This is one of the most difficult questions ever posed to me.
After deep consideration, my favorite franchise can only be Halloween. There is no other option.
Of course there is The Godfather, and I would be remiss not to mention the Charlie’s Angels series of films, but the first two Halloween films were shown to me at such an impressionable age that I frankly have a hard time seeing the merit of any other film series.
It was my dear departed grandmother who first introduced me to Laurie Strode and her demonic brother, though the most recent sequels have (rightfully) jettisoned this clunky bit of business. It was not until years later that I saw any of the further sequels, beginning with the rather lackluster Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and followed immediately on the same night (at granny’s insistence) by Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. I still remember the piercing disappointment when Halloween 5 began and I realized it would not be picking up on the delectable cliffhanger ending of the fourth installment.
In years to come, I would see each and every installment in the Halloween series…several times over. Not only do I find the worst installments in this particular franchise to be the most re-watchable, I also find them to be genuinely superior to the more straight-laced Halloween films. Part one versus part two? Well, part one is great, definitely the better “film”. Part two, however, is a “movie”, a far more entertaining slasher rollercoaster ride. The fifth installment, with its wacky comedy cops and the brutally atonal Tina, is to be greatly superior to the dull, cuddly fourth installment that seems to be trying a bit too hard to capture something that has eluded the franchise since Carpenter’s original. (For the record, I find the underrated, Myers-less part three Halloween: Season of the Witch to be not only one of the superior sequels, but the one that does come the closest to evoking the original’s autumnal dread.)
I do believe the less said the better of Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, a film that almost entirely abandons the slasher formula in exchange for a dull conspiracy thriller.
And while Halloween: H20 does benefit from a strong Jamie Lee Curtis performance and a brisk running time, it plays now as more of a pale Scream imitation than one may desire.
Halloween: Resurrection is indisputably the worst film in the series, and of course is my favorite. A deeply silly cash-grab that immediately does away with the good will established by its canon-resetting predecessor, Resurrection begins by killing off Laurie Strode in the most disrespectful fashion, and then immediately digs in on early-2000’s trends like reality TV, rappers in horror flicks, and Matrix-style kung fu showdowns – here, we get the mash-up that nobody was clamoring for in Busta Rhymes vs. Michael Myers. It is truly wild. Tyra Banks pops up in a thankless part, entertaining only in the brief instance where her dead body does appear to “smeyes”.
While Halloween is my favorite franchise, it does not mean I have to acknowledge all of the films in the series and that is the route I chose long ago to take with Mr. Robert Zombie’s remake and its sequel. I understand them to be divisive, but for my money the Zombie Halloween movies are not what I enjoy about the horror genre. Shrill, amateur-ish, but beautifully shot pieces of boring, repellent nonsense – the both of them.
David Gordon Green has re-invigorated the franchise in recent years, giving us the rather brilliant sequel to the 1978 original (also called Halloween, though one wishes for a less risk-averse studio that would have simply titled it Halloween 2). Jamie Lee Curtis returned for this 2018 installment to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, joined by Judy Greer and Andi Matichak as the daughter and granddaughter, respectively, living in the shadows of Laurie’s encounter with The Shape 40 years ago. Green’s first sequel in the franchise is a near-perfect fusion of the low key character drama that Green made his name on in the late 90’s, fused with an occasionally gonzo slasher flick and topped off with one of the most satisfying climaxes in any horror film, let alone a sequel.
Green’s return to Haddonfield, with 2021’s Halloween Kills, was unfortunately a deeply silly cash-grab that immediately did away with the good will established by its canon-resetting predecessor – where’ve we heard that before? Get ready to hear something else you already know: I love Halloween Kills, probably more than the 2018 installment.
Now, of course I understand the criticism. How could I not?! It’s my favorite franchise! Halloween Kills is shakily scripted, hastily directed, and more of a Friday the 13th sequel than a continuation of the Michael Myers canon. I cannot recall a sequel in history that more flagrantly ignores and destroys each element that made Green’s 2018 installment sing. The way it treats returning legacy characters is by and large indefensible and entirely confounding. Nancy Stephens and Charles Cyphers, reprising their roles from the first two sequels, are savagely wasted. Judy Greer is given little to do but reprise her “Gotcha” moment from the first, such a strong moment in the 2018 installment and here little more than an Arnold-style catchphrase. Jamie Lee Curtis spends the entire film in a hospital bed, one of the main criticisms of the original Halloween 2, but here she does not even face off against The Shape in the final act. The only exception to this horrendous treatment of legacy characters is Lindsey Wallace, who is reprised by original actor Kyle Richards in a spunky, grounded performance. The film treats her character with respect, perhaps understanding that Kyle Richards may in the future be one of the main selling points of this franchise – an absolutely insane sentence that I never thought I would write. (Richards, doing probably the best work of her career in Halloween Kills, clearly was not given the memo issued to the rest of the cast that the 2021 installment would be decidedly lower quality in all departments than its predecessor, and as a result she comes across as the only truly present thesp on hand.)
So why do I like it? Because it’s insane. Because it is a Friday the 13th version of Halloween, which should not work but weirdly does as strictly popcorn entertainment. Because there is a scene in the film where Michael Myers operates a car door in such a manner that it causes a person to shoot themselves through the mouth. Because a succession of talented comedians – Lenny Clarke, Michael McDonald, Scott MacArthur, Diva Tyler, even Bob Odenkirk! – are on hand as a variety of victims that meet increasingly sticky ends. Because the opening flashbacks to 1978 are exquisitely rendered, and the entire film looks gorgeous as most David Gordon Green films do. Because I am nothing if not a man with suspect tastes.
It would give me no greater pleasure than to give a review of the forthcoming conclusion in Green’s trilogy, Halloween Ends. Unfortunately I cannot, because I do not possess any special or early access to a film that is still four months from release. You can bet, though, that I’ll be counting the days, and if you find yourself at the Kips Bay 15 in Manhattan for the first showing of Halloween Kills on October 14, 2022, do say hello because I can promise you I will be there. Row D, seat 7.
I’ve waited for this night. I’m coming for you, Michael.
Unsolicited Criticism 