When it comes to the Halloween movies, pretty much everyone can agree on two things: the original, 1978 movie directed by John Carpenter is amazing, and the 1981 sequel that Carpenter wrote and produced is mostly good. From there, not even the people making it can agree, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween: H20 have all effectively been the third movie in the franchise. Blumhouse’s new outing, from director David Gordon Green and co-written by Danny McBride, is said to be following on from Halloween II again…and somehow Jamie Lee Curtis will be in it.
The announcement was made (totally without context) by Blumhouse’s Twitter account, stating the movie’s release date of October 19, 2018, along with a picture of Curtis standing in front of the iconic Myers House, with the William Shatner-masked killer, who is also her older brother, stalking behind her.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode in HALLOWEEN, released by Universal Pictures October 19, 2018. #HalloweenMovie pic.twitter.com/6tbbz2W1ZV
— Blumhouse (@blumhouse) September 15, 2017
According to the official press release, the plot is: “Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.”
When we initially told you about the project, and how Carpenter was backing it 100 percent and even said he’d be interested in doing the score for it, Green and McBride (who are both executive producing as well) said they’d be following on from Halloween II and not rebooting, which I initially speculated would mean the movie would be set in 1978, or at least shortly thereafter. But with Curtis coming back to reprise her role, and Laurie evidently dealing with Michael four decades later, I’m both incorrect and puzzled.
As I mentioned up top, the Halloween series keeps trying to find a proper follow-up to the 1981 sequel. Halloween III: Season of the Witch was an attempt to make the series something like Tales from the Crypt, with a banner title allowing for different Halloween-set horror tales, but the public loudly cried that they wanted more Michael Myers. So that led, in 1988, to Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, which was effectively the third part. Curtis was not involved, and instead Laurie’s young daughter was the target. Two sequels followed in that storyline, but they got progressively worse.
Then in 1997, Curtis did return for Halloween: H20 (which I will never not call Halloween: Water) which totally ignored movies 4-6 and established that Strode went into hiding after escaping the hospital in 1978. That movie–which is very good, it has to be said–was followed by a frigging terrible entry called Halloween: Resurrection, which opened with Laurie in a mental hospital and having her third (!) final confrontation with her brother. She died in that one.
And now we’re getting yet another continuity rewrite. I’m very intrigued by this, but also slightly dubious; following on from Halloween II has been done several times already, and bringing back Laurie Strode has too. That would also mean that Michael Myers would be in his mid-60s. What if he has arthritis or has bad knees? That’s not gonna make for a super scary killer.
What’s your take on this? Let us know your Halloweeny thoughts in the comments below!
Images: Compass/Trancas/Dimension Films
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and the host of the horror documentary series One Good Scare. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
