Wow, this week has been bombshell after bombshell of entertainment revelations, huh? So much news. It’s like, there’s a convention somewhere! Wowza.
Whelp, more news, this time courtesy of Twitter instead of a panel: Blumhouse is making two more Halloween movies in the form of Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. But, the best news? Horror legend and synthesizer wunderkind John Carpenter is coming back for both, and he’s gonna jam the heck out to spook us harder than ever before.
For now, details are pretty sparse. Jason Blum pushed those characters to the limit in his long tweet though, confirming that pretty much everyone is returning, including David Gordon Green behind the camera, along with his writing pal Danny McBride. Jamie Lee is also going to blow off more of Michael’s fingers in the future installments.
The only part that truly matters though, the only part that makes this a true-to-the-exposed-bone Halloween flick is Carpenter’s return. In 2018’s sequel (or are we calling it a reboot? Because, uh, it’s not?), the only part that felt true to the original as far as quality went was the score. It didn’t feel forced as the updates and rock riffs felt natural due to this Michael’s more visceral spree. The synth jam sessions in some of the songs, in particular the credits track “Halloween Triumphant,” are just so rad. Carpenter’s the heart of the series, and the original run never felt the same after his and Debra Hill’s departures.
Am I looking forward to the (in my opinion) dumbly-named sequels? I mean…maybe? I’m a Halloween stan, but I do think both Zombie’s awful twofer and the 2018 outing didn’t quite live up to the first two films. Nothing can top those, and yes, I know the original Halloween II isn’t very good, but it’s sure as heck better than any of the other sequels. Except maybe 4? But 4 is kind of “safe,” ya know?
Honestly, I just hope these next two cut the unnecessary humor and focus specifically on dialogue and atmosphere over anything else. I have faith in Carpenter to deliver these Halloween flicks from the trash pile.
