Overview
There are many ways to spend Halloween, from dressing up and eating too many lollies to partying and hitting up spooky events. But watching John Carpenter's Halloween on October 31 remains one of the greatest ways to spend the occasion for one simple reason: 43 years on, it's still an absolute masterpiece, as well as one of the best horror movies ever made.
This year, you can also pair Jamie Lee Curtis-starring 70s classic with the latest entry in the franchise that it's spawned over the past four-plus decades. Obviously, you can match up the OG Halloween with any of the flicks in the saga each and every year — but in 2021, Halloween Kills is finally hitting cinemas.
Since that first movie back in 1978, the Halloween series has been through quite a few ups and downs. Clocking up ten follow-ups and 11 movies in total until now, the slasher franchise has delivered excellent and terrible sequels, veered into remake territory, both killed off and brought back its heroine, and completely erased parts of its own past several times. And, like its mask-wearing villain Michael Myers, it always finds a way to go on.
Since 2018's Halloween, that's been especially great news, with the Jason Blum-produced 11th flick in the franchise proving a smart, thrilling horror delight, and ranking second only to the movie that started it all. Indeed, the film was such a success that two more sequels are headed our way from the same team (aka Blum, writer/director David Gordon Green and co-scribe Danny McBride): Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.
Originally, Halloween Kills was due to hit screens last year, in October — when else? — but, as announced in 2020 by franchise creator John Carpenter, it moved back its release to October this year. That's now fast approaching, with fans soon able to make a return trip to Haddonfield. Yes, that means that Curtis' spirited Laurie Strode will have another altercation with her lifelong nemesis, too — because, when it's at its best, that's what this franchise is all about.
Picking up where its immediate predecessor left off, Halloween Kills will also take a few cues from another movie in the series, as its initial trailer and just-dropped latest sneak peek shows. Not one but two teasers last year set the scene for the saga's 12th entry, but the latest clips dive deep into the storyline. Following the events of the most recent film, Laurie ends up in hospital with life-threatening injuries just as Michael starts stalking through Haddonfield again — which is the same storyline that Halloween II followed exactly 40 years ago.
Thankfully, if the last flick is any guide, Halloween Kills shouldn't prove a needless remake. Green and McBride did a stellar job of nodding to the past while finding a new way forward with 2018's Halloween, after all — and leaving horror fans definitely wanting more. This time, too, Laurie and her daughter Karen (Judy Greer, Valley Girl) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak, Son) team up with other survivors of Michael's rampages and decide to hunt down their attacker.
Check out the latest Halloween Kills trailer below:
Halloween Kills will release in Australian cinemas on October 28, 2021.
Top image: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures.