Michael Myers faces Laurie Strode for one last time, massacring whoever stands in his way.
Mixed bag of feelings but highly recommended. I’ll keep this one deliberately short as I’d love you to watch it and make up your mind. I did recommend Halloween Kills (2021): https://kaygazpro.com/2021/10/30/halloween-kills-2021-horror-thriller/ and I definitely recommend this one. Halloween Kills provides a great sequel to Halloween (2018) and also provides an answer to the most significant question of both the canonical and non-canonical films: Why does Michael Myers seem invincible… on Halloween day? Respectively, Halloween Ends provides the ending (?) all Halloween films – especially the canonical ones – deserve (?). Maybe, on the way there you’ll pick on a few “narrative discrepancies”, but, no matter what, an end needs to be put to the saga of Michael Myers who had been leaving behind him piles of bodies and very long blood trails, for a very long time (?).
David Gordon Green helms it one more time, balancing action, drama, comedy, and horror in a way that let many fans down and even though some of the “accusations” have a solid basis, some of them are as brutal as Myers. What needs to be said is that Jamie Lee Curtis is still the iconic Laurie Strode who set the solid foundation of the modern dynamic on-screen heroines.
Despite its flaws, I hope you enjoy it. It’s Halloween and this one seems to be the appropriate film/finale for the “spooktacular pumpkin period” (bad joke, I know).
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A woman who struggles with everyday life engages with every aspect of her multiverse self to save every universe.
Funny, exciting, surrealistic, and absolutely brilliant! The opening sequence at the laundromat sets the film’s pace and rhythm. It introduces the heroes and heroines, establishes their characters, and makes it clear where everyone stands in the world. The dialogues are sharp, the editing is “snappy”, and the inciting incident (Alpha Waymond) moves the story forward to the second act.
From then on, The Matrix (1999) meets The One (2001). The Multiverse and the infinite versions of everyone’s self clashing create a concoction of euphoric and exciting emotions that, combined with the action and the underlying drama, offers a unique cinematic experience. I am certain that full analyses will be written in the near and distant future about this film, but, for now, I’ll just leave you with these few comments in an attempt to urge you to watch it. If I were still a film student or ignorant of how the ropes work, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how writers/directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka the Daniels) pitched that script to production companies. Honestly, how does anyone ask for funding, pitching sequences where a butt-naked security guy jumps out of nowhere and lands on an oval tax award, aiming to connect to a different universe and engage with a more equipped to the occasion self? How about a female couple with hotdog fingers, licking each other’s mustard… Yes, hotdog fingers. Licking each other’s mustard – no euphemisms, here!
Being a bit more pragmatic/cynical nowadays though, and by reading the end credits, I can only assume that executive producers Joe and Anthony Russo made the green light turn a lot easier just by showing up. The Russos believed in the Daniels’ script and helped bring it to life. And, personally, I applaud them. Actually, I applaud all cast and crew for giving themselves 100%. And by doing so, Everything Everywhere All At Once became A24’s greatest financial and critical success. Michelle Yeoh matures like the finest wine and for over three decades has offered nothing but excitement, cry, and laughter, and, here, all of the above. Alongside her, Ke Huy Quan, best known for his stellar performances as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Data in Goonies (1985), Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, and, the one and only, Jamie Lee Curtis who will have you in stitches.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is your must-see for this year and so is Men (2022): https://kaygazpro.com/2022/06/29/men-2022-drama-horror-sci-fi/, another A24 cinematic achievement. I may constantly sound like I’m sponsored by A24, but rest assured I am not. I praise them because they have the guts to produce scripts that other production companies wouldn’t even read ten pages. They are phenomenal in what they do and they immensely add to the worldwide cinema’s evolution.
Please, don’t forget to share, and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me onhttps://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Michael Myers escapes from the trap he was led into and kills whoever stands in his way in the town of Haddonfield.
David Gordon Green and Danny McBride keep the legend alive and perpetuate the thrill of Michael Myers. Great almost 20′ investment to introduce new characters and resurface some of the old ones. That’s also great way to bridge the past and the present and move on into what is about to happen. The first massacre was a bit too “Hollywood” for me; too fast, too bloody… something like an out-of-context standoff that the filmmakers felt like throwing in. Before I even manage to process it properly though, the home invasion sequence was more vicious than expected. Horribly vicious.
After that, there is just a roller coaster of death! Haddonfield’s suppressed fear turns into exasperation, everyone mans up and womans up respectively, and everyone gets their sequence of blood and gore. None of them couldn’t be bloodier, some are funnier than other, some are suspenseful and other not at all, but, ultimately and most importantly, Laurie Strode is back! Jamie Lee Curtis, 43 years later, is still on the ball, still believing in her character and John Carpenter’s original vision and comes back swinging with everything she’s got. Carpenter himself, puts the producer’s hat on and immensely contributes the horror’s perpetuation. The excerpts from his original films make all the difference in the world. Onto two very important points, now…
One of the forgettable and non-canon Halloween timelines from the franchise, explains that Myers is not mortal on Halloween day and that he’s been taken over by a demon, and that’s why he is, ostensibly, unstoppable. Bear in mind that that’s the only explanation ever given, until now, about Myers’ mortality. Green and McBride though offer a different and vague explanation on Halloween Kills. See for yourselves and interpret it however you feel like it, it is open to interpretation anyway. I found it more philosophical than I found it literal, but can’t wait to hear about what other people think of Laurie’s theory.
Then, I feel there is something else that needs to be addressed. An underrated issue that has gone largely unnoticed. The importance of Michael’s mask. The reason why his face has not been yet disclosed and why it is so important to him to constantly have it on. As you may be aware, I host a podcast on horror and my next interview with the incredible psychologist Michelle Satchwell will reveal undisclosed to many information about the role of masks in the horror genre, their effectiveness, and where everything derives from. Stay tuned for more…
There are so many production details to talk about but, hey, it’s Halloween week so all you need to do is enjoy it yourselves out there in the real world, but if you decide to stay in and turn the lights off, enjoy a good night in, with Myers finding new ways to crawl under your skin. Horror should only be enjoyable in books, the small or the big screen. If you are out and about…
Tonight, I’m releasing the second part of the interview with Michelle Satchwell. Michelle analyses Martyrs and its contribution to the horror genre but she also uses it as a reference for the role of women in torture horrors. Moreover, she talks about advertisements and gender roles in the 80s, and how females have been portrayed, could have been portrayed and how that has affected the present. Last but not least, she talks about the representation of ethnic minorities and non-binary people in the film industry and what potentially the future holds.
Feminism References Evolutionary Psychologists (no specific names), they focus on reproductive success in mate selection in humans.
Tuchman (1978) Symbolic annihilation (narrow range of roles for females).
Glascock (2001) Leading female characters (e.g. Lara Croft).
Bristol Fawcett Society (2008) Imbalance in media representation.
Ferguson (1983) Forever feminine; focusing on womens’ magazines and the cult of feminity. Women focus on “him, home and looking good (for him)”.
Johnson and Young (2002) Impact of advertising on children.
McRobbie and Garber (1976) Bedroom culture.
Heidensohn (1985) Social Control of women and crime.
Westwood (1999) Transgression and Gender. “Transgressive female roles that go beyond gendered expectations”.
Gauntlett (2008) The representation of gender roles in the media. “Do the traits of the characters challenge conventional masculinity?”
Julia Kristeva (1980) Powers of Horror: An essay on Abjection.
Freud (1905) Psychosexual stages of development (Pre-Oedpial stage).
A patriarch’s ostensible suicide will pique the interest of an eccentric detective who will make everyone in the family reveal their darkest secrets.
Two major pleasures we’ve had in Thanksgiving 2019: An evening full of American football and Knives Out. Focusing on the latter, writer/director Rian Johnson offered a refreshing take on the ‘whodunit’ crime/mystery genre. He topped it up with comedic characters and hilarious shenanigans and the result was highly entertaining. Brilliantly written, directed, edited, and acted. I can’t say with certainty which actor stands out because… everyone does! And that’s what happens when almost everyone has worked with someone else in a different film and there is no bad blood at all. Well-paced, with everything falling into place as it should have. Despite the far fetched (to my liking) revelation, it definitely is one of the best films of 2019. I take my hat off to all cast and crew in front and behind the cameras. I’m not saying anything else!
Gather your family, your friends, your pets, your other half, all of them or none of the above, get something to eat and drink, and place your bets. See who’s gonna get it. Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks, it definitely worths your time and might rejuvenate your passion for the genre and might, just might, take you back to similar masterpieces of the past such as: Gosford Park (2001), The Usual Suspects (1995), Murder by Death (1976), Sleuth (1972), And Then There Were None (1945), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) up to The Last Warning (1928).
Bloodbath! Nine films after the original “Halloween” (1978), producers, actors, writers, and director managed to get it right. Ignoring all previous sequels and reboots, it pays homage to all of them. I know, right? Producer Jason Blum, writer Danny McBride and co-writer/director David Gordon Green wrote it, re-wrote it, shot it, re-shot it, re-re-shot it, Timothy Alverson re-re-re-edited it, so your visit to the cinema pays off. 40 years to the day after “Halloween”, you get a sequel with:
Soundtrack that still gives goosebumps.
DOP to remind you or get to know of the ’80s (depending on your age) well-crafted slashers.
And character-wise, the anticipation of highly respected original Laurie and Michael standing, once more, for the last time (?) toe to toe.
Gripping! Well written, well-directed, and well-acted, it is the showdown to clamour for. That said, the child inside me still wants to watch… Myers vs Voorhees! Mr. Blum, I hope you are reading.
