criterionforum.org

dda1996a wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:52 am I've never bothered with any of the sequels, but what makes Carpenter's original so great is its economy. His great use of steadycam (also used brilliantly in most of his other great films) gives a coiling evocation of a ghost, the evil permeating this small town. Even the old stereotypes feel ingrained here, i.e Laurie's virginity. The film is mostly just great atmosphere until the chilling finale. I should probably watch this again, such a great film. Are any of the sequels or Zombie's remakes worth watching? I've heard the third, non Myers film is decent at best

dda1996a wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:52 am Are any of the sequels or Zombie's remakes worth watching? I've heard the third, non Myers film is decent at best

“domino harvey” wrote:Halloween II (Rick Rosenthal 1981) There are several problems with this film, but none more glaring than the utter unnecessity of its existence. Why does this movie exist? I never once thought or cared what happened after the final moments of the first film, but boy this film'll tell ya. Not every horror movie manages to wipe out an entire hospital ward, but oh that Michael Myers! The cruel violence exhibited in several of his murders is also quite off-putting-- who's idea of a good time is seeing some poor girl boiled alive? Don't answer.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Tommy Lee Wallace 1982) Infinitely more entertaining than its immediate predecessor, this sequel in name only is exactly as good as a movie about killer Halloween masks can be. Tom Atkins and Stacey Nelkin's Annie Clark doppelgänger investigate a mysterious murder and all signs point to a crazed CEO who plans to sacrifice the nation's children to the Celtic Gods hidden within the rock of Stonehenge. Or something. The movie plays the scenario straight, which helps, and while there's no shortage of logical leaps required, the film has enough confidence to give it enough rope to sit back and enjoy.

“domino harvey” wrote:Halloween 4: the Return of Michael Myers (Dwight H Little 1988) I don't know why at this point I'm surprised at how little my tastes seem to match up with the fandom that descends almost automatically upon a horror series, but I found this return bite at the Mike Myers apple unfathomably awful and one of the worst sequels I've ever witnessed. It completely misses the point of the original and doesn't even have the decency to be a mean-spirited traditional slasher like Halloween II (which, if you'll recall, I didn't like much either, but it's a stone-cold classic in comparison!). Instead we get creaky theatrics surrounding Myers' improbable and highly predictable visit to his niece, played by young "scream queen" Danielle Harris, who is mostly only called upon to think she sees Myers around every corner. The film has no concept of suspense or even the cheap thrills gore scenes could provide and instead insists on lobbing a ludicrous and seemingly never-ending assault of half-baked thrills that revolve around Myers being some sort of white-faced robot capable of clutching onto the side of a truck without being noticed and taking a dozen shotgun blasts to the chest with little effect. My cursory research tells me this is the most respected Halloween film after the original, and that's the most compelling evidence yet that despite my continued forays into this genre I will still apparently never belong to or understand its brethren

Halloween 5: the Revenge of Michael Myers (Dominique Othenin-Girard 1989) And somehow this is seen as among the worst of the sequels despite it being the "best" of the three Myers-focused sequels so far to my eyes. At least this film has the common courtesy to being a mediocre traditional slasher film. Unlike the TV blockings of the fourth film, the director here does show some visual wit and energy that make it far smoother viewing than the interminable fourth film. The film wisely recognizes the limitations of the cast its stuck with and relegates Harris' child actress to a passive, mostly-mute role that works far better and has the perverse bonus of making her one of the youngest "last girls" I can think of-- the audaciousness of having the murdering machine known as Michael Myers actively target a little girl in the midst of all the traditional teenaged victims is at least an idea, which automatically puts it one-up on Halloween 4. I also enjoyed how this entry made Donald Pleasence's ever-present doctor into an asshole, baiting Myers with her writhing body clutched close to his chest. The film ends with the unlikely but inevitable escape of the world's most uninteresting slasher villain thanks to some unseen force dressed in black. I suspect this mysterious character is explained in Halloween 6. I also suspect it's doubtful (but not impossible) that I'll ever prove that first-hand

“domino harvey” wrote:Halloween: the Curse of Michael Myers (Joe Chappelle 1995)

domino harvey wrote: I suspect this mysterious character is explained in Halloween 6. I also suspect it's doubtful (but not impossible) that I'll ever prove that first-hand

#-o
Starring Paul Rudd's "serious" voice and a dying Donald Pleasence, this is the worst entry in what is already the least of the heavily-cycled slasher villain film series in terms of overall returns. Turns out a cult has adopted Michael Myers and is trying to get him to take part in an infant sacrifice? I don't know or get it, and no one else involved in making this movie does either.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Steve Miner 1998) Jamie Lee Curtis is back, and so are a few hip young actors like Josh Hartnett and Michelle Williams. Janet Leigh is around too for a few minutes, mostly so marketing could say something about it. The film certainly doesn't utilize that or any of its other differing elements, though the resulting film is thankfully not as bad as most of the sequels in this series. Damning with faint praise, &c. The movie has one mediocre laff with Curtis' dispensing of typical horror tropes at the end, but even that felt familiar.

Halloween Resurrection (Rick Rosenthal 2002) Speaking of familiar, here we go again: turns out the ridiculous ending of the previous film in this series only serves to be upended by an even more ridiculous "explanation" as to how Michael Myers did not infact die despite suffering what could charitably be called a life-threatening injury. Once poor Jamie Lee Curtis is finally put out of her misery at the outset, things settle into the usual, as a buncha dumb college kids find themselves outfitted with cameras and set loose in the Myers House on Halloween for the entertainment of streaming internet viewers. Mildly interesting for how it captures the whole Big Brother et al fad, I guess, but I suspect other horror films did likewise around this time. Top-billed Busta Rhymes is alternately annoying and impish as the media impresario organizing the whole affair, and the rest of the cast is filled with no-names nobodies no one will miss once they go missing. All that said, this is the most tolerable Myers-centric Halloween sequel by virtue of it being merely mediocre. So, a fitting end to the original run of the series, I guess.

Mr Sausage wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:44 pm Is Halloween the only major eighties horror franchise with a sequel that doesn't better the original? The Friday films have the surprisingly good 6 and the Nightmare films have the more imaginative 3. Actually, I think I'm really saying Halloween is the only major 80's horror franchise whose original is any good.

Lost Highway wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 2:04 pmI’d also add Alien. Aliens is a great sequel but the first is still the best. None of the others come close.

Mr Sausage wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:44 pm I could never bring myself to watch 5, 6 or Zombie's sequel, but, yeah the rest are all shades of mediocre. 2 has some creepy and effective shots (Michael descending the stairs, Michael walking through the glass door), but overall is a movie of missed opportunities.

Is Halloween the only major eighties horror franchise with a sequel that doesn't better the original? The Friday films have the surprisingly good 6 and the Nightmare films have the more imaginative 3. Actually, I think I'm really saying Halloween is the only major 80's horror franchise whose original is any good.

dda1996a wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 3:24 pm

Mr Sausage wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:44 pm I could never bring myself to watch 5, 6 or Zombie's sequel, but, yeah the rest are all shades of mediocre. 2 has some creepy and effective shots (Michael descending the stairs, Michael walking through the glass door), but overall is a movie of missed opportunities.

Is Halloween the only major eighties horror franchise with a sequel that doesn't better the original? The Friday films have the surprisingly good 6 and the Nightmare films have the more imaginative 3. Actually, I think I'm really saying Halloween is the only major 80's horror franchise whose original is any good.

I remember hating the original Friday, never bothered afterwards. In regards to Elm, I quite like the original, New Nightmare is decent from what I remember, never watched the others. Is the third really that great? I'm not really a fan of the slasher genre, so I usually check out after the acknowledged better ones (which are basically not a lot of movies when you discount Carpenter's work)

Murdoch wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 4:06 pm By no means a major franchise, but The Stepfather's follow-ups certainly never topped the first, even if 2 is good fun with O'Quinn taking a dead man's identity and playing therapist to a group of repressed housewives.