We’re excruciatingly close to the release of David Gordon Green’s Halloween, and the signs continue to bode well for this highly anticipated slasher sequel. Back in September, when the flick had its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, we reported a strong early critical reception to Michael Myers’ latest outing, and the enthusiasm from reviewers hasn’t flagged much in the weeks since, with the film currently holding an impressive 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This makes the new Blumhouse movie by far the most acclaimed entry in the series since the 1978 original, and while few would argue that it’s the equal of its predecessor, plenty of critics feel it serves as a worthy follow-up to the John Carpenter classic.
For a sample of the plaudits, look below:
“Along with co-writer Danny McBride and producers John Carpenter and Jason Blum, Green has managed to create something honestly extraordinary, in that it’s simultaneously both a wonderful tribute to the story that started it all, and a post-modern reflection that often giddily subverts everything that’s perfect about the legacy of the killer Michael Myers.”
“While it doesn’t capture the magic of the original, this Halloween brings much-needed closure to a troubled franchise, with Curtis excellent and Michael Myers pleasingly terrifying again.”
“Halloween doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it takes the best parts of all the films in the franchise, and delivers the ultimate companion piece to Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece.”
Of course, an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score also implies that 15% of recorded critics didn’t really care for the new movie, with some reviewers feeling that the film fails to honor or sufficiently expand on the legacy of the original:
“The acting and violence are appropriately impressive, but a choppy screenplay, a lack of real-world logic and mixed messages render this less of an update and more of a glorified fanfiction.”
“Just another pale imitation, another bad Halloween sequel watering down the fear factor of the original.”
As a matter of fact, WGTC’s own Joseph Falcone wasn’t too big on Green’s feature himself, offering a middling score of 2.5 stars out of 5 after the film’s Toronto screening, writing:
“While it doesn’t do much to elevate the genre, Halloween does tick each and every box, which should be more than enough to appease your run of the mill fanboy, but scare off anyone with half a brain.”
You can decide for yourself if the new Halloween is as good as its Rotten Tomatoes score when it hits theaters later this week, but going by the feature’s box office projections, it’s clear that plenty of fans are willing to give this one a chance. And if all goes as expected when the pic opens on October 19th, then it feels all but inevitable that Michael has further sequels in his future.