October is the month when Evil Came Home… and now, thanks to David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, it’s also when Evil died.
Much to mine and Clint’s shock, we’d never actually sat down to record our collective thoughts about the most recent additions to the Halloween franchise – despite speaking about them off the cuff for the past few years.
Admittedly, until Clint and I sat down to watch Green’s trilogy, I hadn’t even given Halloween Ends (2022) a shot yet.
It’s predecessor, Halloween Kills, left a bad taste in my mouth.
In Kills, the whole recurring mantra among the townspeople of Haddonfield is ‘Evil dies tonight!’ which ties into a larger commentary on mob mentality and justice, extending to cancel culture and the question of what makes Michael Myers nickname, The Shape, more than a nickname.
I must say, despite not being the film’s biggest fan, I do think Kills has some brilliant ideas – the concept of replacing supernatural mumbo-jumbo with a more grounded, philosophical take is commendable and almost lands.
But then there’s this thing running through the back of my mind.
It’s like a terrible itch. Something I just really can’t shake… especially after watching Halloween (2018) and listening to interview with Green and McBride about their approach.
Speaking on Empire Film Podcast in 2017, McBride shared his admiration for Carpenter’s original and indicated that was the tone he and Green intended for the 2018 continuation.
“It was just very simple and just achieved that level of horror that wasn’t corny and it wasn’t turning Michael Myers into some supernatural being that couldn’t be killed. That stuff to me isn’t scary. I want to be scared by something that I really think could happen,” McBride said.
“I think it’s much more horrifying to be scared by someone standing in the shadows while you’re taking the trash out as opposed to someone who can’t be killed pursuing you.”
But then, in Kills, you get scenes such as the following (SPOILERS):
I guess it comes down to the fact that, like I mentioned, it’s about Michael’s transcendence – I get that. He is not really ‘human’ at this point, as Laurie points out in the film, but instead the literal embodiment of evil – the “shape” of it.
But doesn’t this seem a little bit like having our cake and eating it too?
I digress… mainly because you’ve gotta listen to the podcast to hear more!
And, y’know, you might just want to hear what Clint has to say too. He’s a pretty cool guy with some cool thoughts about these things being a tinsy bit of a horror officianado himself.
The post for this episode is coming at you late, it’s true, but with it comes a promise: catch another new episode of High on Hollywood this Wednesday!
We’re going to be veering off into some unfamiliar places and exploring outside of our typical genre wheelhouse so stay tuned.
And, as always, don’t forget to like, comment, share, critique, and enjoy!
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