Halloween Kills (2021) Review

 "Evil dies tonight!"

-Tommy Doyle

Picking up just after the previous movie left off, Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) survives the fiery trap Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) left him in and he continues his onslaught across Haddonfield.  Another survivor of the original massacre, Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), forms a hunting party to track down and kill Michael once and for all.  

There will be spoilers below so proceed with caution.  In short Halloween Kills is a fun sequel, but has extremely stupid characters and precious little logic.  Lower your expectations from the previous movie and you'll have a good time.

What Works:

Halloween Kills does something that none of the other movies have managed to do.  We've had angry mobs getting together to hunt down Michael before, but they've always been a minor part of the story if they are there at all.  That isn't the case this time.  This really is Micael Myers vs. Haddonfield.  The movie has a large ensemble cast and they all band together to fight Michael.  The execution isn't always perfect, but these elements are fun and gives us some genuinely awesome moments.  We finally get to see what happens when Michael has to take on large groups of people, and you know what?  It kicks ass.

We get some of the best kills of the franchise as well.  The filmmakers weren't messing around with all of the gore.  If you watch slasher movies for the kills, which I know I do, you'll be a fan of these.

This really isn't about Laurie Strode and Jamie Lee Cutis doesn't get much to do, but that's ok.  There's a 3rd and final film coming which will focus on here, I'm sure.  Instead, as I mentioned above, this is more of an ensemble film focusing on many characters dealing with Michael.  Some of these characters are really great, even with very limited screen-time in some cases.  Best of all is a gay couple that lives in the Myers house.  They are really funny, not afraid of a fight, and are both named John, which I found very amusing.

Finally, we get a ton of returning characters and actors from both the previous film and the original.  It's great seeing all of these people back and not just in quick cameos.  They all have something to do here, even if it's just dying horribly.  Halloween Kills isn't afraid to kill off these characters who have been around for so long, and I really appreciate that.  I love it when no one is safe.

What Sucks:

I have to admit, this might be the dumbest cast of characters ever assembled in one horror movie.  It's actually impressive how often these people split up or don't finish off Michael when they have a chance.  It's frustrating and I can't help but think that with better writing, we could have achieved the same effect without the characters being so stupid.

Speaking of writing, there is some really hokey and unnatural dialogue.  There are some really dramatic zingers that fall completely flat because no one actually speaks that way, especially in the 1974 flashback sequences.

Finally, this movie does feel a bit like setup for the next one.  It reminds me of films like Mockingjay - Part 1 and Allegiant, which were books that were split in half when they were turned into movies.  Halloween Kills is far superior to both of those movies because we do get fun and interesting stuff, but it feels a bit like we're just waiting for the 3rd movie to finish things off.

Verdict:

Halloween Kills is a very flawed movie.  The writing is bad, the characters are stupid, and it's a lot of setup.  That said, I had a blast because the movie does do something different with the material, the gore is great, the returning characters are fun, and the 3rd act kicks ass.

 7/10: Good