Ian West’s review published on Letterboxd:
There’s a lot to unpack here so I’ll start of by saying my immediate reaction walking out of the theater was that I liked it, despite having some issues... so I went home and let it simmer for a while...
The first act didn’t jive with me, but once Michael obtained the mask, or for that matter anytime the Shape was on screen I thought it was dynamite, exactly how I’d want to see The Shape shift through houses and streets if I were to make my own Halloween movie. The callbacks didn’t overbear me at all... and for the most part the comedy wasn’t an issue either. I loved Jamie Lee Curtis, the tracking shots, night time fall vibes, John Carpenter’s score, and those last 30 minutes were genuinely tense fire. The journey to that definitely has its issues... namely numerous underdeveloped characters, an exposition heavy podcasting setup that I didn’t really dig, and a goofy fake Loomis “twist” that didn’t really do it for me either. There’s a few other things here and there that I could be nit-picky about but all things considered I liked it and it’s my favorite entry since 6 (yes, I’m a fan of 6).
As far as Laurie Strode’s trauma goes, about 5 years ago I was the victim of a home invasion—by a mask wearing, armed thief. We fought and he got away. I spent the next year looking over my shoulder and locking doors, suffering from nightmares, resorting to booze, and undergoing lots therapy. Group therapy, where I met people very much like Laurie Strode in this movie… people who were but a mere shell of their former self, and Jamie nailed it. I don’t care what any film bros say about RZ’s H2 nailing trauma... this is way more of a realistic portrayal than that movie from my own personal experiences and those of the many others I met who were in similar situations. Real life trauma is no joke and shouldn’t be ignored, if you know someone dealing with it, be there for them.
So my final thoughts on my most anticipated movie of the last several years and a direct sequel to my favorite film of all time??? This is absolutely something I’ll end up watching 73738 million times. Every single Myers movie after II has a completely different vibe/mood and I love that. The first time I saw 4 I thought it didn’t really “feel” like a Halloween movie... same went for 5,6,7,8 etc. and it’s not so much that that’s a bad thing—I like all of those movies for their quirks... I love the autumnal vibe of 4 with ahab Loomis and crazy beer belly pickup truck shotgun brigade, I love the fantastique influence in 5 with a hobo in the cave and the absurd man in black, I love the pre-Scream 90’s feel of 6 and the Druid cult, I loved seeing H20 with my mom in the theater (lol that’s the best I got for diet Scream), I like the absurdity of kung fu nu-metal Resurrection, and I jive on the Rob Zombie movies as well.
So much of these things didn’t click with me the first time, some took years for me to warm up to, and I think that’s pretty rad because we all know living in the shadow of a genre monolith is daunting, and just like the numerous sequels, this 2018 offering is no exception, equal parts serious and silly... and gets sillier as it goes, but that’s par for the course for a Halloween movie (as is retconning previous installments... three or four times now if I’m not mistaken lol?) and just like all those sequels this one has an identity all its own and I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with it as time goes by.
I bet in 5 years I’ll lovingly chuckle at silly fake Loomis like I do at vest wearing beer gut shotgun trucker #3 in Halloween 4.
Long story short, I waited for this for a long time and Personally I think there are better sequels in this franchise, but in the long run I was satisfied. Go see it. 🎃