Halloween Kills Movie Review

The Halloween horror movie franchise is one of the most loved, albeit confusing horror franchises. It forever establishes the character of Michael Myers (no, not that Mike Myers!) into the holiday horror icon. Ever since the first Halloween film (directed by John Carpenter, and written by him and produced along with the late Debra Hill) was released on October 25, 1978, the series now consists of 12 films. There has been 6 sequels (unless you count “Halloween III: Season of the Witch”), 2 remakes, and 1 reboot. While its subsequent sequels through the 1980s and 90s tried to contain some semblance of continuity, it often branched out into bizarre and bewildering directions, which often included everything from a seemingly-supernaturally-powered and indestructible serial killer, with apparent ties to an ancient pagan deity and a clandestine druid-like cult with dubious motivations and goals.

 While most horror movie fans revel in the bloody mayhem and murder of Halloween. There are many who take this franchise very seriously and ponder both the good and the bad of these films and their attempts to construct a linear story, despite the efforts of several directors which have in fact created 3 separate timelines. Following the slasher’s “demise” in the critical failure that was Halloween: Resurrection (2002), musician and independent filmmaker Rob Zombie took it upon himself to remake the movie in 2007, complete with his own unique, sleazy style of extreme violence and vulgarity. He then followed it up with the highly-stylized and mind-bending sequel in 2009.

 But then in 2018, fans got yet another soft reboot of the series with a more realistic and gritty version of Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green. The 2018 movie picked up where the original film essentially left off, but 40 years later, thus eliminating the events that took place during Halloween II (1981), as well as the continuing story of Lori Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) offspring Jamie Lloyd (played by the beautiful Danielle Harris) in Halloween 4 (1988) and 5 (1989), not to mention Michael’s “death” in Halloween: H20 (1998) and Laurie’s death/suicide in Resurrection. 

2018’s Halloween ended with a much older and wounded Laurie Strode, now a grandmother, having seemingly trapped Michael Myers (although now no longer her brother) beneath her fortress-like safe house, while on fire, and fleeing the scene with her daughter and grandmother. As Halloween Kills starts exactly where it ended (although released 3 years later) with firefighters heading to Laurie’s house while the 3 women head for the hospital in the opposite direction. Sure enough you can bet that we will find Michael Myers alive and well (sort of). Although the newest Halloween movies has tried to get rid of any kind of supernatural references with a more grounded, down-to-earth story, you simply cannot kill Michael Myers, no matter what timeline after having been shot, stabbed, and burned (multiple times). And if he didn’t survive as he has the last 10 times, we wouldn’t have a sequel, let alone a trilogy with the announced release of “Halloween Ends” in 2022. So without even trying to spoil it, I’ve pretty much spoiled all 3 movies. Fans have come to expect that you just can’t keep a good killer down. Whether it’s Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, or even little Chucky, the many slashers from the last few decades will continue to kill, die, and be reborn (or rebooted) and kill again, over and over until the end of time, or until these franchises cease to be profitable. Although, I’m not so sure about Jason’s future… 

While the main focus of 2018’s movie was an older Laurie Strode (Curtis is almost a senior citizen at 62-years-old) and her current state as a “prepper” waiting for the day when her one-time babysitter stalker will inevitably come back. Although since we’ve skipped Halloween II, Michael hasn’t earned the reputation of revisiting her on October 31st, because that’s in another timeline! Now in Halloween Kills Laurie spends much of the film in the hospital (again) just like in Halloween II alongside her long-time “friend” Officer (No first name?) Hawkins (Will Patton), who apparently came face-to-face with Michael Myers (in a flashback, but not in the original movie) and failed to shoot him or let Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance, who’s also seen in flashbacks) kill him either, and he now regrets his actions (or inactions) all those years ago. So now he’s in the hospital with Laurie after being mortally wounded by Myers, while the town of Haddonfield learns that Michael Myers has returned. And now Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall, but not played by the original actor Brian Andrews) and Lyndsey (Kyle Richards, who was the original actress!) are all grown-up and organize the citizens into an angry mob, without torches and pitchforks, but with a few guns and baseball bats, to finally put an end to the Halloween horror. 

What follows is a wild-goose chase as both the cops and the townspeople go searching for this elderly serial killer (who must be at least 80-years-old by now!) who is still stalking teenagers on Halloween night. While his mask does show a lot of wear and tear, it’s not as extensive as the punishment Rob Zombie gave “The Shape” in his 2nd version, now with a blackened smirk on his cracked rubber face. The entire pursuit culminates, of course, back at the hospital, where the crazed townsfolk think Michael is hiding. While it’s easy to put a willing suspension of disbelief on the immortal slasher villains like Myers, Halloween Kills relies heavily on Michael Myers’ “reputation” as an infamous serial killer, both in real life on the screen and in the movie itself. Which causes a problem since he really isn’t known for returning on Halloween, or even continuing his killing spree over the years, really there was just the one night back in 1978, and most people have forgotten it, some willingly. 

As we saw in 2018’s movie, he’s been locked up in a mental institution for years, until some wannabe podcaster wants to meet him and produces his old mask out of nowhere. But that plotline didn’t go anywhere. Spoiler Alert: they died! Although many actors and stuntmen have portrayed “The Shape” of Michael Myers over the years, at least this time, some credit is given to the original actor Nick Castle (also a director) who also appeared in 2018, but he is also played by 2 other actors, both in modern times and in flashback. 

The film portrays the law in a somewhat negative role (although unfortunate, it is not surprising, given our current controversies, but let’s not get into that shall we.), but not as bumbling as they were depicted in Halloween 4 and 5 (clown shoes!), but kind of blaming them for letting Michael’s killing spree to continue, and the ineptitude of both the former Sherriff Bracket (played by returning actor Charles Cyphers) and the current black cowboy hat-wearing Sheriff Barker (Omar Dorsey). Not to mention their inability to catch Michael again as they did 40 years ago, in a bizarre retcon of the 1978 movie’s ending. While it does seem popular lately to delve into this retroactive continuity and produce more reboots and remakes of popular films, especially those of the 1980s, horror being the number 1 genre with the most remakes. I feel that many fans will be heavily divided on the reception of Halloween Kills. 

While there will always be fans of the original 1978 movie, its sequels have both hits and misses, more often misses. And there are some who may prefer Rob Zombie’s versions as well. After we see what writers and producers Danny McBride and David Gordon Green have in store for us, we may be talking about these endeavors as just another attempt to catch lightning in a time where Hollywood is bereft of originality and constantly rely on reinvigorating nostalgia. Maybe we’ll see what happens in the year 2038?

Star Wars: A Retrospective

I consider myself to be a second generation Star Wars fan, whereas I was born after the original movie (aka Episode IV: "A New Hope") was released in 1977, but before the original trilogy ended in 1983 with Episode VI: "Return of the Jedi". Born in 1979, I now find myself in the unusual position of being caught in-between Generation X and the Millennial (Gen Y) generations, having reached the age of 40. I tend to identify more with the "Xennial" demographic, but it all depends on your P.O.V. I grew up with Star Wars. I played with the vintage action figures when they were still new, I wore (and still do wear) Star Wars T-shirts, costumes, etc.! When I was 5, I took cardboard wrapping paper rolls and pretended they were lightsabers. And I have been a life-long fan of Chewbacca, my favorite character, since I was 3-years-old, and the pleasure of meeting Peter Mayhew.

It could be said that Star Wars came into the world at the perfect time, but that it also sparked the merchandising craze with its toys, even before the toys ever came out with its infamous empty box “Early Bird Certificate Package.” My teenage years were spent without any new “Star Wars” movies, besides watching all the VHS copies until they were worn out. However, with the 1990’s came a new wave of Star Wars novels, comic books and video games, in what would become the non-canon “Expanded Universe” or “Legends” after Disney acquired the franchise. While many of these added a much needed backstory and between stories to the already expansive canon of the movies, it added more variety to the Star Wars story. Han Solo and Leia Skywalker-Organa married and had twins, Jaina and Jacen Solo, and later Anakin Solo. Luke Skywalker would later meet Mara Jade and they would have a son, named Ben Skywalker. Not to mention the stories that would follow their descendant Cade Skywalker.

Now, while some of these stories weren’t great, they weren’t equal to the movies, but at least it gave many writers and artists a chance to play in the Star Wars Universe and bring to the fans a plethora of content. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Star wars is not perfect, it never was. And with this resurgence and the excitement over the infamous "Special Editions", it was time for the return of the franchise in 1999 with the highly contested and debated over prequels, beginning with “Episode I – The Phantom Menace”. Even then, Star Wars fans were as divided as they’ve ever been, with half of them regaling in the return with open arms, while half of the fans felt that their childhood memories had been stomped on like Jar Jar Binks stepping in “Icky, icky goo!” And with episodes II and III, the supposed “Star Wars” saga supposedly came to an end, with George Lucas saying in 2005 that there would never be an episode VII.

While the prequels were over, the Expanded Universe thrived and would continue on into the 2000's in both comic book and novel form, until the Lucasfilm franchise was purchased by Disney in 2012 for $4 Billion and having already bought Marvel Comics in 2009, it seemed as though Disney now owned everything! When “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” was released in 2015, I like many millions of Star Wars fans were overjoyed. I saw it opening day and I came out feeling great and happy. It wasn’t until later that I realized why that was… nostalgia!

Nostalgia was a big part of my life, and I find that as I get older, nostalgia has started to fade away. I think that’s called “Growing Up!” I have been a Star Wars fan as long as I can remember. I’ve spent countless hours watching, reading, playing and waiting for Star Wars. The biggest revelation came when I and my family attended Star Wars Celebration 2017 on April 13–16, 2017, in Orlando, Florida. It was the biggest and most exhausting experience of my life. The crowd was HUGE! The Celebration sets a new attendance record at over 70,000! This deserves repeating 70,000 people, inside a 7,000,000 square feet convention center! I spent hours waiting in lines, lines and more lines. I spent hundreds of dollars, including $90 for an autograph from the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid! The convention’s main purpose was to of course to promote the release of “Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” in December. I got to see the trailer on another screen since the screening room was already full when I arrived on the first day, although disappointing, this was only the beginning of a long and arduous weekend. And apparently, we didn’t learn our lesson because we also attended the fifth Disney D23 Expo on July 14–16, 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

Fandom, for me, started to decline that year, especially after seeing “The Last Jedi” which turned out to be the most divisive subject for Star Wars fans in the last 20 years or so. Without going too much into it, I’ll just say that I was crushed. Kylo Ren says “Let the past die, kill it…” and even Luke Skywalker said “It’s time for then Jedi to end…” I shouldn’t have let it make me feel so depressed, but it did. Why? It’s only a movie! It’s “the Wars”! I love to use one of my favorite movies as an example is the comedy “Fanboys” (2009) directed by Kyle Newman, (who is only 3-years-older than me) is the story of a group of friends and friends/Star Wars fans, who take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of “Star Wars: Episode I” before its release. With a very low-budget and a cult following, I always thought that this was the perfect expression of the complicated love/hate relationship that many fans like myself have/had with Star wars, particularly around the controversies of Episode I, to which I see the very same divisiveness over Episode VII and VIII. One of my favorite quotes is…

“You gotta find your Death Star… Greatest deed Luke Skywalker ever did was take down the Death Star, right? As far as I'm concerned, that's what everybody needs. You need that one bad-ass thing that lets you live on forever…” – Hutch, (Dan Fogler)

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it, it’s funny and a little silly, but it’s got some great moments and great cameos too from Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and even William Shatner. My dad is an original Star Trek fan as well and he introduced me to Star Wars at an early age, so I have always been a Star Trek and a Star Wars fan, almost 60%/40%. You can love more than one fandom there has always been this weird war between Trek and Wars fans, but they often go hand-in-hand.

Upon the release of “Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker” I was both relieved and saddened by the so-called “end’ of the Skywalker Saga and to see what the franchise has become after 42 years. From the monumental film that started it all, the sequels that grew a fan base, and the subsequent prequels that originally divided the fan base, to the sequel trilogy that ultimately brought the fandom to the breaking point. I still love Star Wars. I love the original movies the most, I like the prequels for the most part, and Episode VII started things off okay, but then went downhill from there until the saga itself came to a crashing end.

Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts and I still say Happy Star Wars Day and May the Fourth (Force) be with you!

APRIL FOOLS' DAY: TOP 10 HOAXES 

 April Fools' Day is an annual custom on April 1st, consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. For many years, people have devised some of the most cunning and enduring hoaxes ever conceived. Although sometimes fooling millions of people in the process, they are often revealed for the hoaxes they are.

This April Fools' Day I would like to present some of my favorite Top 10 Hoaxes:

10. The Montauk Monster 

When an unknown creature washed up on the shore of Ditch Plains, a popular surfing beach on the Montauk peninsula in New York, a photo of the carcass appeared in a local paper and then ignited on the internet and dubbed the Montauk Monster. 

9. The Slender Man 

On June 10th, 2009, a Photoshop image appeared on an internet forum depicting a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless head and face and wearing a black suit. Originating as a "Creepypasta" meme, this character spread all over the internet and developed an urban myth all it's own and finding its way into popular culture, entertainment and even movies, but unfortunately also the subject of an infamous stabbing incident in 2014. The character itself remains the perfect example of the power of memes.

8. The Jackalope 

When two brothers in the 1930's used their taxidermy skills to graft deer antlers onto a jackrabbit carcass and then sell the animal to a local hotel in Douglas, Wyoming, it began the story of the jackalope, named after the blended words of a jackrabbit and antelope, which has become a popular mythical animal in modern North American folklore.

7. Crop Circles 

When crop circles first began cropping up in the 1970's, many claimed that they were created by extraterrestrials, but in 1991, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, of Southampton, England, confessed to having made more than 200 crop circles, with nothing more complex than ropes and boards.

6. Edward Mordrake, the Man with Two Faces 

One of the oldest hoaxes was that of a 19th-century English noble named Edward Mordake, who was supposedly born with a malevolent "second face" on the back of his head. The story goes that Mordrake begged doctors to remove his "demon head" because it whispered horrible things to him at night, but no doctor would do it and so he committed suicide at the age of 23. Althhough this story was published in Gould and Pyle’s "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine" (1896) it was later proven to be the literary creation of poet and author Charles Lotin Hildreth.

5. The Minnesota Iceman 

When a zoologist and a biologist hear about the frozen corpse of a hairy man-like creature being exhibited in the Midwest in 1968, they begin an inquiry into the origin of an unknown hominid that involves the FBI, the Smithsonian, the Mafia, the Vietnam War, drug smuggling, Hollywood, and a secretive millionaire. The story of the Minnesota Iceman is one of the strangest stories ever told, and believe it or not, I had the pleasure of seeing it myself at the Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas.

4. Alien Autopsy 

The infamous 1947 "Roswell Incident" undoubtedly began our modern fascination with UFOs and alien visitors, but when a grainy black-and-white film surface in 1995 that showed the postmortem dissection of an alleged alien body from the Roswell crash that were recovered by the government. Soon after the the footage was broadcast on FOX TV, many skeptics and UFO researchers deemed it a hoax, although many believed it to be true. However, recently the special effects artist who created the alien came forward and confessed it was in fact a hoax.

3. Patterson–Gimlin Bigfoot Film 

One of the most contested pieces of evidence on the existence of Bigfoot was a film shot in 1967 by Roger Patterson (who died of cancer in 1972) and Bob Gimlin. The footage runs less than a minute long a shows a large ape-like humanoid figure walking in a creek bed along a logging-road in Northern California. Although Patterson has "maintained right to the end that the creature on the film was real," Gimlin denied being involved in any part of a hoax with Patterson and remained silent until about 2005. The film has since been subjected to many attempts to authenticate or debunk it. The creature known as Bigfoot has been embedded in our popular culture for over 50 years with appearances in a never-ending string of popular TV shows, movies and commercials.

2. "The War of the Worlds" 

On October 30th, 1938, actor Orson Welles (before Citizen Kane (1941) narrated an adaptation of the novel "The War of the Worlds" (1898) by H.G. Wells, performed live on CBS as part of the "Mercury Theatre" series. What began as a 1-hour radio drama, soon caused a virtual panic to those who mistook the broadcast for a real news report. I first saw the original "War of the Worlds" 1953 movie on TV with my dad when I was about 10-years-old, and was terrified of the long-fingered aliens until I saw the comedy "Spaced Invaders" (1990) around the same time and learned of the infamous radio program.

1. The Loch Ness Monster 

The most famous photograph of "Nessie" was supposedly taken by a respectable British surgeon, named Colonel Robert Wilson, in 1934, who claimed that he saw something in the water while driving past the lake in Scotland. He just so happened to have a camera and took some pictures. The credibility of this photo was debated for over 60 years, until it was ultimately proven to be a hoax. I have always held a great fascination for this monster since I was a kid, which was encouraged by my grandmother's Scottish pen pals.