Callbacks To Sequels Past
Halloween 2018 might disregard all previous sequels in the franchise from continuity, but there are still many homages and references to a smattering of them that shows us these often under-loved films haven’t been wholly forgotten.
First off, as we’d noticed from the trailers, there’s a scene that’s a near replication of a moment from Halloween II. In this film, Michael’s in need of a weapon and so borrows a butcher’s knife from the kitchen of a woman making a sandwich while wearing a red robe. The same thing happens in the first sequel, except that the woman lives to tell the tale.
Similarly, the scene in which Michael murders British podcaster Dana in a grotty public restroom brings to mind a moment from Halloween: H20, in which a mother and her daughter hide in the cubicles from The Shape. Much like its homage to Halloween II, though, the movie ups the gore from the original as the mother and her kid survived, unlike Dana.
There are also some much subtler callbacks to both Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Halloween: Resurrection. For instance, some kids are seen trick-r-treating in jack’o’lantern, skull and witch masks that closely resemble the creepy ones from the threequel. Also, while refilling his car at the gas station, Aaron is parked nearby a truck which is labelled “The Resurrection Church.”