Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Halloween (2018) [Blu-ray]

Top positive review

A slash far above the rest

October 31, 2018

Halloween is directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Danny McBride. It is the 11th movie of the significant horror franchise, which is by far my favorite of all the horror franchises. The first Halloween and each subsequent follow ups all hold a place, some more special than others, in my heart, yes, even Season of the Witch and the Rob Zombie movies. But this entry is something else entirely. Not only to me is it the best Halloween sequel, I also believe it is the best Halloween movie, the best slasher movie and one of the best horror movies of all time. Period.
The movie takes place 40 years after the original movie, ignoring all sequels in between. While this is not the first time they have done that, in fact this is the fourth alternate timeline in the series, this time however I believe they got it right. In a storyline reminiscent to Halloween H20, the main difference being instead of having Laurie Strode running away from her past, this time she is prepared for it, as the 40 years past has her spent honing her battle skills to ready herself for Michael’s impending return.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode here gives a terrific performance that is rare among horror movies; more akin to a serious drama. Curtis is believable and nuanced, allowing the film to ground itself into a level of realism, divorcing itself from the goof and lunacy from earlier entries like The Curse of Michael Myers and Resurrection. Curtis is the backbone of the film and without her giving it 110 percent, the movie could have faltered and not worked at all.
Thanks to the grounded performances and direction, Michael Myers this time around feels much more menacing. Since the victims he kills feel way less like cannon fodders like in typical slasher movies, the overall tone of the character is darker and more mean-spirited. While still having some slasher tropes, the characters in the film feel more real than ever, so when scary moments hit, I genuinely wanted them to survive, but only for my heart to sink, when they bite the dust in the bloodiest, most disgusting, brutal way.
Michael Myers is a horror icon, but he has not been frightening since the original. As the series went on, he became a generic masked killer at best and laughable at worst. The reason for that is because the sequels simply do not know how to frame him. Ask yourself what makes someone scary? Absolutely not when you explain away his curse with Thorn and turn him into a hitman for a cult, or recount his white trash family backstory. None of that. Here he is just a highly resilient, deranged man, who lacks morals and empathy, and preys on one of mans’ primal fears - at any moment someone can break into your house and murder you for no reason and with no remorse.
The best scene of the movie is a tracking shot where we follow Michael through the neighborhood, breaking into people’s houses and murdering them in the grisliest way. The camera, the tension, the lighting, the kills all make it one of the best horror scenes of recent memory. And the final showdown between Laurie and Michael was cathartic and satisfying, having been built up throughout the entire film.
As for negatives, I kind of wished they show more of the holiday of Halloween. Yes, we get a Halloween dance and background scenes of children trick or treating, but something the past movies did absolutely right was capturing the spirit of the holiday that I felt this movie kind of just skimmed through. I wanted more walks through the autumn foliage and perhaps even a scene at a costume shop would have been appreciated.
With Laurie and Michael both working as characters for their different respective reasons, the rest of the technical aspect of the film is equally brilliant. The writing, directing and music (of which John Carpenter returned for) are all top-notch. Halloween 2018 is the best movie of the series for me, topping even the original because of the much more menacing nature of Michael Myers. The movie is a slash far above the rest of horror movies of the same vein. Halloween will satisfy those who are looking for a fun, jump scare-filled movie, as well as those who are looking for intense, arthouse horror.

101 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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That guy

Heartbreaking disappointment..Zombie's remake had more love for the original.

October 29, 2018

I consider John Carpenters Halloween to be the greatest movie ever made. Not only is the film amazing but it also captures a moment in time (the late 70's) better than any film from my childhood..I don't have time to write a thesis on the power of the original Halloween or the time to explain why Zombie's remake was the perfect alternate view of the story to someone that grew up with Halloween in their dna.

I really believed that this take on Halloween was supposed to return to the atmosphere and attitude of John Carpenters masterpiece and I looked forward to it more that any movie in years..I thought Michael Myers would once again become "the shape" lurking in the shadows causing fear, dread, and gut wrenching suspense with the help of a evil sounding minimalist score (even John Carpenter disappointed me here). And why not pay homage to Dean Cundey's fantastic cinematography? This looked like some made for Netflix poorly lit fake film..I'm glad they dropped the Laurie is Michael's sister thing that started in Halloween 2 (A far superior film) but that is about all that I liked...If this is supposed to be a direct sequel to the original why make Laurie a psycho vigilante hell bent on revenge?..I have no problem with the Laurie character making a appearance in the film, but to have some ridiculous final show down with a plot to cage "The Shape" is about as far away from the mindset of groundbreaking 70's independent film making as you can get...And don't get me started on the sitcom style humor.

I swear I almost started to tear up in the theater due to my disappointment. This is no better than Halloween 4,5,6, H20, but anything is better than Resurrection...Halloween, Halloween 2, Halloween 3: The Season of The Witch, Rob Zombies Halloween, and yes even Rob Zombies Halloween 2 are all that exist to me. But those films are still not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the original Halloween. I have not been this wrecked with disappointment since "The Phantom Menace"

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Jordan Ximen

A slash far above the rest

October 31, 2018

Format: Blu-ray

101 people found this helpful

55 comments

October 23, 2018

As many people may be confused, this Halloween movie is a direct single sequel to the original 1978 Halloween movie, ignoring all other movies n the franchise. This is a reimagining, a sequel reboot (if you will), and plays out perfectly. Halloween (2018) is both nostalgic and renewed, with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role of Laurie Strode 40 years later. This movie could be considered the best sequel of the franchise.

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Mike S.Top Contributor: Star Wars

The best sequel of the franchise

January 19, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

Anyone who is a fan of the Halloween franchise knows that the various sequels have ranged from good, to decent, to absolute garbage. And, of course, the sequel that wasn't, Halloween 3. I think everyone has slightly different ideas about which sequels fall into what categories, but for me Halloween 6 and 8 fall into the absolute garbage category (although I think 6 had some potential as a story, it was just executed horribly and suffered massive rewrites and the death of Donald Pleasance), and Halloween 4 and H20 fall within the good category.

This sequel is a complete reboot of the series, acknowledging that only the original movie existed, and is almost a "what if" scenario, opinening what if Michael had been caught at the end of the first movie, and held in Smith's Grove for 40-years. It was written by David Gordon Green, Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, mostly known for the comedy genre, directed by David Gordon Green, and bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. It also brought John Carpenter back into the fold as executive producer and co-composer. Die-hard Halloween nerds will know that his name was included on many of the other sequels but he never had anything to do with them, just getting royalty rights. He famously never wanted the movie to go any farther than the first one, and if there was going to be a franchise he wanted it to be like Season of the Witch, without the Michael Myers character.

Curtis, aside from playing Laurie, was also an executive producer on the movie. Of course, her character was killed off in Halloween 8, hence the need for the total reboot. In this version, Laurie is basically a basket-case who is estranged from her daughter ( played by Judy Greer) and granddaughter (played by Andi Matichak) and has been readying herself for 40-years for Michael to come back. She lives alone in the woods in what can only be described as a compound with lots of surveillance and guns. Curtis does a great job with this version of the character and does a believable portrayal of what she would be like if she never moved on from the events of that night. While the movie does pretend that the other sequels and remakes never existed, it does have a lot of easter eggs that do pay homage to the original movie and some things that were clearly inspired by the other sequels, including the last shot of the movie. It does a good job either as an end to the franchise or as a set up to further movies. Given that it did well enough at the box office and got pretty good reviews it may spawn other movies down the road and was clearly left open-ended enough to do so.

For those who get the 4k blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great as you would expect. It, of course, includes the UHD blu-ray and a regular blu-ray version. The UHD has both the movie and the extras, which include about 12 minutes of deleted scenes, and then several short behind the scenes and making-of featurettes. Probably between a half hour' and 45 minutes worth of material. One thing that was not included which would have been nice, is a commentary track on the movie. I would have liked to hear the writers, director, Curtis, and Carpenter do a commentary on the movie. But what was included was very good. While I cannot say that everyone, including fans of the franchise is going to like it, but I do think it is worth checking out.

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sixthreezy

Halloween Is Back - Laurie Strode Too!

February 24, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

I don't go to the theater often, but we journeyed out into the world to see this new take on the Halloween story. It takes place as if no other movie was made than the first, and serves to answer the question of "what if he got caught?" There were many things I enjoyed about the film the first time, and there was one or two things that I didn't particularly enjoy about it. I was interested to see if a re-watch or any additional scenes would help answer some of the questions I had. While the film didn't really answer those questions, I found myself caring less about their explanations.

When I heard that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green were going to be involved with this Halloween revival, I thought of the many ways it could go. After the Rob Zombie run, which I'm the rare fan of because I just love anything Halloween, I was interested to see where we would go. I didn't see the serious take that this was, and it really has some unnerving moments that I didn't see coming. Knowing that the story was about Laurie Strode, I thought maybe we'd see some of her old self shine through and have some of those light-hearted moments.

Jamie Lee Curtis plays an extremely stressed out and on edge Laurie Strode who has been preparing for Michael Myers to come back for 40 years. What I love about this movie is that it honors the classic before it. Bringing back such important character requires some respect to the original, and it does so in every way. There are many shots throughout the film that are homages to their predecessors, and also one particular gag with Laurie that I thought was hilarious.

Everyone involved does a fantastic job at bringing this story to life. From Jamie to Judy Greet and Andi Matichak, and the supporting characters of Allyson's father and the wisecracking kid from the babysitter scene. I think that the music really breathes life into this movie, and it's fitting considering that the original Halloween had the same success with its now timeless score. I loved watching the special features and seeing how John Carpenter worked with his son and one other person to create this new, haunting score for Halloween.

Overall, this movie is well worth your time if you're a fan of the series or horror in general. It even passes for a fairly decent movie overall, and it's nice to see Jamie Lee Curtis back in the series and playing an integral part. She's long been distant from the horror genre but appears to have been ready to play this role her whole life. Special features included deleted scenes which are all pretty good, even one showing what happens to the dog that Michael Myers kills (let me tell ya, it's probably a good thing they deleted it lol). Also, we get to see a feature-length documentary about Jamie's trip to HorrorHound convention in Indianapolis I think in 2013, which was also really interesting to see how she honors the horror community and gives it her all.

Case came in great condition with 4K & Blu-ray copies, this release also included a digital copy.

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J. Hovey

Best Sequel Yet!

February 6, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

First off ... I'm a big fan of the original. I can still watch it today and be spooked by "The Shape" - his very presence scares the crap out of me! I did see some of the sequels but none ever could compare to the original. It was truly that for it's time. So I watched the Blu-Ray of Halloween 2018 with some hesitation, but was quite happy with the results. For me, it's the companion piece to the original - picking up 40 years later. It surpasses all of the sequels and Zombie remakes. But then again, I don't really need everything to be explained or to be provided with any "reason" as to why Michael does what he does. I'm fine with the fact that "The Shape" is pure evil! And the doctor in this version is trying to understand what Michael "feels" and what makes him tick. But we never get any "facts" or "reasons" - which is why I love this version. It doesn't try to justify his existence or why he is so intent on killing Laurie Strode. Probably like so many serial killers, there is no ryhme or reason as to why they kill. So I'm just fine in watching the movie and enjoying the plot. I also like the little "nods" throughout the movie that pay homage to the original ... little things to be sure, but was great to watch them and think back on the original. And yes, now Laurie Strodes is ready for Michael. Jamie Lee is great as Laurie 40 years later. She's strong and no longer the scared teen from the original. The action was well paced and the storyline done well. As for the print quality of this release, it's stellar! The blacks are saturated but not overly dark and the details are clean and crisp. The big thing is this actually feels like "Halloween", whereas the original was bright as it was shot in CA. This one feels and looks like Fall. Now I just wish they would remaster the original and get the colors correct. Highly recommend this Blu-Ray for both quality and story!

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Rocky Rodriguez

Loving it!!

January 15, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

Grear movie. , kind of disappointed with the extras because you don't get the alternate ending option. If you look at the original trailer and compare it to the movie. There is a couple cuts that didn't make it into the extras. But other than that the movie is amazing. Fresh take on an amazing, iconic, aND nastalgic POV on the succession of Laurie and her story... Cant wait for a sequel!!!

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chris mcglasson

michael myers returns!

June 8, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

I don't care what anyone thinks but this movie is pretty darn good! I have been a halloween fan since the original was released in 1978. the original is a classic. halloween 2018 is the best sequel since the original halloween 2. the rest of the films in the series, in my opinion, are just plain crap! didn't really care much for H2O either, thought it was lame. resurrection was a big disappointment too. this new film gets back to the basics of what made halloween so great. is it a perfect film?, no, but it is good one. almost no movie is perfect but this film comes close. sure the film makers made a few mistakes but come on, this attempt brought back michael myers in a good way, long, long over due. for those of you that disagree, that's your opinion. one thing that really bothers me is why people feel that the less you see the better. the old slasher movies were never allowed to show much, especially blood and gore. I still love old horror movies, especially the universal monster films but I also love the slasher movies from the 80's. horror movies used to leave it up more to your imagination like the original halloween and many other films that were made in the past. that's ok but I like a movie to be more realistic. I mean, come on, a psycho running around slashing people with a knife and there's no blood? I just find this to be unrealistic. that's the one thing I didn't like about the original halloween and many other horror films. I guess many people feel you don't need to see all that blood and gore but I disagree. many horror films today go over the top and perhaps show too much, well, that is true but I think you must have a certain amount to keep it more in touch with reality. halloween 2018 had just right amount of bloodshed, not too much not too little. the mask that was created for this movie was awesome! the best since the original two. the ending could have been more original but what is there to do? michael myers has been killed several times already. possibly, the only thing left is to maybe blow him to pieces or totally dismember him. I guess their going to make another one but maybe that's not a good idea, I mean, how many more times are they going to do the same thing over and over. I love michael myers more than anyone but maybe they should put an end to it all. I think they should just kill them both off once and for all. I'm always happy to see a good halloween movie but maybe enough is enough. with all it's faults I love halloween 2018, long live michael myers!

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Anonymous

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE NAYSAYERS!!! This Movie rocked!

February 3, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

I am an avid life-long horror fan.
We have all seen Michael, Jason, Freddie.
Most of the follow-ups indeed suck.
This movie does a smart job of respecting the franchise and building legacy and conclusion. It also extends the legacy to new generations.

Jamie Lee Curtis is a Tour-De-Force reprising the role that started things in her youth. She masterfully brings the psychological reflection of trauma, anxiety, fear and smart channeled strength to the character.

It is her story, and her legacy.

Certainly, there are predictable moments but the ride is solid.

For those not acknowledging that, I’d simply ask what you were expecting? A new story or a solid conclusion to the storyline created 40 years ago? It has menace, creep factor, nostalgia and on edge jump-scares a plenty.

The negative reviews are unfounded and should not deter fans of horror or the franchise. Get it and dim the lights, get comfy and be prepared to be entertained.

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robinmistri

A better sequel since Halloween 2 1981 and maybe the H20

May 24, 2019

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

I like the movie but I wish it was a sequel to Halloween 2 1981. It would make the character Laurie Strode a better understanding and much better sense to the story. Halloween 5-6 resurrection and Rob Zombi s versions did not really care for them, they pretty suck. Halloween 4 I could take it but the mask suck and H20 was ok but I thought Micheal was a bit short or looked short for his height.

Characterwise I liked Laurie, Micheal, and her granddaughter. Everyone else pretty us are forgettable and do not care for. The Doctor should not try to be Dr. Loomis because no one can replace Donald Pleasence. But the twist of him kind of ruined the storyline for me. Does not mean the movie is terrible just wished it was better.

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CodyM

DVD looked used.

September 27, 2019

Format: DVDVerified Purchase

Didn’t get to watch the movie because the DVD was so scratched upon delivery. I ordered a replacement so hopefully I will get to watch it tonight. The DVD itself looked used, and was not secure inside the case. The picture I attached was taken right after I removed the cellophane from the DVD case.

The 4 star rating is subject to change after I watch the movie.

Update: 10/01
I am leaving my rating at a 4 star. The movie has a few flaws, and is a painful reminder as to why Judy Greer is not leading lady material (she can’t act). But the movie as a whole is good. Starts out slow, and there’s a couple of useless characters (the two British journalists), but is the movie progresses it gets very good.

Jamie Lee Curtis absolutely carries the movie. People view her as a crazy person who can’t let go, when it reality... she is the only one who knows the inevitable.

Definitely worth watching (just make sure the dvd isn’t screwed up. I’ve seen several comments about how the dvd was damaged upon delivery.)