After a year hiatus after the new installment of “Halloween” (2018) came out, “Halloween Kills” is here, and it is a bit of a mess.  

“Halloween Kills” continues the new trilogy of “Halloween” movies that follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) nearly 40 years after her encounter with childhood killer, Michael Myers. In the last movie she was able to trap him in her house and set it on fire, but to her dismay, Michael was able to escape and continues to terrorize the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois.  

The acting in this movie must be some of the worst that I have seen for a big budget horror film. There were moments and lines that made me cringe in the worst way possible. Horror movies are not usually known for amazing acting, but this movie brought a whole other level of bad acting.  

The only actor that I felt that had a decent performance was Jamie Lee Curtis, but for this movie, she was barely featured in the film with her being bed ridden in a hospital for most of it. The directors are setting her character up for a major moment in the third film, but I would have wanted to see her way more in this one.  

Another problem that I had with the movie is that there were too many subplots and minor characters that I feel that could have been completely cut out. For example, there is a couple that is briefly seen in the first “Halloween” (2018) and they are brought back and heavily focused on for part of the movie. I really think that there was no reason to dwell on them so much. It would have been fine to keep them in for a little bit, but not for the amount that they were seen. 

Bad acting and questionable plotlines aside, there were some elements of this movie that I really enjoyed. Hence the title, I thought the kills in this movie were fantastic. Seeing Michael Myers just destroy through a town and have some great gory moments was fantastic. Obviously, some of the kills were extremely unrealistic and could be unbelievable, but the special effects and makeup really brought them to life.  

Throughout the movie there are many nods to previous original “Halloween” movies including the iconic skeleton, witch, and pumpkin masks from “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch”.  

It is confirmed that many of the original “Halloween” movies are non-canonical to the new trilogy which is quite disappointing to me. When “Halloween 3” came out in the 80s, it was not liked by most reviewers and fans since Michael Myers was not in the movie. Even with the negativity it became a cult classic, and it is my personal favorite out of the original movies. The nods to the masks were cool to see, but I am hoping for the third movie they really embrace it and possibly bring back actor Tom Atkins since they were able to bring back old actors Nancy Stephens and Kyle Richards.   

Even with the bad acting and unrealistic plotlines, I did not have a horrible time watching this movie. The kills and gore made the entire movie and without it, the movie would have been a complete waste. I will absolutely be seeing the third and final installment when it comes out next year.  

If you are looking for a dumb and blood-soaked horror movie, “Halloween Kills” is for you. You really can’t take this movie too seriously or have high expectations going into it or you will simply not have a good time. Fans of the original movies may or may not like it, but it is worth a shot to watch and to watch some good Michael Myers’ kills.  

“Halloween Kills” features very graphic imagery and violence which may not be suitable to all audiences. 

Rating: D+