Halloween (2018) [Blu-ray]

Anyone who is a fan of the Halloween franchise knows that the various sequels have ranged from good, to decent, to absolute garbage. And, of course, the sequel that wasn't, Halloween 3. I think everyone has slightly different ideas about which sequels fall into what categories, but for me Halloween 6 and 8 fall into the absolute garbage category (although I think 6 had some potential as a story, it was just executed horribly and suffered massive rewrites and the death of Donald Pleasance), and Halloween 4 and H20 fall within the good category. This sequel is a complete reboot of the series, acknowledging that only the original movie existed, and is almost a "what if" scenario, opinening what if Michael had been caught at the end of the first movie, and held in Smith's Grove for 40-years. It was written by David Gordon Green, Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, mostly known for the comedy genre, directed by David Gordon Green, and bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. It also brought John Carpenter back into the fold as executive producer and co-composer. Die-hard Halloween nerds will know that his name was included on many of the other sequels but he never had anything to do with them, just getting royalty rights. He famously never wanted the movie to go any farther than the first one, and if there was going to be a franchise he wanted it to be like Season of the Witch, without the Michael Myers character. Curtis, aside from playing Laurie, was also an executive producer on the movie. Of course, her character was killed off in Halloween 8, hence the need for the total reboot. In this version, Laurie is basically a basket-case who is estranged from her daughter ( played by Judy Greer) and granddaughter (played by Andi Matichak) and has been readying herself for 40-years for Michael to come back. She lives alone in the woods in what can only be described as a compound with lots of surveillance and guns. Curtis does a great job with this version of the character and does a believable portrayal of what she would be like if she never moved on from the events of that night. While the movie does pretend that the other sequels and remakes never existed, it does have a lot of easter eggs that do pay homage to the original movie and some things that were clearly inspired by the other sequels, including the last shot of the movie. It does a good job either as an end to the franchise or as a set up to further movies. Given that it did well enough at the box office and got pretty good reviews it may spawn other movies down the road and was clearly left open-ended enough to do so. For those who get the 4k blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great as you would expect. It, of course, includes the UHD blu-ray and a regular blu-ray version. The UHD has both the movie and the extras, which include about 12 minutes of deleted scenes, and then several short behind the scenes and making-of featurettes. Probably between a half hour' and 45 minutes worth of material. One thing that was not included which would have been nice, is a commentary track on the movie. I would have liked to hear the writers, director, Curtis, and Carpenter do a commentary on the movie. But what was included was very good. While I cannot say that everyone, including fans of the franchise is going to like it, but I do think it is worth checking out.

This Halloween movie is excellent! A real return to form! Technically, this is the first horror movie of the #MeToo era, and what a movie it is. The Halloween Franchise had been a bit stalled up to this point. With nowhere left to go after Rob Zombie’s reimagining, Blumhouse Studios came up with a great idea: Discount every sequel after the 1978 original and begin 40 years later setting up a whole new Timeline. Writers Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, and director David Gordon Green have done their homework. They have apparently gone back over the original film with a fine-tooth comb and are going to bring us a new trilogy packed with familiar characters coming back after all these years. One example of this is Cameron Elam, the boy Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson dates. His dad, Lonnie Elam, is also mentioned in the film; Lonnie is the little kid in the original that Dr. Loomis scares by yelling at him to get off the Myers’ front porch. There are dozens of these Easter Eggs peppered throughout the film giving a little nod to all the sequels that came before it. That also happens to be the biggest complaint from most reviewers; the movie is too much of an homage to the original and the sequels to the point that some scenes and kills are filmed in the same manner. Here’s an Easter Egg that was really subtle: After learning that Michael escaped the transfer Deputy Frank Hawkins, who arrested Michael in 1978, tries to convince Sheriff Barker of how dangerous he is. Hawkins refers to the incident in ‘78 as the Babysitter murders. That was John Carpenter’s original title for the film before it was changed to Halloween. So, it’s 4 decades later and that should make Michael Myers about 61. Not the ideal age to start a new killing spree, but hey, he looks like he’s in “Shape”. The movie establishes right away that Michael Myers is human and has no “supernatural abilities”. When watching the Halloween movies, it can be fun to count the victims and how they die, but here’s something different to do: count Michael’s injuries. When the movie opens Michael is shown outside on the courtyard at Smith’s Grove, you can clearly see his left eye is milky white due to Laurie sticking a wire coat hanger in it. An injury sustained 40 years earlier. Also, in a Deleted Scene, Laurie is shown to have a scar on her left shoulder from the night she faced off with The Shape all those years ago. With the filmmakers taking the time to put these past wounds in the film, it seems significant and HIGHLY likely that Michael’s injuries will accumulate over the course of these 3 films leading to his eventual demise/ defeat in Halloween Ends as has been teased. We’ll see. Some of these injuries may not seem like much, but again, an accumulation effect should start to occur. Michael’s Injuries: Hit on left side of face with a crowbar Hit across left arm with a wooden chair Shot in the back of left shoulder with a revolver Hit deliberately while on foot by a speeding police SUV Knocked unconscious by landing on the pavement from being hit so hard from that last one 2 fingers on left hand blown off with a shotgun; Pinky and Ring finger Grazing shot on right side of neck with a rifle Stabbed in the back with a large kitchen knife Smacked across the right side of the face and an uppercut to the chin with a cast iron skillet Fell backwards down a flight of wood stairs headfirst b/c of that last one Stabbed with a large kitchen knife on top of right shoulder Side of the wrist on right hand slashed with a large kitchen knife Kicked in the face Left to die, trapped in the basement of a house on fire …ESCAPES Michael is a mess going into Halloween Kills, which is getting buzz that it’s THIS movie on speed. Never in ANY of the sequels has Michael sustained such injuries. Depending on what happens in the next installment, Halloween Ends might be a little rough for The Shape. As far as the Strode women go, they inflicted most of the damage to Michael in this film and all walked away to fight another day, or until later that same night, that is. Thanks for taking the time to read this review. I know it's long!

I don't care what anyone thinks but this movie is pretty darn good! I have been a halloween fan since the original was released in 1978. the original is a classic. halloween 2018 is the best sequel since the original halloween 2. the rest of the films in the series, in my opinion, are just plain crap! didn't really care much for H2O either, thought it was lame. resurrection was a big disappointment too. this new film gets back to the basics of what made halloween so great. is it a perfect film?, no, but it is good one. almost no movie is perfect but this film comes close. sure the film makers made a few mistakes but come on, this attempt brought back michael myers in a good way, long, long over due. for those of you that disagree, that's your opinion. one thing that really bothers me is why people feel that the less you see the better. the old slasher movies were never allowed to show much, especially blood and gore. I still love old horror movies, especially the universal monster films but I also love the slasher movies from the 80's. horror movies used to leave it up more to your imagination like the original halloween and many other films that were made in the past. that's ok but I like a movie to be more realistic. I mean, come on, a psycho running around slashing people with a knife and there's no blood? I just find this to be unrealistic. that's the one thing I didn't like about the original halloween and many other horror films. I guess many people feel you don't need to see all that blood and gore but I disagree. many horror films today go over the top and perhaps show too much, well, that is true but I think you must have a certain amount to keep it more in touch with reality. halloween 2018 had just right amount of bloodshed, not too much not too little. the mask that was created for this movie was awesome! the best since the original two. the ending could have been more original but what is there to do? michael myers has been killed several times already. possibly, the only thing left is to maybe blow him to pieces or totally dismember him. I guess their going to make another one but maybe that's not a good idea, I mean, how many more times are they going to do the same thing over and over. I love michael myers more than anyone but maybe they should put an end to it all. I think they should just kill them both off once and for all. I'm always happy to see a good halloween movie but maybe enough is enough. with all it's faults I love halloween 2018, long live michael myers!

First off ... I'm a big fan of the original. I can still watch it today and be spooked by "The Shape" - his very presence scares the crap out of me! I did see some of the sequels but none ever could compare to the original. It was truly that for it's time. So I watched the Blu-Ray of Halloween 2018 with some hesitation, but was quite happy with the results. For me, it's the companion piece to the original - picking up 40 years later. It surpasses all of the sequels and Zombie remakes. But then again, I don't really need everything to be explained or to be provided with any "reason" as to why Michael does what he does. I'm fine with the fact that "The Shape" is pure evil! And the doctor in this version is trying to understand what Michael "feels" and what makes him tick. But we never get any "facts" or "reasons" - which is why I love this version. It doesn't try to justify his existence or why he is so intent on killing Laurie Strode. Probably like so many serial killers, there is no ryhme or reason as to why they kill. So I'm just fine in watching the movie and enjoying the plot. I also like the little "nods" throughout the movie that pay homage to the original ... little things to be sure, but was great to watch them and think back on the original. And yes, now Laurie Strodes is ready for Michael. Jamie Lee is great as Laurie 40 years later. She's strong and no longer the scared teen from the original. The action was well paced and the storyline done well. As for the print quality of this release, it's stellar! The blacks are saturated but not overly dark and the details are clean and crisp. The big thing is this actually feels like "Halloween", whereas the original was bright as it was shot in CA. This one feels and looks like Fall. Now I just wish they would remaster the original and get the colors correct. Highly recommend this Blu-Ray for both quality and story!

I'm writing this in 2022, so I will be doing my best to look at it independent of my feelings about the subsequent two films. To be honest, I don't have nearly as much to say about Halloween (2018) as I did about Halloween Ends. This review will contain some light spoilers and possibly spoilers for Kills and Ends. I'll start by repeating the feelings expressed in the headline: this movie isn't perfect, but it is absolutely the best sequel we've had in this franchise for many, many years. I'm likely in the minority in being a Halloween fan that genuinely enjoys the Thorn trilogy that followed Season of the Witch. It's bad in many ways, to be sure, but there's a lot about it I really enjoy, and most of all I enjoy it because I see the potential for what could have been and maybe could be in the future if a good director is bold enough to try and salvage that potential. That's more or less how I feel about this film as well. There are some great things about this movie like the scoring (the music here gives me chills, I absolutely love what Carpenter did with the original themes), the acting, and Michael himself. The set-up for Michael is also great with the indie podcaster awakening Michael by bringing his mask back to him. That said, there was a lot of potential that unfortunately did not make it to screen. Michael is absolutely savage in this film, and I feel it every time he's on screen. Halloween (2018) does a great job of respecting its mascot and giving him all the menace and atmosphere he's earned as the progenitor of the slasher movie genre. I'll even go as far as to say James Jude Courtney is my favorite Michael, and the mask in this film is equally superior to its predecessors. The kills are also very well done. Jamie Lee Curtis' acting is on-point as well. Despite playing a much more unorthodox version of Laurie Strode, she really exudes the trauma, paranoia, and brokenness that defines this version of Laurie. Those aspects as well as the entirety of the final fight scene at the end of the film between the three generations of Strodes and Michael are almost certainly the highlights of the movie. Now for the parts I did not like as much. Right off the bat, I don't think it's inherently bad to have a sequel that only follows the timeline of the original film. I don't think it's the best choice as Halloween 2 really solidified the franchise imo, but that's just my feelings on it. However, the way Halloween (2018) was written would make a heck of a lot more sense if it included Halloween 2. In this movie, Michael Myers was apparently captured and jailed in an asylum following the babysitter killings from 1978. I don't want to be insensitive in saying any one person has to deal with their own trauma in some particular way, but Laurie's reaction to her experience stills feels incredibly overboard here. Michael doesn't have the same level of inhuman feats and the sheer body count as he wracked up in subsequent movies, but what Laurie becomes and the mythical status Michael achieves in Haddonfield over one night of spree killing doesn't feel earned here. To add to that, Laurie's paranoia that Michael is supposedly going to come for her would make even more sense if they had kept the brother/sister connection, as we're given no justification by Laurie or Hawkins, or any of the others present at the original killings as to why Michael would have any special interest in her. The doctor acting as our Loomis replacement suggests some special connection between the two, but this is never substantiated in the film, and is of course outright stated to be untrue in Kills. I don't hate this Sarah Conner style Laurie Strode out of hand, but I do think she would have felt much more believable if we had the events of Halloween 2 included in her backstory. As it is, we're given next to no additional information as to what was going on in her life between 1978 and 2018, and are left with a somewhat flimsy pretext for the core conflict of the film. The other main issue of this movie is the dialogue. I remember when I first watched this movie I felt that a lot of the dialogue was really strange and felt totally unnatural. After watching Kills and Ends as well, I think DGG just likes this kind of oddly written dialogue since all three films have similar issues. This plagues so many characters like Allyson's father, Allyson's friend who was trying too hard to be Clark Duke, her friend Vicky, and the boy she was babysitting. As an aside, while I found Julian to be quite funny in the scene where Vicky is attacked and killed, the dialogue was still strangely written, and the kid's levity kind of took away from the tension for me. It was an odd choice in my opinion. I did like the cinematography here, especially in the first half of the movie, but the nighttime scenes were almost too dark in certain places. Overall, I think this would have been better served as a stand alone film rather than the start of a trilogy, especially since this particular trilogy only became worse and worse as it went on. So I'll give it credit as being both a very solid addition to the franchise as a whole, and a bright spot in an otherwise dismal trio of films.

Halloween is my favorite horror franchise and this film is the best one since the original two films. I will say that I wasn’t happy that once again Halloween retconned other films and especially eliminating Halloween II (1981) which is my favorite of the series. However, I was enthralled in the story and the kills. Seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back and her character being complexed with her relationships and her obsession with Michael Myers, who was emancipated from the family for this film, which I was also annoyed by. This trilogy of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode’s last stands is something I have looked forward to. The writing is great and is very self aware while also having levity without being corny. The directing is also fantastic and keeps the pace going, giving scares when the audience gets too relaxed and the climax is very menacing and does the Shape proud. The film entertains and with the knowledge of Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends (are these seriously the titles???) we know that for a little while we will see more Michael Myers roaming Haddonfield in search of his sister...I mean victim? I am glad for that and with Blumhouse producing it...they’ll be classics for sure! My hope is that Blumhouse can make an appropriately fitting remake of the original in 2028 for the 50th anniversary and allow Halloween to RIP 🪦

Big fan from the days of the original when Michael's blank mask gave me nightmares in the early 80s as a 10 yo kiddo. Of all the sequels I've only ever really cared for the second which really heightened his unworldliness as a slow, mechanical stalker. So it was with great pleasure that I saw this 2018 version and can rank it right up there after the original and before the second. I was very happy that the director and writers treated Michael with the reverence and seriousness/reserve that he lost in the various follow ups from IV onward. There was no climbing on the roof or riding around on the top of a redneck's pickup or other ridiculous scenarios. There was just Michael silently coming out of frame delivering his brutal outcomes. I thought the death of the obnoxious friend was particularly well done with the interplay of the motion detector lights going black … and waiting for it. Heh. The final shot of him looking up with a hate at Laurie and family where you can actually see his eye for the first time is classic. Picture quality on the BD was excellent, and I loved, loved, the Carpenter boys' score. Recommended.

I'm a big Halloween fan, and I even liked the first Rob Zombie Halloween. However, while I liked the first Zombie Halloween, I could understand why many Halloween fans did not. To each their own. But this Halloween largely brings back a lot of what made the original great. And that quite simply is the philosophy that less is more. Gone is any known motive for why Michael Myers kills. Gone is any explanation for why he is so invincible and strong. Gone is any reason for who he kills (the brother-sister connection with Laurie Strode has been retconned). He's simply a mysterious killing machine that no one really knows anything about... it's not even known if he is truly human or if he is something else entirely. Also, like the original Halloween, this movie relies more on situational and atmospheric horror rather than jump scares or the over-the-top gore and violence (shock horror) that was prevalent in the Zombie Halloween movies. This Halloween is truly back to form of the original. Even the movie itself, though it is a movie released in 2018, feels like a movie that was made in the 70s. I personally loved this movie, but I will say that this Michael as mysterious as he is, somehow feels more human than the previous incarnations... mainly because he's been imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for 40 years... which just seems odd to me. I can't picture Michael Myers complying for 40 years, eating food, listening to order, etc. And he isn't as intimidating as Zombie's Halloween (after all, it's hard to overcome a 6' 8" Tyler Mane version of Michael). And just one gripe that really doesn't have anything to do with the movie itself. I also found it weird that they simply called this movie "Halloween". This is essentially Halloween 2 (replacing the original Halloween 2)... and they should have called it that or given it a subtitle or something. Because I'd imagine it'd be a little confusing if someone is new to the series and they see two "Halloween" movies and wouldn't immediately know one is a sequel to the other.

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Llegó super rápido, como siempre Amazon es el mejor; la película trae el Blu-ray, DVD y en versión digital; el DVD es región uno por lo qué si tu reproductor Blu-ray es hecho aquí en México, no leerá el DVD, en cuanto al Blu-ray la imagen y el audio es, muy bueno, tiene escenas qué quitaron, y muchos extras más; trae slipcover y está genial la máscara tiene el relieve de cada parte; no duden en comprarla, es una gran película.

Got it in an excellent condotion. Great video quality.

I already had one of these but it was stolen so i bought this replacement. The movie looks fantastic and the packaging is great. I love this movie and will always have a copy of it in my collection. It took FOREVER to show up cuz my countries postal service went on strike. 😒

Got it for a best mate. He’s a die hard fan of the movie. He loves the covering and the DVd