_poster.jpg){kind=link}
Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride. It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series and a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name while effecting a retcon of all previous sequels. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, with stuntman James Jude Courtney also portraying Myers. The film also stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, and Virginia Gardner. Its plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she survived his killing spree.
After the release of Rob Zombie's Halloween II, the 2009 sequel to the 2007 remake of the original, two consecutive follow-ups went into development from former rights holder Dimension Films, respectively, but neither achieved fruition. As a result, the studio lost the rights to the intellectual property, which were later obtained by Blumhouse Productions with John Carpenter's involvement. Carpenter, who disagreed with the remake's portrayal of lead killer Michael Myers, planned on helping the studio to make the next Halloween film into what he believed to be more terrifying than the preceding sequels. Filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, who were already fans, proposed their vision to Blumhouse and Carpenter. It was accepted and developed into a sequel to the original, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle reprising their roles as Strode and Myers, respectively.
Halloween was filmed from January to February of 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina before reshoots took place that June. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by Universal Pictures, the distributor's first involvement with the series since Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many considering it to be both the best Halloween sequel and a return to form for the series, while also receiving particular praise for Curtis' performance. It grossed over $255 million worldwide and is the highest-grossing slasher film in unadjusted dollars, breaking a record that Scream had previously set in 1996 as well as setting several other box-office records. Two sequels, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, are scheduled to be released on October 15, 2021 and October 14, 2022 respectively.
Plot[]
On October 29, 2018, Michael Myers, who has been institutionalized at Smith's Grove Psychiatric Hospital for 40 years following his killing spree in Haddonfield, is being prepared for transfer to a maximum-security prison. True crime podcasters Aaron Korey and Dana Haines visit the hospital and, during their encounter, Aaron displays the mask that Michael wore in 1978 to him, to no effect. The following day, as he is being transferred, the bus crashes and patients began to wander into the road. The accident causes a father and son to stop to see what is going on. Michael murders them both, takes their truck and returns to Haddonfield.
In Haddonfield, Laurie Strode lives in fear of Michael; she is drinking heavily and rarely leaves her fortified house. She has a strained relationship with her daughter Karen Nelson, whom the state took away from her at age 12. Allyson, Laurie's granddaughter, does try to maintain a relationship with her grandmother.
On the morning of October 31, Michael sees Aaron and Dana visiting his sister Judith's grave. He follows them to a gas station where he kills them both, as well as a mechanic for his coveralls, before recovering his mask from Aaron's car. Deputy Frank Hawkins, who arrested Michael in 1978, tries to convince Sheriff Barker that Michael is dangerous after learning that he has escaped. Laurie also learns of Michael's escape and attempts to warn Karen, but Karen dismisses her concerns, urging Laurie to move on with her life.
Later that night, Allyson finds her boyfriend Cameron Elam cheating on her at a costume party and leaves with his friend Oscar Berlucchi. Meanwhile, while babysitting a boy named Julian, Allyson's best friend Vicky and her boyfriend Dave are attacked by Michael. Dave is killed and Vicky sacrifices herself to protect Julian Morrisey, who escapes, and the police are called. Deputy Hawkins and Laurie overhear the incident on the radio and go over to the house. Laurie sees Michael for the first time in 40 years. Laurie shoots Michael in the shoulder before he flees. The police take Laurie, Karen, and her husband Ray to Laurie's home for protection and a squad car remains outside the residence. Deputy Hawkins promises to find Allyson and bring her to be with the family.
Dr. Ranbir Sartain, Michael's psychiatrist and former student of Dr. Sam Loomis, persuades Sheriff Barker to help in the hunt for Michael. Meanwhile, as Allyson and Oscar walk home from the party, Michael kills Oscar, but Hawkins and Sartain arrive just in time to rescue Allyson. Deputy Hawkins then tries to kill Michael, but Dr. Sartain – who has become obsessed with Michael's enigmatic motivations – attacks and leaves Hawkins for dead. It is revealed that he orchestrated Michael's escape to study him "in the wild." Dr. Sartain then heads towards Laurie's home with an unconscious Michael and Allyson locked in the backseat together. Michael wakes up and kills Sartain while Allyson flees from the scene. Michael then ambushes and kills two police officers that are outside Laurie's home.
When Laurie's son-in-law Ray goes outside to greet who he believes are the two officers, to ask if they had located Allyson, Michael strangles him to death. Laurie manages to get Karen to safety before she engages in a showdown with Michael. Laurie severely injures Michael, including shooting off some of his fingers, but he stabs her in the abdomen and pushes her over a balcony. When Michael goes to check Laurie's body, he finds it missing, reminiscent of their first encounter decades ago. Allyson arrives and calls out for her grandmother, luring Michael and allowing Karen to shoot him in the jaw. Laurie suddenly reappears and attacks Michael, trapping him inside the safe room with Karen and Allyson's help. The trio sets the house ablaze, and Laurie says goodbye to Michael before she begins to faint and lets her daughter and granddaughter quickly hitchhike a passerby vehicle to take her to the hospital. A final shot of the burning basement is shown, with Michael nowhere in sight. In a post-credits scene, Michael's breathing is heard, indicating that he has survived.