David Gordon Green's follow-up to John Carpenter's classic Halloween is a very different kind
of sequel than most of its predecessors.
That's because Carpenter himself has returned to the series for the first time in 36 years
to serve as executive producer and composer.
Anticipation got even hotter when Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle were both revealed
to be reprising their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers.
Add in the facts that Judy Greer stars as Laurie's daughter, and Danny McBride is a
co-writer on the film, and the Halloween hype is real.
The film's trailer debuted at CinemaCon in April, but the footage remained otherwise
under wraps until now.
Luckily, fans seem to agree it was worth the wait.
After all the guessing, which hints does the trailer give us about what awaits in this
latest installment of the Halloween saga?
Join us as we cut into some of the details you might have missed.
Cleaning up the timeline
McBride hinted early on that the new film wouldn't be particularly concerned with any
of the original film's other sequels, which is understandable, given how muddied they've
become over the decades.
After all, there've been multiple sequels and remakes showing Laurie in various states
of duress - remember when she only had a daughter, then somehow had a son?
Then there was that time she was dead, until she wasn't…
it's become quite a mess at this point.
But this movie lays out a new timeline with a number of details that strip the story down
to its bones.
Michael is cited as having murdered three teenagers on Halloween night in 1978, which
is probably referring to poor Annie, Bob, and Lynda.
And he's been in custody ever since, meaning definitively that no other sequels have happened
in the world of this new Halloween.
Based on that body count, it seems even the Carpenter-scripted Halloween II, which took
place on the same night as its predecessor, wasn't safe from the purge.
But hey, at least fans will only have to refresh on the first film to get ready for this one.
Sequel nods
The sequels may now be banished to an alternate timeline, but that doesn't mean there aren't
echoes of them in the new Halloween.
For instance, we're given a glimpse of a truck stop setting not unlike one in which Dr. Sam
Loomis faced off with Michael in Halloween 4.
And a scene of the movie maniac stalking in a public restroom, which will likely seem
familiar to anyone who remembers Halloween: H20.
The most significant reference to the sequels, though, is definitely a line in which Laurie's
granddaughter, Allyson, clarifies that Michael Myers is not, in fact, her grandmother's brother.
"No, it was not her brother.
That was something that people made up."
That shuts down one of the core tenets of the Halloween mythos.
The sibling connection was first revealed in Halloween II and would be explored and
explained throughout the series as an ancient curse that drove Michael to slaughter his
own bloodline.
With this line of dialogue, the trailer acknowledges this legacy while simultaneously wiping the
slate clean and returning to the elemental horror of Michael Myers' unknowable motivations.
Loomis looms large
Donald Pleasence's performance as Dr. Sam Loomis has always one of the most consistent
elements of the Halloween series, as he dedicated his life to stopping Michael Myers by any
means necessary.
Sadly, Pleasence passed away just after completing work on the franchise's sixth movie, 1995's
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.
But no tribute to the original classic would be complete without an acknowledgement of
the good doctor.
As the trailer begins, we meet two documentarians preparing to interview Michael in prison.
Quick flashes show us excerpts from Loomis' notes, including first-hand accounts of his
early encounters with the young boy who had just slayed his sister Judith.
We also see a courtroom sketch of Loomis testifying at Michael's trial, hinting at the events
that immediately followed Halloween night, 1978 in this new timeline.
Hopefully, we'll get to find out how the rest of the doctor's life transpired in a world
where he didn't have to fight his greatest nemesis over and over again.
Appropriately, this montage is closed out by the very same sound of Loomis' gunshots
that sent Michael over a balcony at the end of the original movie.
Eerie echoes
While the trailer promises that director David Gordon Green is bringing a unique and striking
visual style to Halloween, it also grants a few nods to specific moments from the original
movie.
A shot of escaped inmates wandering on a road in a car's headlights immediately recalls
Dr. Loomis' very first scene.
A shape waits menacingly under a cute ghost sheet, just as Michael did before killing
Lynda in 1978.
Some might even say that Will Patton, in his role as a Haddonfield police officer, bears
a striking resemblance to Charles Cyphers as Sheriff Brackett.
For Green and McBride, recapturing Carpenter's aesthetic in a fresh light was a major priority.
As McBride told Collider:
"It seemed to be such a simple formula of what made it so spooky and I haven't even
seen that duplicated in the other ones."
That spirit is certainly alive in the trailer's shot of Michael Myers taunting a would-be
victim with a handful of teeth.
Laurie's life
Halloween made both Jamie Lee Curtis and the character of Laurie Strode iconic.
The series has long struggled with the task of living up to her original performance.
She remained bedridden for most of the first sequel, then supposedly died in a car accident,
only to have the character return in H20 under an assumed identity.
Finally, she was taken out by Michael in the opening minutes of Halloween: Resurrection.
So, if this new Halloween ignores all but that one night of terror, what's Laurie been
up to for 40 years?
Preparing, it seems.
"What the hell did you do that for?"
"So I can kill him."
Our first glimpse of Laurie in the trailer is of the scar she still bears from Michael's
knife.
It's a clear visual metaphor for her refusal to forget about him.
We see her practicing her marksmanship and declaring her intention to wait for his return,
and she seems to have a secret bunker of some kind.
The spree begins
The trailer's brief recap of the events of 1978 serves as a reminder that the body count
of the original Halloween is surprisingly low - at least by the standards of the slasher
films that would follow it.
Rather than gore and relentless brutality, it relied on unsettling tension and creative
kills.
It remains to be seen just how relentless Michael Myers' return will be, but the trailer
does offer some quick glances at the murderous mayhem to come.
Michael's pursuit of the documentarian, Dana, as she hides in a bathroom stall is far from
subtle.
But blink and you might miss that one of his tools in this scene is the bloodied body of
Dana's partner, Martin, who is being used by the maniac as a human battering ram to
break down the door.
We also spot an unfortunate mechanic who falls victim to Michael's need for a new pair of
overalls.
Another man can be seen getting attacked from behind as a horrified Allyson watches.
Finally, a shot of a yellow-sleeved arm grasping desperately for help suggests that Myers hasn't
lost his penchant for offing innocent babysitters.
Of course the final victim tally will have to wait until October 19th - the Night He
Comes Home… again.
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