Forty years ago, John Carpenter’s horror/slasher movie, “Halloween,” was released and scared audiences nationwide.

Now in 2018, The Shape, better known as Michael Myers, is still on the hunt for his sister, Laurie Strode.

Going into this movie I was very intrigued. It has been nine years since the last “Halloween” movie, which was directed by Rob Zombie. Zombie took the two “Halloween” movies he directed in his own direction, going a different route than the classic slasher we all know.

I was curious to see how much of the movie would be a new and fresh take, and how much would stay in line with the original story.

Michael Myers has yet again escaped captivity and is looking for one person, Laurie Strode. Myers escapes from a bus while being transported to a maximum-security prison. Forty years since the original incident, Laurie is now a mother to her daughter, Karen, and a grandmother to Allyson.

Pent up in her house in the woods, Laurie lives a life of constant fear and paranoia that Myers will return for her one day. Armed with plenty of firepower and a secret bunker under her kitchen island, Laurie has been preparing and is awaiting his return.

Laurie raised Karen and constantly pushed her paranoia and fear onto her daughter. We start to feel empathy and sorrow for Karen, and even get a clip of her being taken away from Laurie as a young girl.

Later in the movie, it’s this preparation and paranoia that was pushed on her as a child that ends up helping Karen stay alive.

There are plenty of nods to past “Halloween” movies for fans of the series. Myers returns to Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night. He walked down a Haddonfield street, filled with trick or treaters and then made his way into one of the houses. 

Myers picked up a knife off of the kitchen counter and then proceeded to kill his first victim of the movie with it. This is a nod to “Halloween II” (1981), when Myers does the same thing, and his victim is even dressed in similar clothing as in
that film.

Myers proceeded to claim a few more victims before making his way to Laurie.

The ending of the movie leaves something up to the imagination. Myers eventually finds Laurie’s house, where the Strodes were camping out. After some wrestling and fighting with Myers, the Strode women trapped him in the bunker under the kitchen island. 

They then proceed to light the house on fire, leaving Myers trapped to burn alive. The last we see of Myers is him standing in the bunker with fire engulfing the room around him. He is not shown on fire, which leaves the viewer wondering if Myers survived or not.

During the final scenes of the movie the Strodes track down a passing truck and hitch a ride. A powerful last scene, Allyson has Myer’s iconic kitchen knife tightly gripped in her hands as the truck drives off.

For audience members who stayed until the very end, during the credits they heard the faint breathing of Myers, hinting that he survived. Hopefully, this was to leave room for another installment in the series.

This movie has carried on the slasher legacy Carpenter started in the late 70s for a new generation to enjoy.

By taking bits and pieces from past Halloween movies, and adding modern day touches, Blumhouse Productions keep newer generations interested in a forty-year-old franchise.