The latest addition to the Halloween series, Halloween Kills, does not hold back and truly shows the gruesome nature of Michael Myers as he terrorizes Haddonfield once again. 

Overall, I had high expectations after the 2018 Halloween film and my expectations were mostly met. This film was more brutal and graphic than any Halloween film and it also progressed the plot in the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.

Director David Gordon Green said at the premiere of the film: “The last movie re-established Laurie and Michael and that good versus evil dynamic. Here we separate them and pull them apart and we explore how fear has permeated through the entire community of Haddonfield. And how they are each able to stir it up from their opposing position. We bring it back next year and it’s the final confrontation between the two.” 

Halloween Kills earns its R rating more than any previous Halloween film. Michael Myers, also known as The Shape, shows his gristly nature and kills anything and anyone in between him and Laurie Strode, who is played again by Jamie Lee Curtis. 

At the film’s premiere, Curtis, who plays Laurie Strode, praised the film and said “it feels very next level to me what they have done…it has to be pretty loud and pretty bold and brazen and new. I think what [David Gordon Green] has done is really inventive and I think the audiences will agree.”

Even though the film’s plot and execution is not perfect, it is still a good film in terms of fitting the aspects of the Halloween series. The film shows that Myers truly is, as Dr. Loomis said in Halloween (1978) “purely and simply…evil.”

Halloween Kills had a successful opening weekend in the US and earned $50.4 million, which makes it the highest grossing horror and highest grossing R rated film during the pandemic. 

The film was also simultaneously released on Peacock, which was the idea of producer, Jason Blum. Many thought this would negatively effect box office earnings, but it did not. 

My Rating: 9/10

Spoilers beyond this point!

One of the things that Halloween Kills did well is reference to previous Halloween films. 

The first reference that I enjoyed were the masks that the three kids who pranked Big John and Little John had on and ultimately ended up on a merry go round dead. The three masks were the Silver Shamrock Novelties’ skull, witch head, and pumpkin from Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

Another reference I enjoyed was in the opening credits. While the haunting theme music by John Carpenter played, 12 pumpkins appeared on screen. Each pumpkin represented each of the previous Halloween films. For example, the second pumpkin had blood running down from the eyes, which is a reference to Halloween II and the last pumpkin was on fire, which is a reference to Halloween (2018).