Just a few years ago it was inconceivable that anyone but diehard ‘80s horror fanatics would care about a new “Halloween” trailer. While the Rob Zombie-directed “Halloween” garnered interest for the series, his reviled 2009 follow-up “Halloween II” killed that goodwill off rather effectively.
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But, that all changed when acclaimed director David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express,” “George Washington”) shockingly signed on to a Michael Myers sequel. In addition to directing, Green was also slated to co-write with Jeff Fradley and, of all people, Danny McBride. With an eccentric auteur behind the camera and one of Hollywood’s funniest actors working on the script, “Halloween” has generated a ton of anticipation largely because no one knows what to expect from it. Additionally, it’s under the aegis of Blumhouse, the horror company that’s earned a rep for great chillers and genre movies and brought you “Get Out.”
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Despite their comedic pedigrees, Green and McBride clearly intend to honor John Carpenter’s terrifying creation. The film picks up after the original and disregards the sequels, a strategy which most moviegoers have already adopted. Carpenter is executive producing and providing the score (his first involvement in the series since 1982’s “Halloween III: Season of the Witch”) and Jamie Lee Curtis is returning to star.
And it’s a full-fledged horror movie. As McBride told Yahoo, “I think you should be very scared. I mean, this isn’t a comedy at all. I think there was, like, maybe one joke on the page, but the rest is straight horror. So hopefully it gets in people’s heads and keeps them up late at night.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.”
Co-starring Judy Greer, Will Patton, Nick Castle, Andi Matichak, and Omar J. Dorsey, “Halloween” opens on October 19. Here’s hoping the film starts a new trend and we get someone like Sean Baker to direct a “Ghoulies” reboot.
