Halloween (2018 film)



Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride. It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series, and a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, while retconning the continuity of the previous sequels. The plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she escaped his killing spree. Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle reprise their respective roles as Strode and Myers, with stuntman James Jude Courtney also portraying Myers. The film also stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, and Virginia Gardner.

After failing to develop a new Halloween film in time, Dimension Films lost the production rights for a sequel, which reverted to Miramax, which then joined with Blumhouse Productions. In May 2017, a new installment was officially announced, with original co-creator John Carpenter's involvement as a composer, executive producer, and creative consultant.

Halloween premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many considering it to be both the best Halloween sequel and a return to form for the series; Curtis' performance was also met with praise. It has grossed $253 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise and the highest grossing slasher film in unadjusted dollars, breaking a record that Scream had previously set, as well as breaking several other box office records. A sequel is in early development.

Plot
In October 2018, 40 years after the massacre in Haddonfield, true-crime podcasters Aaron Korey and Dana Haines travel to Warren County Smith's Grove Sanitarium to visit Michael Myers. They briefly interview Michael's psychiatrist Dr. Ranbir Sartain, a former student of Dr. Samuel Loomis, before meeting with Michael in hopes of gaining some insight into his past actions before his transfer to a new facility. Aaron brandishes Michael's mask at him, to no effect. In Haddonfield, Illinois, Laurie Strode has lived in fear of Michael returning for 40 years. She is twice divorced, has a strained relationship with her daughter Karen, lives in isolation, and drinks to dull the pain. Laurie has prepared for Michael's potential return through combat training.

During Michael's transport, the bus carrying him crashes. Michael kills a father and his son who stumble upon the crashed bus on the road, and steals their car. The following day, on Halloween, Michael resumes his killing spree, killing several people at a gas station, including a clerk, mechanic for his overalls, as well as Aaron and Dana. He then recovers his mask and heads to Haddonfield. Laurie attempts to warn Karen, and her ex-husband Ray, of Michael's getaway, but they dismiss her concerns. Later that night, Allyson, Karen's daughter, finds her boyfriend Cameron cheating on her at a school-sponsored Halloween dance, and leaves the party with his best friend, Oscar. Meanwhile, Michael kills two women. Allyson's best friend Vicky babysits Julian Morrisey, when her boyfriend Dave arrives. Michael suddenly appears and attacks Vicky. Julian tries to save her but Michael stabs her to death. Julian flees, as Michael kills Dave. Deputy Frank Hawkins, who arrested Michael in 1978, and Laurie hear the incident over the radio and head toward the house, and find the bodies of Vicky and Dave. Michael suddenly appears, and he and Laurie come face-to-face for the first time in four decades. Laurie shoots Michael, who flees, and she persuades Karen and Ray to seek protection in her heavily fortified house. Michael comes across Allyson and Oscar, killing the latter. Both Hawkins and Sartain, who is now working with the police, arrive just in time to save Allyson. Hawkins subdues Michael, but Sartain, obsessed with learning why Michael kills, murders Hawkins before he can kill Michael. Michael kills Sartain, while Allyson flees. Michael kills two police officers and takes their car, arriving at Laurie's house and killing Ray.

Laurie manages to get Karen to safety, before she engages in a showdown with Michael. Laurie severely injures Michael and severs two of his fingers, but he pushes her over a balcony; when Michael goes to check for Laurie's body, he finds it missing. Allyson arrives and is reunited with her mother. Laurie, Karen and Allyson ambush Michael, trapping him inside the basement safe room, and Laurie sets the house ablaze. Laurie, Karen, and Allyson escape in the back of a passing pickup truck. As the house burns, a final shot of the burning basement is shown, with Michael nowhere to be seen. At the end of the credits, Michael's breathing is heard, indicating that he survived.

Cast

 * Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the sole survivor of Michael Myers' 1978 killing spree, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She is the mother of Karen and grandmother of Allyson.
 * Judy Greer as Karen Nelson (née Strode), Laurie's daughter and Allyson's mother. She is estranged from her mother.
 * Sophia Miller as young Karen
 * Andi Matichak as Allyson Nelson, Karen and Ray's daughter and Laurie's granddaughter. She has a better relationship with her grandmother.
 * James Jude Courtney as Michael Myers / The Shape, the masked serial killer who carried out a horrific massacre on Halloween night in 1978, and is now returning to Haddonfield for another killing spree.
 * Nick Castle as Michael Myers (window shot)
 * Haluk Bilginer as Dr. Ranbir Sartain, Michael's psychiatrist, who was previously a student of Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael's former psychiatrist from the first film.
 * Will Patton as Frank Hawkins, a sheriff's deputy who arrested Michael following his killing spree in 1978, and teams up with Laurie in an effort to kill Michael once and for all.
 * Rhian Rees as Dana Haines, a true-crime podcaster and Aaron's partner.
 * Jefferson Hall as Aaron Korey, a true-crime podcaster and Dana's partner.
 * Toby Huss as Ray Nelson, Karen's husband, Allyson's father and Laurie's son-in-law.
 * Virginia Gardner as Vicky, Allyson's best friend.
 * Dylan Arnold as Cameron Elam, Allyson's boyfriend and son of Lonnie Elam from the first film.
 * Miles Robbins as Dave, Vicky's boyfriend.
 * Drew Scheid as Oscar, Cameron's best friend.
 * Jibrail Nantambu as Julian Morrisey, a little boy whom Vicky babysits.
 * Brien Gregorie as Father
 * Vince Mattis as Son
 * Omar Dorsey as Sheriff Barker, Haddonfield's current sheriff.

Development


In 2011, a sequel to 2009's Halloween II   titled Halloween 3D, was announced for an October 26, 2012 release date. At the time, no director or writer was attached to the project. Originally, Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer were set as writers, but dropped out due to their involvement with a Hellraiser reboot. The film was to pick up where the final frame of its 2009 predecessor left off, and would pay homage to the original version of Michael Myers from the 1978 film. It was dropped from its initial October 26, 2012 date, as no progress had been made.

In February 2015, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan were reported as writing a new Halloween film, described as a "recalibration" rather than a reboot, which Malek Akkad and Matt Stein were producing. On June 15, 2015, The Weinstein Company was reported to be moving ahead with another Halloween sequel, tentatively titled Halloween Returns, with Dunstan directing. It would have been a standalone film set to reintroduce audiences to Michael Myers years after his initial rampage from Halloween and 1981's Halloween II, as he was confronted by a new generation of victims while on death row. On October 22, 2015, producer Malek Akkad revealed that the production of Halloween Returns had been postponed, stating that the extra time would result in a better film. Malek said on the matter, "Although, I have to say, and this is somewhat new news, but unfortunately things happen in Hollywood where you have issues with studios and different variables. We've had to take a step back and now we're trying to re-figure this beast that is the new Halloween. So there is a bit of a delay, but this new Halloween isn't going to be quite what has been announced and what people are expecting, so we're making some changes there as well." In December 2015, it was announced that Dimension Films no longer had the filming rights to Halloween, after Halloween Returns failed to go into production on schedule. The film's cancellation was confirmed at the same time. The rights then reverted to Miramax.

On May 24, 2016, Blumhouse Productions and Miramax were announced to be co-financing a new film, with Universal Pictures distributing through the studio's output deal with Blumhouse. Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum called the original Halloween a milestone that had influenced the company to begin making horror films, "The great Malek Akkad and John Carpenter have a special place in the hearts of all genre fans and we are so excited that Miramax brought us together." The rights specifically went to Miramax and Tarik Akkad, who sought out Blum because of his success as a horror film producer.

Writing and pre-production
When John Carpenter, who had co-written the first two Halloween films with Debra Hill and directed the original, signed on as an executive producer in 2016, he described his intention: "Thirty-eight years after the original Halloween, I'm going to help to try to make the 10th sequel the scariest of them all." He discussed his reasoning for revisiting the series for the first time since producing 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, "I talked about the Halloweens for a long time, the sequels — I haven't even seen all of them [...] But finally it occurred to me: Well if I'm just flapping my gums here, why don't I try to make it as good as I can? So, you know, stop throwing rocks from the sidelines and get in there and try to do something positive." When the rights were acquired by Blumhouse, filmmaker Adam Wingard discussed making a new Halloween film, but ultimately dropped out after being sated by an email of encouragement from Carpenter, "I kinda walked away from it like, I just got everything I wanted out of this job. 'This is about as good as it gets.'" On February 9, 2017, David Gordon Green and Danny McBride were announced as handling screenwriting duties, with Green directing and Carpenter advising the project. Carpenter said that he was impressed with the pitch presented by the co-writers, solicited by Jason Blum, proclaiming that "They get it."

Rather than reboot the series again, they initially chose to focus primarily on continuing the mythology of the first two films when developing the story, with Danny McBride stating, "We all came to the decision that remaking something that already works isn't a good idea. So we just have a reimagining instead." The pitch was created by the writers specifically to present to Carpenter, as they were self-described fans of the original Halloween. The story was eventually fleshed out so that all of the sequels were ignored from the new film's continuity, and the ending of the first film was retconned in what McBride likened to an alternate reality. However, he later said that the film still pays tribute to the other follow-ups, despite sharing no direct continuity, "you know like there's so many different versions, and the timeline is so mixed up, we just thought it would be easier to go back to the source and continue from there. It was nicer than knowing you're working on Halloween 11, it just seemed cooler, 'we're making Halloween 2'. For fans, we pay homage and respect to every Halloween that has been out there." Despite Green and McBride's comedy roots, Halloween was distanced from the comedy genre. McBride further elaborated that "I think there was, like, maybe one joke on the page, but the rest is straight horror." Believing that "good horror movie directors are good directors", Jason Blum hired Green for his perceived "amazing" storytelling. No major steps were taken without Carpenter's approval, including the acceptance of the initial pitch and bringing back actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

Displeased with Rob Zombie's re-imagining and added backstory of murderer Michael Myers, Carpenter wanted to take the character back to his more mysterious roots, describing him as "a force of nature. He's supposed to be almost supernatural." McBride detailed his approach as humanizing the character, "I think we're just trying to take it back to what was so good about the original. It was just very simple and just achieved that level of horror that wasn't turning Michael Myers into some being that couldn't be killed. I want to be scared by something that I really think could happen. I think it's much more horrifying to be scared by someone standing in the shadows while you're taking the trash out."

Casting
In September 2017, Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed that she would reprise her role as Laurie Strode. In contrast to the character's final girl role in the original film, Laurie armed herself and prepared extensively in the time period between films in case Michael Myers returned. Although Halloween II and its later installments have portrayed Myers as a familicidal killer and Laurie as his sister, the writers felt that the added motive made him less frightening as a killer. As such, they intentionally ignored that aspect of the lore. In the trailer for the film, Strode's granddaughter, played by Andi Matichak, explains how her life has been impacted by Michael's reign of terror 40 years earlier. When a friend hints that they heard Michael was Laurie's brother, Matichak's character replies, "No, it was not her brother, that was something people made up." The writers did not originally know if Curtis would be willing to return, according to McBride, so they "busted [their] ass on this script to really make that Laurie Strode character something she wouldn't be able to say no to." On why she returned, Curtis stated, "As soon as I read what David Green and Danny McBride had come up with ... and the way that they connected the dots of the story, it made so much sense to me that it felt totally appropriate for me to return to Haddonfield, Ill., for another 40th-anniversary retelling. It's the original story in many, many, many ways. Just retold 40 years later with my granddaughter." Curtis had previously returned as Laurie in the sequels Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), and Halloween: Resurrection (2002). The following October, Judy Greer entered negotiations to play Laurie's daughter, Karen Nelson. On December 7, 2017, Andi Matichak was cast to play Laurie's granddaughter Allyson.

Danielle Harris, who played Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd in the original continuity's Halloween 4 and Halloween 5, contacted Blumhouse with the offer to reprise her role in some way, but the studio purportedly wanted to go with a different daughter character, to Harris and certain horror publications' disappointment: "I was okay with it when she had a son... but they're saying it's the last one and... she has a daughter. And it's not Jamie. It's just kind of a bummer, I guess." Later, it came to light that Laurie's daughter was indeed Jamie in the initial incarnations of the script.

On December 20, 2017, it was announced that Nick Castle, who had portrayed Michael Myers in the original film, would reprise his role, with actor and stuntman James Jude Courtney set to portray Myers as well. Courtney was suggested to Malek Akkad and David Gordon Green by stunt coordinator Rawn Hutchinson for his ability to do both physical stunts and genuine acting, auditioning afterwards and receiving a phone call in December 2017 affirming that he had landed the role. Green explained to him his vision for Myers's mannerisms, an amalgamation of Castle's original performance and the addition of an efficient cat-esque style of movement. Courtney tailored his portrayal to those specifications from observing an actual cat, "I think cats are the most perfect hunting machines on the planet. And the beauty of it is we don't judge a cat for what a cat does. So I sort of carried that movement and the non-judgmental approach to the way I moved as The Shape, which I learned from my cat Parcival." He referred to collaborating with Castle as an "honor", while Castle described it as a "passing of the torch". Courtney used John Carpenter and Castle's work on the original film to determine how the forty years that transpired between the events of the films would inform the character over time.

On January 13, 2018, Virginia Gardner, Miles Robbins, Dylan Arnold, and Drew Scheid were confirmed to play Allyson's friends. On January 16, 2018, Will Patton was publicized to have joined the film's roster. He was later joined by Rob Niter, both actors being announced to portray police officers, as well as British actress Rhian Rees, who was cast as a character named Dana. Speaking of the cast, Nick Castle stated that "What I like about this (new film) is they've got some really good young actors. They fleshed out the relationship of Jamie's character with her daughter and her granddaughter. And they made some choices that I think are really bold choices about who these people are and why they are the way they are now."

On July 27, 2018, it was announced that a sound-alike actor would provide a voice-over for Dr. Sam Loomis, who was originally portrayed by Donald Pleasence. Loomis is voiced by sound-alike comedian Colin Mahan. In the film, the voice of Dr. Loomis is heard when Aaron and Dana listen to a recording of Loomis, made three months after the events of the original film, where Loomis advises that Michael be executed, to the point that he requested that he be allowed to actually confirm that Michael's heart had stopped beating for himself and then witness as the body was cremated, claiming that Michael needed to be killed because there was no point in keeping evil alive.

Additionally, P. J. Soles, who had portrayed Lynda van der Klok, Michael's final victim, in the original film, cameos as a teacher.

Filming
Principal production began on January 13, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. Originally, it was set to begin in late October 2017, but was delayed until January. Michael Simmonds served cinematography duties, with Paul Daley and Stewart Cantrell operating the camera. According to Danny McBride, the horror of the film aims to create a sense of tension and dread to the audience rather than relying on graphic violence; the make-up and visual effects were provided by Christopher Nelson. Jamie Lee Curtis finished her scenes on February 16, 2018, with the remaining principal photography concluding on February 19, 2018. Response to the film's first test screening led the filmmakers to schedule reshoots beginning June 11, 2018. Filming once again took place in Charleston.

Courtney had a week of rehearsal before filming began. Nelson used a life cast of his face to construct the Michael Myers mask and other prosthetics worn by the actor. The mask was weathered and aged to reflect the character's "authentic evolution" since the original. Courtney was involved in every scene featuring Myers, including those of Nick Castle, who was only involved for a minimal amount of filming, which Castle described to the journalists on set as a cameo appearance: "Jim is our Michael Myers now." Castle reprises his role in one scene with Curtis and did all of Michael Myers' breathing sounds in post-production. Castle expressed that it was the filmmakers' intention to maintain the atmosphere of the original and that, like the 1978 film, "it's very neighborhood-centric... There are a lot of things coinciding (in the new film) that feel like clever ways to introduce a kind of déjà vu of the first one, without feeling like it's being copied. It was the first thing out of their mouths really: 'We want to do it like John [Carpenter] did it.'"

Nelson accompanied Courtney throughout filming, providing him with acting advice from his own knowledge of the characters of the Halloween films. Nelson had been interviewed and examined for the film by Akkad and Green after a conversation with Blumhouse producer Ryan Turek, who he was already acquainted with. Collaborating with fellow make-up effects artist Vincent Van Dyke, some of his designs and concepts were initially rejected due to legal complications, which were later straightened out as he began his work on the film. Rather than trying to copy the design of the original mask, he intended on recapturing what he described as the visual "feeling" of it. Because the film is set forty years after the events of the original, he studied the decomposition and wrinkling of forty-year-old masks over time while outlining his take on Myers's look, "You're not creating just a mask. You're creating a feeling that you get that does have an expression.. But also the mask looks completely different in every single angle it's ever been photographed at, and I wanted that feeling too." Courtney was hired after Nelson advised Green not to cast a hulking stuntman in the role in compliance with the first film.

Music
After previously providing the score for the original Halloween, Halloween II, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, John Carpenter confirmed in October 2017 that he had made a deal to score the 2018 release. Regarding his take on the sequel, he said, "I'll be consulting with the director to see what he feels. I could create a new score, we could update the old score and amplify it, or we could combine those two things. I'll have to see the movie to see what it requires."

Release
Halloween had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, as part of its Midnight Madness section. It was theatrically released on October 19.

Marketing
The CinemaCon film convention premiered exclusive footage on April 25, 2018, garnering positive reactions from those in attendance. The film had a presentation at the San Diego Comic-Con in Hall H on July 20, 2018, with Jamie Lee Curtis, David Gordon Green, Malek Akkad, and Jason Blum in attendance. During the panel, which featured an extended scene and trailer, Curtis discussed how the film ties in with the Me Too movement, describing it as a film about "trauma", stating, "[Laurie's] taking back her narrative. She has carried the trauma and PTSD of someone who was attacked [...] And there comes a point where you say, I am not a victim. And this is a person who has been waiting 40 years [for the chance]."

Merchandising
Trick or Treat Studios obtained the official costume licensing rights for the film. Both Nelson and Vincent Van Dyke joined their design team, who used toolings from the screen-used mold of Michael Myers's mask to adapt it for mass market sale. The company NECA will be releasing action figures of both Michael Myers and, for the first time ever, Laurie Strode from the film.

Home media
Halloween will be released digitally on December 28, 2018, and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on January 15, 2019.

Box office
, Halloween has grossed $159.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $93.8 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $253 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film made $7.7 million from Thursday night previews, the third-highest ever for an R-rated horror film after It and Paranormal Activity 3. Halloween then grossed $33.3 million on its first day (including previews) and went on to debut to $76.2 million, marking the second-best ever opening weekend of October and the highest of the Halloween franchise. Its opening performance was also the best-ever for a film starring a lead actress over 55 years old. With its weekend performance alone, the film became the highest-grossing of the franchise. The film dropped 58% in its second weekend but retained the top spot, grossing $32 million. After making $5.5 million on Halloween day (a Wednesday), the film then made $10.8 million in its third weekend, falling to fifth.

Worldwide, it earned more than around $100 million, including $12–30 million from 21 markets internationally. It ended up having a global opening weekend of $90.5 million, including $14.3 million from outside the United States. The largest markets were Mexico ($5 million), the United Kingdom ($3.6 million) and Russia ($1.8 million). The film made another $25.6 million from international markets in its second weekend, for a running total of $45.6 million.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 313 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic – yet still effective – ingredients." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by the last Halloween film starring Curtis, Halloween: Resurrection. PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 75% positive score and a 65% "definite recommend," and social media monitor RelishMix noted a "positive buzz" response to the film online.

Peter Debruge of Variety felt that the film brings the series back to its roots, calling it "an act of fan service disguised as a horror movie. The fact it works as both means that [director] Green [...] has pulled off what he set out to do, tying up the mythology that Carpenter and company established, while delivering plenty of fresh suspense — and grisly-creative kills — for younger audiences". Writing for The Verge, Bryan Bishop said the film was "better than almost every other sequel in the franchise" and "a fitting coda to a story that began 40 years ago", while Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly described it as "a faithful, fundamental sequel (and funny too)". In his review for Bloody Disgusting, Joe Lipsett wrote, "All in all, Halloween is a worthy entry in the franchise [...] Everything really clicks at the finale, which makes sense considering the film exists to pit Laurie against Michael. And in this capacity, Halloween doesn't disappoint". Jonathan Barkan of Dread Central wrote, "Halloween pays loving and respectful homage to the 1978 original while making a very bold and decisive claim for its own existence," also noting, "... this is quite possibly the scariest Michael Myers has ever been." Laura Di Girolamo of Exclaim gave the film 7/10 and wrote, "This Halloween doesn't redefine the slasher genre as the 1978 original did, and that's okay — it's not trying to. Instead, it's paying homage to the films that came before it and what made them work."

In a mixed review, Eric Kohn of IndieWire criticized the film's dialogue and staging, but said "Carpenter's own Halloween was itself a bumpy ride, made on the cheap, but carried along by the director's firm grasp on his potent themes. The new one works overtime to keep them intact, while communing with the first installment in every possible way — from that famously creepy synth score to the blocky orange credits that bookend the story". RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico gave Halloween two out of four stars, writing it "is admirable in its thematic relation to Carpenter's vision, but the no-nonsense, tightly-directed aspect of the influential classic just isn't a part of this one. Carpenter's movie is so tautly refined that the sometimes incompetent slackness of this one is all the more frustrating. As is the complete lack of atmosphere, another strength of the original". Forbes' Scott Mendelson thought the film is "not very good or tightly-directed, and it fails as a character play and a scary movie".

Accolades
The film was the runner-up for Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award at this Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.

Sequel
In June 2018, McBride confirmed that he and Green had originally intended to pitch two films that would be shot back-to-back, and then decided against it, waiting to see the reaction to the first film: "We were going to shoot two of them back-to-back. Then we were like, 'Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This could come out, and everyone could hate us, and we'd never work again. So, let's not have to sit around for a year while we wait for another movie to come out that we know people aren't going to like.' So, we were like, 'Let's learn from this, and see what works, and what doesn't.' But we definitely have an idea of where we would go [with] this branch of the story and hopefully we get a chance to do it."

In September 2018, producer Jason Blum said that "we will do a sequel if the movie performs".

By October 2018, after the film's opening weekend, McBride confirmed that early development on a sequel had begun.

On December 1, 2018, John Carpenter confirmed he is going to compose the music for the sequel. "We've been putting together some music," he says, but states that his band, which comprises of son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, is currently taking a break. "The group is not intensely working on anything," he says, "but we'll get back together and do some more stuff. We need to rest now after Halloween and keep out of sight. We don't need to bug anybody now."