VENICE 2021: Halloween Kills
Universal PicturesDirector David Gordon Green and writing partner Danny McBride return to the Halloween franchise three years after their commercial and critically well-received sequel reboot, 2018’s Halloween, with the purported second of a trilogy, Halloween Kills. Green and McBride cover the same ground, more or less, in a strong and capable sequel that fans and audiences will appreciate alike; however, it is a feature that not only feels restrained in terms of narrative but strangely uninspired in the context of concept and story.
First and foremost, this is not akin to Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, where it deviates and becomes a personalised story within this franchise. Halloween Kills very much continues the story of where Halloween (2018) left off and bridges not only the narrative gap of a larger Haddonfield to play with but brings in the destructive path of humanity to coincide with Myers’ quest for bloodshed. It is a compelling dynamic, and Green with McBride have a clear adoration and love for the source material, homaging not only Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II but digging deeper into source material and franchise overall.
One such implementation this time around is opening up the story of Haddonfield. Granted, the three generations of the Strodes' take front and centre, but this is a town that has been haunted with the memory and torture of Michael Myers for forty years and, knowing his rein has come again, they seek retribution and revenge. This allows the likes of Anthony Michael Hall, Kyle Richards, Nancy Stephens and a whole host of better-to-be-surprised branches to return from series old. Characters that don't necessarily build a bigger story in scope but crafted a deeper layered depth that concretes the emotional foundation. And again, with the town rocked, tensions begin to thrive and wander, no doubt a political allegory from our times, and the emotive discourse is a thrilling one, going as far as giving Myers even more depth to the powers he has in creating multi tooled violence.
Nevertheless, this is titled Halloween Kills, and such a title does not go amiss in this feature which is devilishly fun and ferocious in its execution. Gory, gruesome and soaked in bloodshed, the use of Myers as a wrecking ball of power and destruction is felt ten-fold and, ultimately, that implication of what The Shape can truly do to the characters presented offers a trepidatious and haunting feeling that nobody is ever safe. Green and cinematographer Michael Simmonds craft thrilling and effective iconography with the symbolic villain. The two decide to limit his screen time to craft a more effective punch when he is finally revealed to the audience and characters contextually, albeit far too late for said characters present to have a chance of survival.
It is a feature that is perfectly paced, too. At an hour and forty-six minutes, it feels at least twenty minutes shorter with electrifying pacing. A clear indication of a viewer having fun with the material granted, but the editing is implemented exceptionally well, with maturity and understanding of its genre. This is a feature that is ramped up to an eleven and, therefore, there is a significant lack of brevity and pause this time around to soak up the terror and conventions. That being said, Green still manages to implement such and understand specifically where to place such sequences. They don't hold as much striking, emotive weight as the feature’s predecessor, but they work all the same.
Equally as powerful is the score between franchise godfather John Carpenter himself with son Cody and Daniel Davies. Undoubtedly the highlight of the feature, and that is saying something with the aforementioned praise, this is a score that sounds and feels significantly different this time around. It broods in a different manner and incorporates harsh beats that covey Myers’ physical destruction rather than the musical synths of his aloof and hidden nature. But again, that brooding characteristic crafts tension and elevates the spectacularly violent nature of proceedings.
This is where the paragraph touching on performances comes in but, having seen the film and the context of the plot, it feels redundant and spoiler-ish to even attempt at discussing the implications of performance here. Granted, they are very good with expressive range and depth. But this is a story that has evolved from the antagonising trauma of the past and changes its sights into dealing with that terror and trauma in the now. The feature feeds and discusses such internal issues with poignant and pragmatic manifestations. For some, such themes will be on-the-nose, and for others, possibly focused on the more lacking of elements that detract from the main story. However, Green and McBride express and explore trauma as a collective, and the results are rich and consistently immersive.
After seeing the film and allowing it to fester and take life, it has to be said this story, on the whole, is somewhat flat. Not necessarily in emotion or immersion, but considering this is a Halloween sequel with a great team behind and in front of the camera, Halloween Kills never wants to build anything. Unlike Halloween (2018), which created the foundation once again, this time around it feels more like DLC (downloadable content) to an already grown property rather than a sequel in itself. Stating it as filler feels too much a detractor but, in essence, that's what it is. It builds in the past and present, yet never interestingly enough for the future. While it tries to end on something rather powerful that will have the characters of Halloween Ends collide in a fury and torment this franchise has yet to see, it crafts such a scene with little gravitas and intention. That said, this is a strong sequel and one that fans can enjoy as well as audiences that want to indulge in the conventions of horror. It is a thrilling and ferocious feature that spills gore and bloodshed with expressive power, and those who adore this franchise will be left with numerous callback and easter eggs of previous entities, and those who are not familiar with Halloween will know the wrath of Michael Myers long before the end credits roll.
