It was some random night in 1978, when my sister came home in what you could call an agitated state. She’d just seen the movie Halloween and was so excited, she had to tell my Mom and I all about it. Lesley described, in graphic detail, everything she’d seen onscreen. She then went to the living room and picked out the theme-song on our piano.
I was in elementary school at the time and was so freaked out by Lesley’s detailed story, I couldn’t sleep for a week. I didn’t SEE Halloween until it played on HBO much later, but it was somehow even more horrible (meaning AWESOME) than I’d imagined.
It’s hard for me to write an objective review of this new Halloween because the original made such an impact on me. Seeing the title sequence and hearing that famous song last night was my Chewie, We’re Home moment. I cheered, pumped my fist, and even teared up. I also loved every second of the movie that followed, even though it’s guilty of some over-acting, dorky dialogue and possibly the worst onscreen-Psychiatrist ever. I’m giving this new Halloween an A though, because it lives up to it’s predecessor and helped me relive the thrills that stoked my early love of scary movies (even with that awful Donald Pleasence-wannabe).
BUT, can you take your kids?
Well, the MPAA has rated Halloween R for “horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity.” That means this Halloween has just about the same amount of BAD STUFF as the first Halloween. There’s even less sexuality in this one though, and the “nudity” actually comes in the form of a clip from the original. So, if you’re kids have already seen the first Halloween, they won’t see anything in this one they haven’t encountered before.
That said, it’s still brutal, bloody and filled with shocking onscreen violence. This Halloween makes you care more about the characters before killing them off, too. That’s a change from the original, which preferred to send horny, self-centered teens to an early grave. Also, this Halloween doesn’t break the tension with much comedy. We’ve come to expect some laughs from our slasher-flicks, but you’ll spend far more time gripping your arm rest than chuckling.
That’s why I’m recommending the new Halloween to kids 15 and older, unless they’re like my 14-year-old daughter. She’s a big fan of the first film and creepy like her Mom, anyway. Her 11-year-old sister will stay home with Dad though, to watch something a little less tense, like The Walking Dead. Once you’ve decided, click here to buy tickets AND support this website: