Halloween Kills Review: An Interesting Take on the Halloween Universe

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I realize it’s a little past the Halloween season now, but the Halloween Kills DVD release is out this week. And what better way to start the new year with this installation?

By now, most horror fans are familiar with Halloween. John Carpenter released the original film in 1978. Since that time, there have been a total of eleven Halloween franchise films (10 if you don’t count Halloween 3, which has no relation to the Michael Myers mythology).

For this film, the team of David Gordon Green and Danny McBride (the team that brought us Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones) return with this follow-up to their 2018 film Halloween.

What’s It About?

Hopefully, this doesn’t give too much away, but the 2018 Halloween film ended with Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Michael Myers’ sister from the original movie burning Myers in the basement of their home, presumably killing him.

Halloween Kills picks up the story right there. Surprise, he’s not dead.

He escapes from that basement, and now he is back to exact revenge on the entire town. The town comes together as a mob intent on hunting down and killing Myers. But will they do any better than those in the past?

Halloween Kills Trailer

Halloween Kills DVD Review: What I Liked and Didn’t Like

What I Liked

To start with, the filmmakers did something very interesting with this movie. This storyline (beginning with the 2018 Halloween) is meant to be a direct sequel to the original film. And it largely ignores all the in-between films. They did this by bringing back several cast members from the original film to reprise their roles. So you get to see what they are up to and how the events of the film have impacted them over the past 40 years.

The mob aspect is exciting. In contrast, Myers is traditionally seen as the villain of these films, the mob of townspeople kind of takes on that role in a way for a portion of the film.

Not to give anything away, but they become bloodthirsty and even chase the wrong person at one point. It’s a refreshing look at the mob mentality, even when well-intentioned.

What I Didn’t Like

It has already been announced that there will be a third film. Halloween Ends is releasing in 2022.

With that, you get the feeling this film serves more as a bridge from the first film to the third. It feels like things are being more set up for the next film and the ultimate showdown.

Laurie Strode does very little in this film. From the beginning, she is in the hospital. And it’s largely up to other people to take on Myers.

While Judy Greer is a very capable actress in the role of her daughter, I think most people want to see Jamie Lee Curtis in a final showdown with Michael Myers. This film tends to set that up for the next film, but there is not really any action in this one.

Technical Aspects: of the UHD 4K Edition

As is the case with most modern films, the image quality is superb. The 4K scan has no errors or “shadows.” The details are impeccable.

The intricate parts of Michael Myer’s mask (there is a featurette on creating the mask as a perfect replica) come through. You can see every tiny crack, and intentional imperfections are crystal clear.

The Dolby Atmos is strong. The jump scare moments hit you hard, and it works to the benefit of the film. The dialog is sharp, clear, and well-balanced.

What I Didn’t Like

Technically speaking, there is not a lot to dislike. However, if I were to pin one thing down, it would be that the film is very dark. Even the daylight scenes are pretty dark. I believe this is intentional, but some may not like this aspect.

Halloween Kills Review: Overall Thoughts

Halloween Kills is a pretty good installation to the series. It’s not outstanding as far as the story goes but has some interesting points about precisely who or what the “monster” really is. Is it Michael Myers, or is it the mob? It also has an interesting perspective as we never really hear about how the events impact this small town.

As a slasher film, viewers will not be disappointed. This title is by far the bloodiest Halloween movie in the franchise. There are a ton of deaths, and some are exceedingly creative. If that’s what you’re going for, I think you won’t be disappointed.