Halloween Is Sitting Pretty On Rotten Tomatoes

With less than two weeks between now and it’s premiere, the David Gordon Green/Danny McBride-written, Green-directed Halloween is enjoying its current status on one of the nation’s most popular critic sites. The sequel to John Carpenter’s classic from 1978 is currently ranked at 85% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes. This says a lot for a film who’s sequels not only didn’t quite compare to the first film, some were just downright not good… and I say this as a fan of the franchise.

Personally, my favorites have been the ones featuring Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode character, which is the first film, the 1981 sequel Halloween II and 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. (Yes, I purposefully left out the first ten minutes of Halloween: Resurrection because for me, it never happened, like The Godfather, Part III). As for Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers, the characters of Dr. Loomis and Jamie Lloyd (played by the legendary Donald Pleasence and “scream princess” Danielle Harris, respectively) were always intriguing and appealing, but their stories weren’t given the treatment they deserved. As for Halloween 6: The Curse Of Michael Myers, well… it gave us Paul Rudd’s second motion picture performance of his career, so there’s a positive (while Clueless was released a couple of months before Halloween 6, Rudd wrapped Halloween 6 before taking the role in Clueless).

Related – Film Critic Amy Nicholson Releases Halloween Unmasked Podcast

In regards to Rob Zombie’s duo of reimagined films, I felt his Halloween was a worthy attempt at presenting a classic character in a modernized small town. While not better than the classic, I felt the cast delivered (especially the trio of Scott Taylor-Compton, Harris and Kristina Klebe, as well as Malcolm McDowell) and the story followed the same angle with a few added elements here and there. On the other hand, I felt his sequel, while going on its own route and trying something different, didn’t sit as well with me as it’s predecessor. As for 1982’s Halloween III: The Season Of The Witch… no. We’re not going there.

Now, we have a vision from McBride and Green that not only impressed Carpenter and Curtis, but it also made Curtis reprise her role and Carpenter sign on as producer and music composer. Carpenter has been quoted as saying “these guys get it”, in regards to the McBride/Green screenplay. Moreover, a number of critics have spoken regarding what seems to be a revitalization of the franchise:

“A new coat of paint, even on a storied house of horrors such as Halloween, can do wonders.” – USA Today

“As Halloween begins to play out onscreen, it quickly becomes obvious that this story was not about Myers and Strode – it was a much more important look at how surviving isn’t living, and trauma can poison a family for several generations.” – Black Girl Nerds

“While no entry in the franchise has surpassed the the original, this Halloween sequel is truly a cut above the rest and a great piece of horror entertainment even for those unfamiliar with the series.” – IGN Movies

“For all of the deep and fascinating semiotic analysis of this film, it’s also just a great Halloween movie.” – Nerdist

“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.” – Variety

“We finally have a new Halloween movie that moves the franchise forward and respects its legacy.” – Collider

Halloween hits theaters October 19th.

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Source: Rotten Tomatoes.

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