Michael Myers has died. A lot. The iconic horror figure has been electrocuted, set on fire, shot, including through the eyes, and has even had his head decapitated by Laurie in Halloween: H20! Now, going based on the Halloween remake that ignores everything previously, it seemed that Strode had finally won by locking Michael in the basement and engulfing the house in flames. Guess what happens? Michael survives and slays 27 people in Halloween Kills. Michael Myers is basically Frankenstein in this franchise, and it’s actually hindering the quality of these movies. Here’s the thing, there needs to be some air of possibility that the giant can be slayed. None of the films have explained why Michael has such a high intolerance for pain. He’s a monster without being established as one. From all accounts, Michael has been showcased as a normal boy in both the John Carpenter and Rob Zombie films, so it’s baffling that he’s been given this invincible narrative. What’s more damaging is the fact that since Michael has been deemed immortal at this point, the story loses its suspense and intensity because we never believe that the protagonists have a chance at killing Michael.
Freddy at least has the excuse that he’s already dead and returns to life by stalking his victims within their dreams. He’s basically a supernatural character and we go along with it because it has been established. Leatherface is kind of in the same manner, but he’s not really built as an invincible monster. The only reason Sally lives is that she’s able to outrun the murderous brute. Leatherface isn’t harmed to the extreme depths as Michael Myers, thus his character doesn’t come across as cartoonishly evil. The main reason that Halloween Kills fails to deliver the scares is that you never buy into the fact that Michael was going to die. Or better yet, you were never going to believe that Michael was going to die at the hands of anyone not named Laurie Strode. It effectively killed the momentum because audiences and critics know that there’s a third film coming this year. You don’t think that a Halloween movie was going to not feature its most prominent figure, do you? Let’s be honest, there’s likely going to be a reboot once this version of Halloween ends. There needs to be a balance in Michael Myers as a character. There’s no harm in billing him as a monster, but there needs to be some type of weakness that makes him human. The first Halloween works because we barely know anything about the psychopath other than he’s responsible for his sister’s death. It’s terrifying stuff, and more importantly, Michael hasn’t been shot, set on a fire, and beheaded at this point.
The 2018 Halloween reboot actually works because it was a fresh start with the return of Laurie Strode. Now, Strode has previously died in Halloween: Resurrection, so she doesn’t exactly have plot armor. It was possible that the latest reboot would kill off Laurie to focus on the next generation, but she’s generally a well-protected character, so it was the battle between good and evil and someone technically had to die in this scenario. Laurie’s interactions with Michael were filled with suspense because it wasn’t a sure bet that either one of them would live. Even, Michael’s foray against her kids had the same air of mystery buzzing in everyone’s head. But the film made the big mistake of emphasizing that this was a battle between siblings, and everyone else in their way would likely meet their grim fate at the hands of the masked psychopath. David Gordon Green tries his best by focusing on new characters in the sequel, but Laurie Strode is still alive, and she’s out of commission for a good portion of the film. Michael is simply not dying at the hands of someone other than Laurie. Hell, her kids aren’t even main threats to the giant as well. The series would’ve been better off killing Laurie Strode. I know that’s not the popular decision, but it would’ve given off the anything can happen vibe that Halloween despite needs. Watching Michael violently kill his way through a town of nobodies gets boring extremely quick. It’s a shame, because the premise for Halloween Kills would’ve worked so much better if Laurie was murdered in the first film. The town banding together to finally get rid of the one man who’s haunted their community for over two decades. It’s genuinely compelling stuff. But the invincibly of Michael and Laurie still being alive just killed any sparked that the story could’ve had.Laurie
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