Halloween

The previews were not wrong when they said “This isn’t just a good horror movie, it’s a good movie.” I was pleasantly surprised with the balance between the story plot and horror.

A lot of horror movies are all horror all the time, and that get in the way of the story. It has become fairly difficult for an extremely scary movie to actually be considered a “good film” because the plot has become blurred in between the reckless horror scenes. This film really tells a story while still being undoubtedly scary.

WARNING: This movie is Rated-R for nudity, gore, and language, although the woman in front of me obviously did not seem to care as she brought her two 4-year-old children. This movie is NOT for children!!

This movie is a sequel to the first Halloween movie that was released in 1978. In the previous Halloween movie -40 years ago in real life and in the plot- Michael Myers is a deranged  serial killer, who started killing by stabbing his older sister to death when he was only 6 years-old. A little later in his life, Michael goes on to kill anyone he sees-or it seems that way, and of course– in that creepy mask. He kills many of Laurie Strode’s, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in both movies, friends and peers, but Michael fails in killing her before getting detained to a mental institution.

In this movie, it starts out with Michael being locked up by a chain and detained in about a couple square foot worth of space. He has not spoken a word since he has been detained. Two investigators, Aaron and Dana, go to speak with Michael at the institution, but he did not speak to them.

We get to see the aftermath of Laurie’s life after the trauma Michael put her through. She has tons of guns at her house, she has five locks on her door, security cameras in every room, a self-made shooting range in her back yard, and has created a secret underground basement. When she had a daughter, Karen-played by Judy Greer, Karen was taken away by CPS because Laurie had forced her to become prepared for a Michael situation by shooting guns, locking her in rooms, etc. Laurie’s life-time goal is to kill Michael Myers.

We are getting a side story this whole time about Allyson, Laurie’s granddaughter played by Andi Matichak, and her life in high school with her friends. Laurie’s whole family thinks she is crazy after being traumatized after 40 years.

SPOILER (kind of not really) On Halloween of 2018, Michael Myers takes control of one of the mental institution busses and escapes. He goes on the hunt for the investigators and to take his mask back. He kills basically everyone he encounters. Before he gets his mask, he’s already killed a total of 6 people in gory, gross ways. He then goes out into the night for Halloween– and just looks like he is normal and in a costume for Halloween with his mask.

He kills everyone, literally almost everyone in this movie. He kills all of Allyson’s friends, her dad, 2 officers, and at least 8 people we don’t know who they are. Just for funsies.

It ends with Laurie, Allyson, and Karen trapping Michael in the underground basement which is actually just a death trap. Laurie pulls a lever and the whole house starts to slowly burst into flames. They get out of the house and Michael dies a slow death as he is burned… just kidding after the credits we hear him breathing, so let’s get ready for a Halloween 3. But this isn’t the first time in the movie Michael seems to be invincible. He got shot 3 times in the movie, stabbed at least 5 times, and hit by a car, yet every time, he gets up and acts like nothing happened.

SPOILER OVER

This is a classic horror movie where all of the characters seem to have less than no brain. The classic- there’s an empty running car that they could steal, yet they run into the woods instead- and you hear a simultaneous groan from the entire audience. But that just makes the movie all that more enjoyable by adding a comedy factor to the movie.

I gotta mention this character that stole the show. Jibrail Nantambu plays the young boy Julian that Allyson’s friend is babysitting. This kid is HILARIOUS!!! He saw Michael staring at his room from his hallway and somehow escapes, but the other two people in the house gets killed. We never find out what happens to Julian, but he sure was a comic relief in this movie.

If you typically enjoy Blumhouse Productions and other classic horror movies, you’ll love this movie. If you’re a horror movie fanatic, you will be incredibly pleased with the production of this movie. I highly recommend it, even if you do get easily scared, you can handle it. It’s a good storyline filled with a perfect amount of horror. It’s the perfect movie for the 2018 Halloween season.

RATING: 82%

The Spy Who Dumped Me

This movie was anything, but predictable and typical.

You think you’re going to see a fun, light-hearted action right? Wrong. This movie contains every possible genre that could be imagined, but in the best way. It’s filled with action, romance, tons of comedy, plot twists, and even death with some gore. Although this movie is Rated-R, due to language and gun violence, this movie is not inappropriate for any age of a mature teenager.

Now, how could a movie possibly hold all of these features, but still not be considered a “cheesy, over the top” movie? That would be compliments of the all-star women leads: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. Their comedic timing, wit, and ability to act as having a strong- best friend relationship, makes it impossible not to love this strong women duo. As this movie is filled with honorable mentions: the creepy Ivanna Sakhno, the kind and sweet Sam Heughan, and the cute deceased boyfriend: Justin Theroux, Mila and Kate make every moment of the movie suspenseful, action-filled, heart (and gut) wrenching, and completely hilarious.

This plot was so well written with plot twists and action in nearly every scene. There isn’t one scene that was “boring” or “slow” throughout the entirety of the movie. The lead Audrey, Mila Kunis, has been dating a man she really liked, and he suddenly dumps her. She is then kidnapped by the C.I.A. and told that her ex-boyfriend, Drew, was a spy. They release her and soon after, Audrey and Morgan, Kate McKinnon, are targeted by spies for something that Audrey’s ex left with her. Drew talks to Audrey and explains that he dumped her to protect her, but she must deliver the trophy he left at her house to save millions of lives. The two women are determined to deliver the package and deem themselves spies on their own.

There isn’t much else I could say about the plot, because I would spoil something. The previews were perfectly vague enough to not make the movie predictable, yet perfectly detailed enough to make you want to go see it. This movie is a must see. It is definitely up there for my favorite movie of 2018, and definitely the best Rated-R movie I’ve seen this year.

RATING: 94%