"Halloween" – Variety

First, the sequel to "Halloween" by David Gordon Green claims that the last nine films of the franchise do not exist, taking over 40 years after John Carpenter's first 1978 film, as if none of these nonsense had arrived. Now the treat: his catch meets Michael Myers (again, that's Nick Castle under the mask) with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), the escaped babysitter, for a final showdown. but the public had no reason to think they would ever be witnesses.

This makes this new "Halloween" a fan act in the form of a horror movie. The fact that it works as both means that Green (who flirted with the idea of ​​directing the remake of Suspiria) has achieved what he was doing, linking the mythology that Carpenter and his company have established with Macabre creatures – for a younger audience who buys the "Halloween" brand without real investment in the unfinished business of Michael and Laurie.

According to contemporary horror standards, the original "Halloween" was actually quite docile, with only five (human) deaths, while the latter multiplied by more than three the number of people – borrowing many of the classics of Carpenter (including a live one). Lift the famous first person tracking plan from the original to use it as a flashback) before you embark on the heavier chaos that follows. While Michael is behind bars – source of unwavering fascination for psychiatrist Sartain (Haluk Bilginer, star of "winter sleep"), aka "the new Loomis" – Laurie has had time to prepare for her return inevitable by arranging his house in the woods with all kinds of traps for when he shows up.

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The most enigmatic thing about Michael Myers in all these years may have been the mystery of what motivates him. Once he is unleashed, he does not stop it. What pleasure does it take to kill? This is what Sartain wants to know, although answering the question would demystify exactly what scares Michael. Meanwhile, Laurie's psychology also clearly fascinates Green and co-writers Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride, who choose to examine the post-traumatic impact on the "last girl", permanently marked by her confrontation with evil incarnate. So, Michael's motivations remain unclear, but Laurie is pretty easy to understand. Clearly disturbed by this experience, Laurie raised her own daughter Karen (Judy Greer) to defend herself, eventually alienating her daughter in the process, and now it's up to grandmother to protect her family – or to die trying.

Yes, just under 60, Curtis plays one of the greatest mothers of all time, in battle, a lady who can throw herself on a balcony, fall off the roof and get up, if she falls to her . Karen may not appreciate her mother's excessive preparation, but she will certainly be helpful for Karen's daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), one of the few people Green gives us to look for in a set that frequently introduces characters just before they are killed. or forget them completely.

Some get a reasonable screen time, including a police officer (Will Patton) who was present at the arrest of Michael and two British podcast journalists (Rhian Rees and Jefferson Hall) whose curiosity about the Business has a dual purpose: Green needs a way to promote Michael's reputation for those who are starting to agree, and secondly, when the mere talk is not enough, the director can use them to illustrate how Michael can be sadistic. As a bonus, they return Michael's mask William Shatner before signing definitively.

Even with all this development, there's something weird about how almost everyone regards Michael as a sort of super-killer of fame when, according to the premise of the film, they brought the painting back to the original five. . victims. As he was trying to have it back and forth, Green reintroduced the character in a style vaguely similar to that of Hannibal Lecter, chained in the middle of a checkered yard surrounded by Barking dogs and half a dozen others crazy. Michael will soon be transported to Glass Hill, a new facility where he will be forgotten for good, but something is wrong with the transport, the bus leaves the road and he goes wild, killing one or two guards (It's hard to hold an accurate count when some murders occur off screen).

The next day is Oct. 31, exactly four decades after Michael's "latest" rampage, and soon he finds himself in his old neighborhood of Haddonfield, Illinois, until the old tricks – that's all. that is to say, sneak into homes and terrorize babysitters Because it's Halloween, he can walk down the sidewalk in his mask, brandishing a bloody butcher knife, and no one takes the time to s' report until it's too late. For the fans of Carpenter's film, this segment of the movie focuses more on a piece of screen time, before inventing a way to get all the important characters – Michael, Allyson, Karen and Sartain – into the semi-screen. remote control of Laurie. home, where the two rivals can settle the score once and for all.

And speaking of scores, the original theme of Carpenter holds well here, adding chills of synthesizer to scenes in which Michael is tracking down. This is just one of the many hat tricks that Green offers to the 1978 movie, whose opening orange-on-black credits (in the ITC Serif Gothic font) make it possible to find goose bumps, while the jack-o The revival of life in the metropolis is a fitting metaphor for a franchise that has rotted through the years.