a big horror fan or a John Carpenter buff, you might not know about “The Fog”. I like it when something else besides the biggest names are remade and given a second chance. But with that second chance comes the possibility of a horrible movie. It happens and it’s a shame.

The original ghosts

Halloween 2 (1981)

Three years after his extremely successful hit, John Carpenter tried to recreate the magic but falls short with "Halloween 2". It was either a brilliant move or just a lazy one to have the movie begin exactly where it left off with the original is a point for debate. One thing that feels certain is that it is more like your typical slasher flick than a suspenseful thriller. Michael kills people just to kill them in this one rather than killing people who might be his sister Laurie and the people that get in his way. Speaking of Laurie being his sister, that reveal is the only reason why this film is validated in the first place; it helps create more of a mythos around Michael Meyers and explains why Laurie is his target.

The film begins immediately after Dr. Loomis shoots Michael before he can kill Laurie and falls out the window. When they look out the window, Michael is gone. While Laurie is taken to the local hospital, Dr. Loomis spends half of the movie trying to find Michael with the help of local authorities. In one moment of bad judgement, a kid dressed similar as Michael is shot and then hit by a car. Meanwhile at the hospital, nurses, doctors, and orderlies are killed by Michael as he continues his hunt for his sister. Eventually everyone meets up at the hospital and Dr. Loomis has his personal showdown with Michael, saving Laurie once again.

Favorite death scene - I saw the tv version of this movie when I was really young and the death scene that has always stuck with me was the nurse that was drowned in the boiling bath/spa. 

In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Another one of all-time favorite movies, “In the Mouth of Madness” is a wonderful tribute to horror great H.P. Lovecraft by John Carpenter. While it doesn’t play on any particular Lovecraft story, the feeling of the film and the themes it explores are mistakenly Lovecraft in nature and style. It is also without a doubt a John Carpenter movie and is currently his last great film as a director.

Sutter Cane is missing and John Trent is hired to figure out where he is. Cane is a huge writer, more popular that Stephen King, and his publishers are waiting anxiously for his newest book, “In the Mouth of Madness”. Trent isn’t a big fan of horror, but as he begins to read Kane’s previous works, Trent starts to have dreams within dreams about the type of characters found in the stories. By luck, Trent discovers that the book covers are pieces of a map and when they are carefully pieced together, it shows where the fictional town of Hobb’s End is, the town that is in all of Cane’s stories. Trent and Cane’s editor, Linda Styles, go for a road trip to see if Hobb’s End exists, at least under a different name. They find the town and realize that they know all of the little details about it from the stories that Cane has written. Trent is under the impression that this is all a huge publicity stunt even though Styles swears that it isn’t. But the longer that they stay in Hobb’s End, the more reality seems to be bending at the seams and everyone in town, including Styles, begin to fall under the influence of Sutter Cane. Eventually Trent admits that something is wrong and that he is playing a part in the apocalypse of the world as we know it.

Favorite moment – It’s impossible to pick one moment in this film that is my favorite. Nothing stands out more than the rest because the film, in my opinion, is running on all cylinders the entire time.

Perhaps John Trent is beginning to believe? Or not.

 John Trent missed the apocalypse!

 Sutter Cane's agent wants lunch too!

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The Ward (2010)

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining "The Ward" was. It's not a great film by any means and I was completely uninterested in it for the first 20 minutes or so but luckily it picks up and kept me curious until the end. The cast includes Jared Harris (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and Danielle Panabaker (Friday the 13th, The Crazies).

Kristen is taken to a mental ward after she is caught burning down a barn. She doesn't remember why or even doing it. At the ward she meets for other girls who really don't seem like they belong in a mental institution. Kristen also begins to see a ghost. No one believes her until this ghost begins to kill of the other girls one by one. Will Kristen be able to save any of them...or herself?

SPOILERS AHEAD

Favorite moment - I really enjoyed the reveal at the end if the movie. It explains why the girls acted like they did, meaning that they didn't have to necessarily be crazy or seem that way. The movie feels a lot a like "Identity" because it used the multiple personality twist. 

Village of the Damned (1995)

In 1995 John Carpenter filmed his version of the 1960 horror movie “The Village of the Damned”, starring Christopher Reeve (in one of his last roles before his accident), Kirstie Alley, and Mark Hamill (who seemed oddly out of place and miscast). This version didn’t vary too much from the original beyond changing the location and giving the women characters more screen time and larger, more important roles. This is the film where I think Carpenter was being lazy and was just going through the process just to collect a check. He had written or came up with the concept for most of his other films or if he hadn’t, he made them feel like they were his. Nothing in this film feels like it’s his movie; he didn’t leave any of his personal trademarks anywhere. Overall, it’s a decent movie but it lacks anything new or creative that the original didn’t already offer.

The movie begins but quickly introducing all of the key characters who live in the small town of Midwich. While everyone is enjoying their daily activity, an odd phenomenon occurs in which all of the townspeople faint and stay unconscious. They soon all awake and think nothing of it until it’s discovered that ten women in town are now suddenly pregnant. Nine months later on the same night, nine of the babies are born; the tenth was stillborn. Over the next few years, the parents realize that something is wrong (as if fainting and waking up pregnant was not enough of a sign) with their children. They all look the same, behave years beyond their age, and have paired up with each other except for the 5^th boy, David. David is the only one who doesn’t act like the others and is the only one that shows any sign of emotions.

While this is all going on, the government has become involved and is monitoring the situation. This is not the first time a group of physic children have shown up but in those others instances, the parents killed off their children knowing that they were evil. All Hell breaks loose when the lead of the research team, Dr. Susan Verner, is killed by the children after they find out that she has David’s stillborn partner preserved for study. The town turns into a furious mob (ok, a sign of Carpenter at last!), and is quickly dispersed after the children kill their leader. Local, state, and federal agencies become involved which leads to a standoff of epic proportions (epic for a small coastal town at least). It’s up to Alan, the town’s physician and father of the leader of the evil children, to devise and carry out a plan to destroy the children once and for all.

They Live (1988)

In 1988 John Carpenter teamed up with former wrestler Roddy Piper to create a very manly, macho movie about aliens that are taking over the world but can only be identified by wearing special goggles. The aliens look like zombies and the overall story arch feels like a variation concept of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. The movie is best known for a particular scene which I will talk about later. Carpenter wrote and directed the film which turned out to perhaps be the high mark for Roddy Piper’s acting career.

Nada (Roddy Piper) is a drifter who finds work at a construction site, due to the fact that he had his own tools. He impresses some of the other crew members, one being Frank (Keith David from “The Thing”) who takes him to a homeless camp that is serviced by a soup kitchen. During the night Nada is woken up by a blind preacher yelling for people to wake up. Nada decides to check out the church and finds that it’s empty but has a recording of a choir playing loudly. He also finds boxes filled with dozens of sunglasses. He discovers that the sunglasses reveal that posters are covered with commands to obey and conform. He also sees the aliens, who are in positions of power and authority. It doesn’t take the aliens long to realize that he can see them and thus the bloodshed begins, with Nada killing two cops sent to arrest him. Eventually Nada finds Frank and attempts to make him try on the glasses, which Frank refuses. And thus begins one of the best, longest fight scenes in a movie. Ever. When Nada finally wins, Frank realizes that his friend wasn’t crazy. Now the two go forth and try to find a way to disrupt the radio signal that is blinding humanity from the truth….

Favorite moment – The fight scene! It even inspired on of the best episodes of South Park, (Cripple Fight)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXFvq2ycilg

Prince of Darkness (1987)

There’s no denying that “Prince of Darkness” is a film where you go” huh” several times while watching the movie and several more times afterwards. It’s an odd, twisted mess of a movie that has too many themes and elements being thrown against a wall just to see what sticks. There are physic dream messages from the future, there is Satan-in-a-can, there are the classic John Carpenter zombie mobs, and several actors who had worked with Carpenter on previous films who should have known better about being in this movie after reading the script. But I still enjoyed it, somewhat. 

Donald Pleasence (Halloween) is a priest who asks his professor friend Victor Wong (Big Trouble in Little China) to help figure out what is in the basement of an old rundown church. Victor takes his class, which includes Dennis Dun (Big Trouble in Little China) on a field trip to examine a canister filled with swirling green liquid. Using high tech gadgets from the 1980’s and a book sitting next to the canister, they figure out that it’s the son of the Anti-god who just happens to be trapped in the realm of anti-matter. That’s good right? No! Because the green liquid gets angry and possess people, turns the local homeless population into a shuffling zombie-like mob that kills, and  creeps everybody out. Soon the classmates begin to have dreams from the future, each new dream slightly adjusted according to what happens to them while they are awake.  Mirrors are found and broken so the Anti-god can’t cross over and people die. The end?

The Instruction Book of Evil!

 The Son of the Anti-God, Green Liquid!

"What's going on? Are we really filming this?"

The Fog (1980)

How many movies begin with a creepy ghost story being told around a campfire on a dark beach? Not enough! But John Carpenter’s “The Fog” is such a movie and I know people who think that this is the best part of the film; I disagree with that but it’s still pretty damn awesome. I love ghost stories and this is one of my favorites. It’s eerie, fog is an awesome weather element in its own right, the story takes place on the West Coast, and the ghosts are barely seen. It’s a wonderful tale of revenge that is justified and the conclusion is pretty powerful. I suggest watching the DVD with John’s commentary because he reveals plenty of interesting tidbits about the film itself.

Simple synopsis

One hundred years ago, the founder of the town of Antonio Bay made a deal to allow a colony of lepers to settle near-by. Six conspirators decided that they didn’t want the lepers there so they purposely sank the ship that the lepers were sailing on. They then took the payment they had received and built the town and a church. Now the ghost of the Captain and his crew has returned to Antonio Bay to extract their revenge on the descendants of the conspirators.

Favorite moment – As I already said, I love the beginning and how it sets the mood!

Christine (1983)

“Christine” is a great movie about an evil car that slowly possesses its owner. Just like in “Halloween”, director John Carpenter doesn’t try to explain why the car is evil, it just is. I have never read the book written by Stephen King but I’m told that this movie is only inspired by it and is not a true adaptation. And that’s ok because the film feels like a Stephen King story and contains many of the stock characters that he tends to use in his books.

In the movie, Christine is bought by a nerdy senior high school student named Arnie. Against the advice of his best friend Dennis to do so and then when his parents disapprove of the purchase, Arnie is forced to keep Christine at a junkyard. These early events, along with his trouble with bullies, help isolate Arnie from everything except his car. Soon his car is in pristine condition, Arnie has a girlfriend and everything is great until Dennis suffers a major injury during a football game. Did the accident happen just because Dennis saw Christine? Soon the bullies from school find where Christine is kept and they have a grand time tearing the car about. But Christine is EVIL, and as Arnie watches, Christine fixes itself and begins a thrilling hunt for revenge. The film’s climax takes place at the junkyard garage where Arnie is fatally wounded and Dennis is able to destroy Christine with a C.A.T.

I also want to say that I adore the Furturama episode that is combines elements from “Christine” and “The Wolf Man”, having Bender turn into a Were-Car after being attacked by one.

Favorite moment – When Christine traps the bully Moochie in a thin, enclosed truck loading dock. With the boy trapped, Christine forces itself into the small space and crushes him to death.

Author's Note - John Carpenter

John Carpenter is another one of my personal favorite directors. Carpenter has only had a few BIG hits (Halloween, Star Man, Escape from New York), but most of his films have become cult classics over the years. Looking at the history of his career, I get the impression that he took on projects that he was passionate for and wasn’t taking a job merely for the money. There are a few distinct aspects in his films that might give you the heads up that it’s a Carpenter movie if you already didn’t know. These include angry mobs, very manly/macho leading characters, and the possibility that he wrote some if not all of the musical score. The only downside I can possibly find in Mr. Carpenter’s work is that he hasn’t made as many movies as I had hoped. He took almost a decade off from directing in between his films “Ghost of Mars” and “The Ward”. Now that he came out with (“The Ward) in 2010, perhaps he has found the creative spark to direct again!

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

"Ghost of Mars" is an odd movie; some may say its horrible but I just call it odd. It has classic John Carpenter qualities all through it including his use of crazy looking angry mobs, a rocking guitar heavy soundtrack (that doesn't work), and actors that people know. The movie stars Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge. It actually includes a relativity unknown Jason Stratham as well.

A squad of interstellar police officers go to Mars to transport the criminal mastermind Desolation Williams. Everything goes to hell straight away when they arrive to find the colony empty. All of the teraformers all missing and when they are found, they all appear possessed....because they are by the past spirits of Martians. The police and Desolation team up and try to escape. Most live, some die.

The Thing (1982) #3

Anytime you have an intense weather condition occur in a movie, the feeling of helplessness automatically rises. And if the setting is somewhere such as the Arctic and the intense weather condition is a blizzard that is about to hit, the overwhelming sense of isolation and despair take that feeling of helplessness even higher. Throw in a thawed out alien that can change shape and wants to consume everyone at the base camp and you have John Carpenter’s remake of “The Thing”.

The premise is your basic “start with a large group and kill them one by one in entertaining ways” story arc with the fun twist of not knowing if and who in the group is the killer alien. The feelings of paranoia and distrust are fairly acted out and I enjoy the attempts that are made to confuse and frame the various crew members. Never knowing if someone is who they really are continues up to the credits as the last two survivors wait for either the other to act or for the freezing temperatures to finally kill them.

"The Thing" showcases a stellar cast led by Kurt Russell as MacReady, Wilford Brimley as Dr. Blair, and Keith David as Childs. Their performances, along with those of the rest of the cast, have the perfect chemistry as a scientific research team in the middle of the Arctic. They have their friendships, their annoyances, and personality quirks believably established before the chaos truly erupts. The soundtrack, composed by Ennio Morricone, elevates the sense of cosmic dread and paranoia. 

The alien is this film is really fun to watch. It will do whatever it needs to in order to survive including tearing a portion of itself off and growing its own legs to crawl away. The special effects in “The Thing” are amazing and has me longing for the days of long ago when CGI wasn’t available. I have seen the prequel of the same name that came out in 2011 and while I appreciated the familiar sights and forms that the alien took in that film, seeing them rendered in CGI made the effects look silly and less frightening. Puppets, models, anything physical will (almost) always look more believable.

Favorite moment – The scene when some of the survivors check the cabin to see how the exiled Wilfred Brimley is doing and seeing the noose hanging in the background.

One of the best, original alien forms I've ever seen!

Halloween (1978)

“Halloween” is my all-time favorite horror movie. I love this movie so much that I’ve had the theme music as the ring tone for my phone for the past 7 years; or perhaps I just like the movie and really love the music…Anyway, the story is about Michael Myers, a homicidal maniac bent on killing his sister and her friends who happen to be near-by. Does this plot sound familiar? Will it should! This low budget movie from 1978 became the highest grossing independent film for years and, for better or for worse, encouraged a wave slasher flicks to be produced as well as a dismal franchise of its own. The success of “Halloween” proved that young director/writer John Carpenter and newcomer producer/writer Debra Hill were going to be well known and leave a lasting mark. “Halloween” also introduced the world to Jamie Lee Curtis, who would earn the title of Scream Queen just like her mother, Janet Leigh. “Halloween” has had such an impact that in 2006 it was included into the United States National Film Registry due to its significance.

I feel like I’ve known this film most of my life. I remember catching a glimpse of the first few minutes before being told to leave the room when I was little. Hearing that amazing and haunting melody and not being able to watch only increased my curiosity. When I finally was able to see it, while it was shown on broadcast television, I was blown away. It didn’t matter that it was edited for TV because the film really isn’t that violent or filled with nudity or drenched in profanity, it didn’t need those elements to tell the story. The other element that it didn’t need was the NEED to explain everything. When asked why Michael was so dangerous, Dr. Loomis replied that Michael was pure evil. That’s it and it was enough.

Favorite moment – When Dr. Loomis is hiding behind a hedge near the old Myers house and whispers creepy-like at the children who are daring each other to go up to the front door. His amused look after they run away terrified is priceless.