Edition Reviews: Halloween (2018)

IMDB - 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes - 6.8/10

As someone who never watched the original Halloween saga, I went to this slasher with a blank slate of expectations – no trailers, no spoilers, and the minimum knowledge barring that the movie is a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic.

So skillfully did Director David Gordon Green put this reboot together, even moviegoers who are unfamiliar with the story of the serial killer Michael Myers, are able to follow Halloween 2018 and the references to its predecessor without confusion, though any Easter Eggs the film might have left out for fans certainly will be missed.

Living up to its name, Halloween is the kind of film to enjoy with your friends in the dark, whether you celebrate All Hallows’ Eve or not. Suspenseful and fast-paced, the movie packs in some great jump scares, accentuated by the unsettling background music which serves to amplify the overall tense atmosphere.

Although there isn’t much to say for character development (or lack thereof), Jamie Lee Curtis, reprising her role as Laurie Strode, delivers a gritty performance as the sequestered, hard-bitten warrior she has become after her horrifying encounter with Michael Myers from 40 years ago.

Though none of the secondary characters stand out, the notorious masked killer steals the limelight, his presence – and in some instances, absence – sinister, foreboding, and a reflection of his description as an embodiment of “pure evil” in every scene.

Halloween doesn’t hold back on the gore either, and the whole bloody experience is rounded off with moments of humour, making for a fun scary-movie experience.

And if you’re a fan, the sight of the silent, murderous villain donning his infamous ‘The Shape’ mask, four decades after it became a cult icon, is sure to send a nostalgic shiver down your back.

The movie premiered at Schwack Cinema, in Male' and Hulhumale', on October 26, with showtimes running through the first week of November.