The Night He Came Home…
For, what, the third time? Fourth time?
Filmmaker David Gordon Green has ditched all of the mythology following 1978’s HALLOWEEN to make his ambitious new film, HALLOWEEN. If that confuses you, it should. Put quite simply, Green wanted to continue the adventures of the Myers siblings without all that annoying “content” that other filmmakers selfishly put out in the forty years since the original.
Do I sound bitter? I sound bitter, don’t I? Well, maybe I am. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot done in the numbing amount of sequels that is worth forgetting, but it seems strange to me that a filmmaker best known for his work with Danny McBride (who shares co-writing credits for the story and screenplay) can wield such a genre-wiping magic wand. It’s almost understandable to want to erase films 3-6, but to discredit H20 and RESURRECTION, not to mention the superior reboot by Rob Zombie, could be seen as sacrilegious. Or at the very least, rude.
With that said, it does seem that the filmmaker has done his homework, and Jamie Lee Curtis, herself, has expressed great respect with the script’s treatment of the character of Laurie Strode. We’re meeting a Laurie who is not only a grandmother, but also a haunted survivalist who has alienated herself from strangers and loved ones alike by spending her entire life in preparation for her nightmare brother’s inevitable return. Think Sarah Connor in TERMINATOR 2. She has ostracized her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and is the target of whispered ridicule in her neighborhood as the paranoid old lady who won’t shut up about the fucking boogeyman. Curtis agrees with these choices and celebrates the humanization of this character who would have lived with 40 years of this trauma. Additionally, it displays a strength in the terrorized Strode, who, for better or worse, is vigilant and ready to fight back.
So am I going to see this new HALLOWEEN? Well, yes, obviously. If Green could convince the original Final Girl to help him achieve his vision then I owe it a shot, as well. Whether or not the rest of the film-going public will be so understanding will be determined when the film is released on October 19th of this year. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for looming Shapes…
-McEric-
