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You can bet that even a mildly successful horror film will spawn a glut of sequels. Even when all 9 of those sequels and reboots fail to live up to the original, another sequel always seems in the pipelines.
It’s been 4 decades since the original released and Halloween is finally getting a(nother) sequel, with the first trailer dropping today. Directed by David Gordon Green and produced in part by horror it-boy Jason Blum (original film director John Carpenter also serves as executive producer), 2018’s Halloween will see Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her role as classic scream queen Laurie Strode. She’s looking good after we last saw her get thrown from a rooftop with a knife in her back.
But that didn’t happen. As the trailer states, nothing past the first Halloween happened either actually as this new film serves as a direct sequel to the original. In the intervening years, Laurie Strode isstill obsessed with Michael Myers, getting ready like some doomsday prepper to face (and kill) her nemesis once more. However, it’s been 40 freakin years, so many Haddonfield residents, including Laurie’s own daughter, think she’s crying wolf. Of course Laurie is right, and the bodies start piling up Halloween night after her obsession escapes prison.
Michael Myers will still be doing the slashing as is tradition. Save for some additional wear to his mask and a new, he’ll be the same silent, mysterious, stab-happy killer we’ve always known. That’s great if this new film can recapture the tension and fear of the original, but also slightly disappointing. If Laurie is 40 years older, so is Michael. This could provide an interesting take on an older slasher villain and the new challenges and scenarios that it presents a lá 2016’s excellent Don’t Breathe. But it looks like It’ll be the same old Michael; evil doesn’t age I guess.
Naming conventions aside, this sequel has piqued my curiosity. The long time skip, return of original contributors in Curtis and Carpenter, and a pledge to keep the story simple show potential. The trailer is fairly by the numbers by Halloween standards: jump scares, quick kills, and even a younger, sexier British Dr. Loomis stand-in to serve as a role reversal from the first film. But I’m especially excited for the return of Jamie Lee Curtis. She had a gem of a performance in the horror-comedy Scream Queens so her horror chops are strong as ever. That could colour how she plays an older, smarter, much different Lorie Stroud, one who’s less scared of Michael Myers, and more ready to blow his face off with a shotgun.
Halloween is set to release October 19th of this year. No word yet on a Busta Rhymes cameo.