Freaky Friday 2 is officially happening, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan back for more body-swapping fun. The highly anticipated sequel movie certainly seemed like it was gaining traction, but there’s nothing we love more than an official announcement. In addition to Curtis and Lohan, Freaky Friday 2 has gained some excellent new cast members, and it has a slated release window of 2025. That’s some freakishly exciting stuff.

Freaky Friday 2‘s Plot

In a release, Disney describes the plot of Freaky Friday 2 as follows:

A sequel to the beloved 2003 film with a multigenerational twist, the film picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice.

More body swapping, ahoy!

Freaky Friday 2‘s Cast and Creators

Of course, Curtis and Lohan reprise their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman. But other Freaky Friday actors will be back for more fun. These returning original cast members include Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao. But Freaky Friday 2 will also see some new faces, including Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. We are very excited to hear Manny Jacinto is Freaky Friday 2 official, especially after his excellent recent turn on The Acolyte.

In addition to the above looks, we also have a glimpse at Chad Michael Murray’s return as Jake.

Finally, Freaky Friday 2 will be directed by Nisha Ganatra.

Freaky Friday 2‘s Release Date

Production on the Freaky Friday sequel began in June 2024. We should expect Freaky Friday 2 to release in theaters nationwide in 2025.

While we wait for Freaky Friday 2 to release, you can catch the original movie streaming on Disney+.

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If you were a teenager in the 2000s, then you surely remember the great Disney masterpiece Freaky Friday. Who can forget the hilariousness of a mom and daughter who end up switching bodies thanks to a fortune cookie? It has somehow been 20 years since we saw Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as Tess and Anna, but they are reportedly reprising those roles in a Freaky Friday sequel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both stars are ready for more body-swapping adventures, with Elyse Hollander penning the script and Nisha Ganatra set to direct. 

Freaky Friday 2 Casting News

For now, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are expected to reprise their roles in Freaky Friday 2. Additionally, Variety reveals that Julia Butters has joined the Freaky Friday sequel in an unknown role. But given what we know about the movie so far, we might speculate she’ll play the daughter or future stepdaughter of Lohan’s Anna.

Additionally, Deadline reports that Manny Jacinto is is reportedly in talks to join the movie. We are 100% pro this casting.

More Updates on Freaky Friday 2

Lohan and Curtis seemed to confirm news of the movie with a celebratory Instagram post.

Additionally, Lohan herself confirmed during an Andy Cohen interview that the sequel is happening. She remained mum about any production timelines but said that both she and Curtis were excited about a Freaky Friday sequel.

What Will Freaky Friday 2 Be About?

So, what will this movie be about? Well, Jamie Lee Curtis wants her co-star to be a sexy grandma. In an interview with The View, which we learned about via Deadline, Curtis said, “Let me be the grandma, let me be the old grandma who switches places, so then Lindsay gets to be the sexy grandma who’s still happy with Mark Harmon in all the ways you would be happy with Mark Harmon… I would like to see Lindsay be the hot grandma, and I would like to see me try to deal with toddlers today. I want to be a helicopter parent in today’s world.” We’d love to see it.

Additionally, Entertainment Weekly reveals that newly minted director Nisha Ganatra shared a casting call on her social media for the movie. The casting call revealed that Anna Coleman (Lohan) now has a daughter and that she’s apparently getting married to a man who also has a daughter. Of course, Tess (Curtis) is still involved. Whatever swap is coming up for our favorite ladies, it seems like four people might be included this time.

Of course, there are no confirmed details about the Freaky Friday sequel at this time. But it isn’t shocking that this reunion is happening. During a retrospective interview, both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan told The New York Times that they were open to a Freaky Friday sequel. And we have seen the actresses in very recent projects, too. Curtis came back as Laurie Strode once again in Halloween Ends while Lohan is back in the spotlight after Falling for Christmas, a very cute Netflix rom-com.

We’re still not ruling out Anna’s daughter swapping places with her while Tess tries to help them figure it all out. No matter what the plot is, we are totally down for a Freaky Friday sequel.

Originally published on May 11, 2023.

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Borderlands made a splash when Gearbox Software debuted it on multiple gaming platforms in 2009. The video game is an open-world action roleplaying first-shooter and features a plethora of fiercely violent madcap characters. The game follows a core group of four Vault Hunters who are traveling to the planet Pandora (not to be confused with Avatar‘s Pandora) to look for the Vault. This stash supposedly has riches, glory, and fancy alien tech that many factions want to get their hands on first. A movie based on this game has been in the works since 2015, and now, it will finally make its way to theaters.

We’ve had a few first-look images of the Borderlands movie, and they look good. And at CCXP Mexico City, fans got to watch a sneak peek of the film. While those of us at home will have to wait a little longer for that, Borderlands did reveal a brand-new poster celebrating its excellent (and massive) cast. You can take a look below.

Here’s everything we know about the Borderlands movie so far.

Title

This video game movie adaptation will be called Borderlands.

Borderland’s Plot

Lionsgate shared an official plot synopsis on April 5, 2021:

Two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett teams up with Kevin Hart in director Eli Roth’s Borderlands. Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Black), a persistently wiseass robot.

These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on the game from Gearbox and 2K, one of the bestselling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.

In some exciting news, we finally have our first good look at the live-action Borderlands movie. Lionsgate released two first-look images from Borderlands, which reveal one close-up of Cate Blanchett’s Lilith and one shot of the whole team. The team, of course, includes Kevin Hart’s Roland, an ex-soldier, Ariana Greenblatt’s Tiny Tina, a teenage explosives expert, Florian Munteanu’s Krieg, Tiny Tina’s bodyguard, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Tannis, a strange scientist/doctor, and Jack Black’s Claptrap, who is a robot.

Behind the Scenes

Eli Roth, best known for his horror films, is set as the director. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) is writing. Mazin is also working on HBO’s The Last of Us TV series. Producers for the Borderlands movie include Avi and Ari Arad, and Erik Feig, with executive producers Randy Pitchford (who served as executive producer on the game) and Strauss Zelnick. Deadpool‘s Tim Miller handled reshoots.

Borderland‘s Cast

And now we’re to the most exciting news about the Borderlands movie: the star power. Cate Blanchett landed the role of Lilith, the film’s lead. Kevin Hart will play Roland, a soldier. Lilith and Roland are two of the game’s Vault Hunters. Edgar Ramirez will play Atlas, who is the most powerful man in the video game’s universe. (Naturally, that means he’s a businessman and arms manufacturer.)

Jamie Lee Curtis has signed on for the film too, playing Tannis, an archaeologist. And we also know Jack Black will voice Claptrap, the game’s recognizable sassy robot sidekick. IGN reported on April 6, 2021 that Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters will play Krom. Additionally, Ariana Greenblatt and Florian Munteanu will star as Tiny Tina and Krieg, respectively.

The rest of the cast includes Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs, Charles Babalola as Hammerlock, Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus, Steven Boyer as Scooter, and Ryann Redmond as Ellie. In addition, Bobby Lee is also joining the cast in the new role of Larry.

We have a look at the movie, courtesy of star Jamie Lee Curtis and Lionsgate. It’s only the silhouettes of characters, but still:

Borderland‘s Release Date

Borderlands will release in theaters on August 9, 2024.

Originally published on April 2, 2021.

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There was a time, not that long ago, when most movies and TV shows based on a video game stunk. That’s obviously not true anymore. Sonic the Hedgehog, The Super Mario Bros., Halo, Arcane, and The Last of Us have all found recent success in a different medium. Now, there’s a new contender ready to join them on that list of successful video game adaptations. The fun first trailer for Borderlands promises an exciting space adventure with an all-star cast. That includes Cate Blanchett in a role she, and she alone, was born to play—the coolest person in the universe.

Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, and Gina Gershon join Oscar-winners Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis in what looks like a Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired space romp. They’ll make their way through the sci-fi western world of Gearbox Software and 2K’s Borderlands video game franchise. This unlikely group will be doing more than just looking for a valuable Vault, though.

Here’s the official synopsis for Borderlands to bring the trailer into focus:

Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.

Borderlands comes from director Eli Roth (Thanksgiving, Hostel). He co-wrote the script with newcomer Joe Crombie. (Well, he’s either a newcomer or Roth’s co-writer used a pseudonym.)

What Is the Release Date for the Borderlands Movie?

Will Borderlands end up joining the short list of successful video game adaptations or the long one of complete duds? We won’t know until it lands in theaters this summer on August 9, 2024. But if we had to bet our hidden fortune on either we’d go with successful. How can a movie be bad when it’s got Cate Blanchett playing a perfect part.

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Some films are obviously Christmas movies, like Noelle. But that designation is not so clear cut for others. They may be set during the holiday season, and they may even touch upon Christmas themes, but does that mean they truly qualify in the traditional sense? To find out, we’re putting those movies on trial and laying out all the evidence for and against them by answering some pertinent questions, just as we did with Die Hard, Gremlins, Edward Scissorhands, Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Rocky IV, and Batman Returns. And the latest movie to take the stand in our great Christmas movie debate is hoping its season stock(ing) is about to go up. That’s right, it’s time to buy or sell holiday shares in Trading Places.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, ask yourself…

How much of Trading Places takes place at Christmastime?

Roughly 75% of Trading Places is set during Christmas time in chilly Philadelphia. (The other 25% runs from New Year’s Eve to January 2, with the final sequence on a tropical island taking place a during an unknown time in the near future.) The film is full of festive trees and other holiday decor, though not much Christmas music. A big important sequence also takes place during a Christmas Eve work party, which Dan Aykroyd’s Winthorpe crashes in the dirtiest Santa costume ever put on screen. It’s both delightful and disgusting.

Would Trading Places be fundamentally different if it were set at any other time of the year?

Story wise not really. There aren’t a lot of specific plot elements that tie directly into the holiday. Christmas is mostly present in decorations and the cold weather. The Christmas Eve party and following scenes are the only aspect that would fundamentally change if they took place during another time, but mostly because you’d lose the visual of a drunk, totally out of control Santa. Hiding an entire salmon filet in an Easter bunny costume just doesn’t deliver the same type of laugh.

Do any of the film’s major themes apply to Christmas?

Some very important themes have no connection with traditional Christmas ones. Those include racism, nature vs. nurture, and revenge. But some of the film’s biggest ideas certainly apply to the season. Greed, class structure, friendship, and kindness are all out of Charles Dickens’ holiday playbook.

The problem in trying to give Trading Places thematic Christmas credit is that while greed leads to the villains’ downfall, greed is also how the good guys win. And it’s not like they use their new unimaginable wealth to spread goodwill. They all move to a remote paradise where they reside like kings. That’s not in the spirit of the season. There’s a reason A Christas Carol doesn’t end with Bob Cratchit bankrupting Scrooge and moving Tiny Tim into Buckingham Palace.

Does watching Trading Places at Christmastime enhance the experience?

Trading Places is a comedy set during Christmas rather than a Christmas comedy. There’s only a tangential relationship between the events on screen and living through the holiday season. It’s not any more or any less funny if you watch it any other time of year. Eddie Murphy is equally charismatic and hilarious 365 days.

It would be different if the big payoff—when Billy Ray and Winthorpe ruin the Duke brothers—happened on Christmas rather than around New Year’s. That “out with the old/in with the new” ending does land with a little more oomph if you watch Trading Place around January 1st. The conclusion has more to do with the spirit of New Year’s than the spirit of Christmas.

Has this film been accepted as a Christmas movie tradition?

You’re not going to believe this, but an R-rated comedy that includes nudity, adult-language, homophobic slurs, drug use, blackface, and the strong insinuation a gorilla sexually assaults a human has not become a seasonal viewing staple during the most wonderful time of the year.

Okay, maybe you do believe it. But in fairness, while many elements of Trading Places—like so many other ’80s comedies—have not aged well, the film is great enough to still get played on basic cable any time of year.

THE FINAL VERDICT

This one is close. Any film setting during the holiday season that ends with two rich, greedy, corrupt, amoral, racist a-holes getting their complete comeuppance is a Christmas miracle we want to re-experience every December. And if that payoff took place during Christmas we’d probably find in favor of the film’s holiday bonafides. Instead we have to short this movie’s holiday stock, especially since it has not become a traditional part of the season yet.

Not that Billy Ray and Winthorpe should care. They’re looking good and feeling good even if Trading Places does not qualify as a Christas movie.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Ever since the Halloween franchise returned with the titular 2018 reboot, the new trilogy has been on a quest to excavate Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) past trauma. It’s been an uneven journey. The brutal retconning of the first entry charmed many viewers. It also broke box office records as Curtis returned to her iconic Final Girl role. This reviewer wasn’t a fan of the second entry, Halloween Kills. But the third film, fittingly titled Halloween Ends is an ambitious and unexpected story that serves as a fitting send off for the Strode family. 

In some ways Halloween Ends makes the new Halloween trilogy feel almost like Sam Raimi’s beloved Evil Dead. It’s not that they’re similar in tone. David Gordon Green’s Halloween is far more serious and grim. However, with Halloween Ends it feels like Green has made the same film three times. However, just like Army of the Dead, the final Halloween jumps the shark in a way that worked. Each entry is about Laurie dealing with her trauma, but Ends sticks the landing in a way the others didn’t. Not only that, it takes a narrative risk that will likely prove divisive but that makes it point in a far more powerful way than either of his two previous films. 

Set four years after the events of the last film, which saw the town of Haddonfield succumb to its own anger and hatred of Michael Myers, we find Laurie healing. She’s writing a book, living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and healthily grieving the death of her daughter. RIP Judy Greer. The pair still reside in Haddonfield, which is questionable and inevitable. But before we join them, we get a brutally effective cold open that stands as one of the franchise’s most shocking moments. It also serves as our introduction to Corey (Rohan Campbell). The gruesome tragedy defines his life and sets him on a collision course with Michael Myers. 

How much you care about or relate to Corey and Allyson’s stories will define your enjoyment of the film. But this is still Laurie Strode’s tale as she attempts to move past the horrors she’s experienced. Curtis is infinitely watchable as always, the broken-yet-beaten heart of the film. Both Matichak and Campbell balance their complex central plot well as they keep the audience invested even in the bleakest of moments. Campbell has the hardest job out of any cast member and he delivers in every scene. It’s difficult to talk about the gravitas and empathy he brings in a spoiler-free review, but believe us when we say he succeeds. Green shoots Halloween Ends in a flickering atmospheric tone that builds tension constantly even though the movie is far less concerned with mystery than your usual slasher. That tone is cemented by brilliant sound design that constantly keeps you on edge. 

Halloween Ends marks a high point for the new trilogy. If this really is the last Halloween film, it’s a worthy if uneven finale. But if not, it’ll be interesting to see where it goes next.

Halloween Ends hits theaters and Peacock on October 14.

Halloween Ends ⭐ (3 of 5)

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It is Halloween…and it ends. Those are the frankly hilarious words that the legendary John Carpenter used to describe the latest installment in the long (and at times baffling) Halloween movie franchise. Halloween Ends is the last film in this new trilogy that connects directly back into the events of the very first movie. Just one year ago, we got Halloween Kills, where there was much hootin’ and hollerin’ about “evil dies tonight” only for Michael Myers to not die. But, the Halloween Ends trailer suggests that the decades-long battle between The Shape and Laurie Strode will come to an end. (Probably not, but let’s pretend.) 

This final trailer really sets up the battle between MM and Laurie, from his reemergence to her determination to get revenge. Everything from her paranoia about seeing him all over the place to the realization that he is back four years after killing her daughter is chilling. It adds on to a previous trailer that focuses more on their actual physical battle.

In this one, ya boy Mike enters into a house to sneak up on Laurie. But she’s ready and waiting with a gun pointed at his head. They do a whole lot of fighting as she tells that m**therf**ker to come get her. Of course, we still don’t get a lot of plot details from these Halloween Ends trailers. But do we really need anything? This is it. The final showdown after over 40 years of strife. Michael Myers vs. Laurie Strode. And, according to the Halloween Ends synopsis, only one of them will make it out alive. 

Four years after the events of last year’s Halloween Kills, Laurie is living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and is finishing writing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, after allowing the specter of Michael to determine and drive her reality for decades, has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell; The Hardy Boys, Virgin River), is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all. 

Well…Michael Myers seems sort of immortal (even in this new timeline), so the odds are not in Laurie’s favor. Now, will Halloween Ends really be the last Halloween movie as its trailer suggests? It’s a pretty strong possibility. There’s really nowhere else for the franchise to go after so many films. (Thirteen to be exact.) And surely Jamie Lee Curtis is ready to leave Laurie Strode behind. But you can never say never with horror. Evil always finds a way to never die.

Halloween Ends will release in theaters on October 14. It will simultaneously will also simultaneously be available to stream on Peacock.

Originally published August 23, 2022.

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Yes. A cosplay wedding. Jamie Lee Curtis seems to think it’s a known quantity. Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t feel so certain. And we don’t know who we agree with exactly… But we do know we think cosplay weddings should be the done thing. We also would very much like photos of Jamie Lee Curtis in her Warcraft cosplay after the wedding takes place, thank you very much. Take a look as Jamie Lee Curtis explains more about her upcoming cosplay adventures.

In this segment with Kimmel, Jamie Lee Curtis explains that her daughter will soon get married. And the wedding will be a cosplay wedding. Yes, Jimmy, a cosplay wedding. And that means, everyone comes in costume. Although, of course, to make it cosplay and not just costume, these costumes must emulate a fictional character. Curtis shares that her daughter helped pick out her costume:

Her name is Jaina Proudmoore. It’s a game, I don’t know. It’s a game. She’s an admiral. So I went on Etsy and wrote up ‘Jaina Proudmoore costume,’ and up came a woman who had the costume. We exchanged communication, I paid her a nice sum of money for this, and all is going great, I sent her my measurements. Everything’s going great.

Jaina Proudmoore hails from the Warcraft franchise. And she’s one cool-looking mage, whose outfit Jamie Lee Curtis would absolutely rock. We can totally see the inspiration. Unfortunately, Curtis’ costume has met a bit of a delay. But if it does make it to Curtis on time, like we said, we hope she shares some pictures. If not, we guess Jamie Lee Curtis may have some ready-to-wear cosplay on hand. Maybe she could make an appearance as Halloween‘s Laurie Strode? Although that may not feel very romantic. Alternatively, she could pull a Freaky Friday with her daughter? That could be strange at the wedding though.

Well, Jaina Proudmoore it is. Fingers crossed the Warcraft cosplay will make it to Curtis for next role as mage officiant.

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Marvel isn’t the only studio wading into the chaos of the multiverse. A24’s next big screen adventure will take viewers on a trip through infinite worlds. And it’ll do so with a hero people of every dimension can get behind, Michelle Yeoh. The first trailer for Everything Everywhere All At Once introduces the only hope for the entire universe and its many realms. A woman whose existence goes far beyond the mundane life she leads in one single reality.

This trailer gives off major Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry vibes. And that’s always a good thing. This first look at the film combines great visuals (some of those sets are works of art) with a unique take on a classic movie trope. Exploring who we could have been in another life is not a new idea. Doing so by living out your own infinite existence at the same time and drawing on each of those lives is a spin that already makes this entry in the genre feel different. Its veteran star certainly does too.

But the film actually comes from the co-writing and co-directing “Daniels.” That’s A24’s affectionate term for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The movie follows “an aging Chinese immigrant” who finds herself in the most unlikely of journeys. She learns “she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led.” Good luck to all the alternate Michelle Yeohs in the multiverse though. Going to be tough to top the career she’s led in this one.

The film also features Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., and James Hong. Along with Jamie Lee Curtis and that amazing wig. All those googly eyes play themselves.

Everything Everywhere All At Once comes to theaters next spring, March 25, 2022. Well, at least it does in this dimension. Check your own multiverse schedule for when it arrives in your world.

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It’s Halloween, baby, so that means one thing: we’re going back to Haddonfield. For years that meant making a ton of popcorn and heading to our couch to rewatch John Carpenter’s iconic holiday horror. Maybe even some of the enjoyably corny later sequels. But we now have new entries to the franchise. In 2018, Blumhouse brought Michael Myers back to the big screen with the confusingly named soft-reboot / sequel Halloween. And now the little horror studio that could has returned with Halloween Kills.

Universal Pictures

Ignoring every movie after the 1978 original (sacrilege), 2018’s Halloween reintroduced us to Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode. She’s a terrified and paranoid woman. That fateful Halloween night decades ago when she almost lost her life defined her. It’s not only Laurie whose life Michael Myers destroyed though. We also met her estranged daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). The three teamed up against Michael, who they apparently defeated thanks to Laurie’s innovative trap. But as Halloween Kills immediately reveals, the Shape isn’t as dead as the Strodes might have hoped.

Following on directly from the 2018 film before a quick flashback to 1978, this is a sequel that wants to get straight to the action and thrives when it does. Alas, the path to that action gets lost in the weeds as Halloween Kills tries to navigate the emotional gauntlet its predecessor set up. Namely, that Laurie is a traumatized mess who will go to any lengths to kill Michael. In this movie, that fervor inspires her neighbors to join her quest. Luckily, as always, Curtis is fantastic and brings heart and authenticity to Laurie. At no point do you question why the townspeople would follow her—only why we don’t spend more time with her. Greer is also great but desperately underutilized. Halloween Kills also misses the charm and personality that the young cast brought to the 2018 movie and the previous entries.

Universal Pictures

If you’re here for the deaths the title promises, then Halloween Kills delivers. There are comedy kills, wild gore kills, creepy kills, kills with a neon light bulb, armpit kills, playground kills… just so many kills. Actually, this might legitimately be Michael Myers’ highest single film body count. But is that what any Halloween fan is really here for? Carpenter’s original work is a masterclass in tension and fear. It notably doesn’t include any blood or have a particularly high body count. In that way, Halloween Kills suffers from the same issue as the movie that preceded it: it’s unclear what director David Gordon Green is aiming for.

By erasing the previous sequels from canon he seems to want to tell a stripped back horror tale with a story about trauma at its heart. That said, it’s still ironically a horror sequel. And Halloween 2018’s fresher take felt muddied with an often more fun to watch subplot of Michael Myers killing charming teenagers. That’s the ultimate quandary in these films. Sure, we’re here to see kids get killed. How do you add more layers to that? Is it worth it? Can it be done? Halloween Kills doesn’t answer those questions but it does offer up a distractingly gore-filled watch starring one of horror’s most famous icons.

Universal Pictures

For a movie that apparently wants to erase most of the past, Halloween Kills seems obsessed with it. And it’s at its best when reuniting the cast of the original 1978 Halloween in a vendetta against the masked man who ruined their lives. That reunion also offers up the most exhilarating potential of the movie: a community coming together against a terrifying threat. It brings together normal people, of all ages and all backgrounds, against the near existential terror of Michael Myers. Though, of course, many of them don’t survive long enough for it to become an interesting exploration of what any of this could actually mean. It soon becomes a pitchfork waving mob rather than a show of power against a mass murderer.

Perhaps Halloween Kills will be a more satisfying film when watched in between the two movies it’s made to follow and precede. But as a simple sequel and standalone feature, it’s disjointed to the point of confusion and seems to be stuck between two worlds. If you’re going to commit to an outrageous body count and kills, then go for it by all means. Want to make a deep meditation on trauma and cycles of violence? Please do! If you can expertly balance both then there’s a definite power to that. But, sadly, Halloween Kills isn’t that film.

2.5/5

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You can kill a man. But can you kill the “essence of evil?” The people of Haddonfield are going to try in Halloween Kills, director David Gordon Green’s sequel to his 2018 revival of the franchise. But as the first full trailer for the film shows, it won’t be easy stopping Michael Myers. Even if everyone finally believes in Laurie Strode’s boogeyman. Because with each murder he grows more invincible.

And he’s about to murder a whole lot of people.

Taking place on the same night as the last film, Halloween Kills reveals Michael Myers survived his fiery tomb. He’s the only one though. Once freed from the burning home he begins to cut a bloody path through the town. That will finally (FINALLY!) unite everyone against him. Whether they’ll be successful is less of a guarantee.

From the film’s official synopsis:

“Minutes after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster.”

Universal Pictures

Setting the movie on the same night as the last film could make this the most action-packed Halloween installment ever. Michael will get to “work” right away. And everyone else is already in a frenzied state. There won’t be much need to build to the terror. Laurie also won’t have decades worth of time to plan though. This will be a fight to the death. Whose death? The people of Haddonfield better hope “evil dies tonight.”

Halloween Kills also stars Will Patton, Thomas Mann, and Anthony Michael Hall. It makes its fiery debut in theaters October 15. Just in time for you know what.

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The Halloween series has been going on for over forty years, and has eleven installments all together. But if you plan to binge watch the series finally this spooky season, you might want to buckle up for the wildest continuity ride in movie history. After John Carpenter’s original 1978 classic, the franchise goes off in wild timeline tangents. There are several mini continuities within the series, and it’s all very confusing to say the least. 2018’s reboot basically ignores all those sequels, saying only the first movie “happened.”

Blumhouse / Universal Pictures

But what if the sequels, with all their contradicting timelines, actually matter still? What if they are all different urban legends that have formed the foundation for conspiracy theories which exist within the continuity of Halloween 2018 (and its two upcoming sequels), the only “true” continuations? In this day and age, there are wild conspiracies about just about everything on the internet, but especially surrounding famous crimes. Most of which can be found on reddit and YouTube.

Here’s how we think each of the Halloween sequel plotlines would be presented in the internet world of the new films, each as different conspiracy theories based on local urban legends.

Halloween II (1981)

Universal Pictures

All the conspiracy theories and urban myths surrounding the 1978 “Halloween Night Babysitter Murders” start right here. In this long standing theory, the body count is much higher than originally reported by authorities. It isn’t just four people Michael Myers murders on October 31, 1978. Myers kills an additional ten people at Haddonfield General Hospital that very same night, when he goes there to kill Laurie Strode.

This theory also hinges on the fact that Laurie Strode is, in fact, Michael’s long lost secret sister. The details of the hospital killings are classified by various nefarious government agencies. They have been covering up not only the much larger body count and their collective police failure, but also the blood link between Strode and Myers. Almost all other Michael Myers conspiracy theories originate from this one, which first began life as a local urban legend in mid-80s Illinois.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Trancas International 

In this often-shared online conspiracy, Laurie Strode died in a car accident, but leaves behind a 7 year old daughter named Jamie Lloyd. A badly injured Michael Myers is kept alive in an off-the-books facility. He returns to Haddonfield intent on killing his young niece after learning of her existence. Nineteen additional murders happen in or around Haddonfield in 1988, all attributed to outside parties. In truth, they were all the work of an escaped Myers. 20 other people die by Myers’ hands the following year, including seven police officers. The local government continues to hide what really happened in Haddonfield during this two-year stretch, in an attempt to cover up their failures.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Dimension Films

This urban legend is the most out there, Illuminati-style conspiracy theory surrounding Michael Myers. Even the most hardcore Myers true-crime conspiracy buffs on the internet have a hard time swallowing this one. But it has a loyal core of ardent believers who make lots of YouTube videos and have sub-reddits devoted to it. So it continues to gain traction among the most easily gullible among us.

According to this theory, Michael Myers isn’t just a garden variety psychopath with seemingly high levels of resistance to bullet wounds. He’s actually the product of a Pagan society known as the Cult of Thorn, who have been operating behind the scenes in Haddonfield, Il for decades. It’s all very complex, something to do with a child killing their siblings every Halloween night and fulfilling a prophecy. Their plans all came to fruition on Halloween night, 1995.

Halloween: H20 (1998)

Dimension Films

This theory posits that all the Pagan cult stuff is just a massive misinformation campaign, as well as Laurie having a daughter. An elaborate ruse to hide the real story. Laurie Strode concocts this misdirection herself, because she never actually died in any crash. However, she did fake her own death in a car accident, in order to live out a new new life under the alias of Keri Tate in California. The hope was that her brother would never be able to find her under this new forged identity. But find her he did, resulting in a slaughter at a posh California boarding school where Strode worked in 1998. Laurie Strode finally kills Myers for good during this incident, when she beheads him with an ax.

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Dimension Films

This is a far less popular theory, but stems from the popular Keri Tate theory. Evidence suggests that the person that Laurie Strode decapitates in 1998 is not Myers, but an innocent ambulance worker who he switched places with at the last minute. Strode suffers an emotional and mental collapse as a result, requiring her to be institutionalized. It is in that hospital that Michael finally found her, and killed her. For reasons unknown, he then went on to slaughter a group of twenty somethings who were doing a live webcam feed from his childhood home. It has been suggested that famed rapper Busta Rhymes was a witness. He has never gone on record.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch famously has nothing to do with the Myers storylines, so it doesn’t have any online conspiracy theories surrounding it. But we’d like to think that the Rob Zombie remakes exist within the world of Halloween 2018, as over-the-top and inaccurate representations of the events of 1978. The real Laurie Strode did not participate in these films, and gets no royalty checks for them. So she hates these the most. If all these conspiracies exist in the world of the new films online, I hope we meet the fans obsessed with them in the sequels. And we hope Laurie tells them they’re all wasting their lives away.

Featured Image: Blumhouse / Universal Pictures

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Jamie Lee Curtis made horror fans everywhere thrilled beyond belief when she returned to her iconic role of Laurie Strode for 2018’s Halloween. And before she returns to play the role once again this fall, she and several of her castmates are revisiting the most recent sequel/reboot with a special Twitter Watch Party. If you’re anything like me, then this news already has you hearing John Carpenter’s iconic music in your head.

Via Bloody-Disgusting, we’ve learned that this Saturday, May 16, Curtis will be joined by the film’s director David Gordon Green, along with producer and cinema legend John Carpenter, the man who got this whole ball rolling. Blumhouse’s very own Jason Blum will be also on hand, as will Judy Greer and both actors who play “the Shape,” James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle. All one has to do is follow and use #HalloweenAtHome to join in the sure-to-be bloody good time.

Universal Pictures 

This Watch Party will be perfect preparation, as Jamie Lee Curtis, David Gordon Green and John Carpenter are all scheduled to return for two back-to-back sequels, with Halloween Kills hitting theaters this fall first. This initial follow up to the 2018 film is set to release on October 16, 2020. But of course, that all may change depending on what form the COVID-19 crisis takes later in the year. The third part of this modern Michael Myers trilogy is Halloween Ends, which is currently aiming at an October 1, 2021, release date.

Jamie Lee Curtis is always a blast to listen to talk about her iconic role, and always has amusing anecdotes to share about being the world’s most iconic Scream Queen. or years, John Carpenter had little to nothing to do with the franchise he created. But now he’s back in the fold as a producer and composer. So it should be fascinating to hear what he has to say about returning to the world of Michael Myers after so long. Here’s hoping some other surprise Halloween alumni join in the fun as well.

Featured Image: Universal Pictures

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“Eat shit.” With those two words Chris Evans helped create one of the best scenes in one of 2019’s best films, Knives Out. But a new video shows a lot more than Ransom Drysdale’s biting remark went into making that moment so memorable. Writer and director Rian Johnson has given us plenty of others ways to appreciate his classic cinematic family showdown in a video breaking down the entire sequence. But in his zeal to bring us behind the camera, Johnson might have given away a huge clue for his next Benoit Blanc mystery. It turns out holding an iPhone is a huge clue in any movie.

There are so many great insights to appreciate in this Vanity Fair scene breakdown. We could make our own video analyzing everything we love about it. However, Johnson’s best insight might get him in trouble with other filmmakers. They’re likely to give him crap about sharing a trick of the trade with the public. We had no idea any character seen holding an Apple iPhone can’t be a bad guy or villain. That fascinating factoid doesn’t change the experience we had watching Knives Out before. It will change the way we watch the sequel though, along with literally every other show and movie we see.

That’s a huge giveaway. Apple might have to change its rules now, lest other directors opt for a different brand of phone. We have no idea what an Android means for a character’s motivations. Can a killer use a Galaxy?

Lionsgate/Vanity Fair

This breakdown also works as a fantastic mini-directing class for budding filmmakers. Johnson explains how he creates depth by shooting scenes with characters on multiple planes. That creates triangles, the same great artists do in paintings. This is also a fun lesson on how make a digital shoot look like film, including how scenes are lit and what can be done to make the final product look like it is on film. Those are details only the most skilled eyes might notice without having them pointed out.

But we also love hearing the stories about the actors in the scene, especially since the Knives Out cast was loaded. We aren’t surprised even one iota though to discover Michael Shannon was the funniest person on set. He might play some terrifying characters on screen, but social media is full of amazing tales of him being the most hilarious person alive.

Lionsgate

It’s also crazy to think about how different this entire sequence could have been if Ransom said “fuck you” like in the original script. The film would have earned an R-rating, which would have cut into its huge box office dollars. And then we might not be getting a sequel.

That might be the movie’s biggest twist. Captain America saying “eat shit” repeatedly was the one good thing Ransom did.

Featured Image: Vanity Fair

The post Rian Johnson Explains Why Bad Guys Can’t Have iPhones appeared first on Nerdist.

Although he wasn’t privy to the different iterations of Johnson’s script for The Last Jedi, a document protected on a laptop with permanently-disabled internet connectivity, Segan knew about Knives Out long before the filmmaker offered him a role tailor-made to his evolution as an actor. “This was an idea that he had been talking about for years of giving Agatha Christie the treatment that he gave Dashiell Hammett [with Brick],” Segan told Nerdist. “I think I read the first draft and the third draft, and then it didn’t change much after that – because the vast majority of his process is happening in his brain. He carries around these little black notebooks, and nobody really knows what’s in them, but he’s got dozens and dozens of them. I believe one day I’m going to get a peek at them and it’s just going to be little drawings of dicks.”

“But whatever he is doodling in them, at the end of that process he comes out of them ready to write a script in a matter of weeks,” Segan explained. “And in the case of Knives Out, it really is a murder mystery and it’s ‘howdunit’ as much as a ‘whodunit’, and it sweeps you up in it. And it was a really nice thing to have this other aspect, the social commentary, and the humor kind of surprised me in a weird way.”

Segan played a role in every film Johnson has made—drug addicts and disreputable types, not counting his short-lived turn as Rebel pilot Stomeroni Starck in The Last Jedi. He admitted he was surprised by the character Johnson asked him to play in Knives Out, a cop who’s shepherding detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) through his unconventional investigative process to find the murderer of mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer).

“He said, do you like this concept? This guy is sort of funny and is not like a murderer—he’s kind of a goof,” he remembered. “And I was like, you mean like a dad? I’d just had a kid, so I was like, I get to play like a fun dad? And I was like, all right. Though did he write me the role of the fun dad or did I just grow into it? I don’t know.”

Though Segan was one of the production’s veterans in terms of collaborating with Johnson, he worked with some true icons of the stage and screen, as well as a few up-and-comers, like Lakeith Stanfield, he admits he felt starstruck sharing the screen with. “It was a little intimidating because Lakeith was and is one of my favorite actors, especially because he’s a guy who hasn’t been a favorite actor for my whole life like Jamie [Lee Curtis],” he explained. “But he’s has been my favorite actor for five years. And we both like weird stuff and are pretty out there in terms of opinions and yet we have a lot in common in our personal lives, so we were able to connect quickly and become friends and spend a lot of time together.”

“Lakeith and Daniel, we probably spent the most amount of time together out of work just hanging out,” he revealed. “A little bit of it was just proximity because for the Thrombey family, the folks that didn’t work every single day would often stay closer to town in Boston. So a handful of us, me, Daniel, Ana, Lakeith were there the whole time and as a result it was often like, we have to get up for work in seven hours, so we might as well just keep it mellow. But the easiest way to become buddies with somebody else is to be stuck with them for a while and find out what makes you both tick.”

That said, Segan indicated that some of those older performers established a gratifyingly familial environment on set that lasted throughout the 40-odd-day shoot. “We shot in this big old house in Massachusetts; the people who owned the house had this little area in the basement with some chairs and nice places to sit and it was a little quiet,” he said. “And on the first day we blocked the scene, and then it was time to take a break while the crew set up the lights. And I think it was Jamie who was like, I’m not going back to these trailers. I’d rather sit in this cool house and hang out. And cut to the end of the day, all eight of the cast members who were working are sitting around in a circle in the basement of this house playing charades.”

“And that was the tone of the film,” he continued. “That sort of camaraderie is incredibly hard to find, but it really does make your working day very pleasant because you kind of don’t stop working. You’re sort of humming along cause you’re with these people who you look up to.”

That energy feels palpable on screen as well as an incredible ensemble bounces each character vividly off of one another, changing audience perceptions while appearing to have an absolute blast just mixing it up in each scene. In fact, Segan revealed that the collective sense of collaboration was so strong that it inspired an improvisation that generates one of the film’s biggest laughs. “We were getting towards the end of our run on Knives Out and there was this moment in rehearsal where Lakeith’s character interrupts Benoit Blanc as Daniel Craig is giving one of his big, eloquent, expositional stories,” he recalled. “And I was listening so intently to Daniel that I went “shhh!” and I shushed Lakeith! I thought it was so funny and so perfect that I’m telling Rian, man, you should get me shushing him, because that shit is real, man.”

Segan said that Johnson, who he characterizes as the best kind of director, a “benevolent dictator,” eventually relented and let the actor add his little flourish to the moment. “Finally at the end of the day Rian said, all right, go ahead and do the shush, because I know you find it really funny. And I did it. For like 15 years, I’ve been doing exactly what Rian tells me to do in his scripts. And I thought I had actually done the thing that you want to do, which is become so much this character I was playing that we kind of blurred the lines in a really fun way.” But even more than spicing up a complex and thrilling scene, Segan said he thrilled at the chance to truly add something to the filmmaker’s always brilliant, carefully-constructed visions—and more than that, to strike out almost unexpectedly in a bold new direction in his career.

“After playing in Rian Johnson movies for 15 years and then also being in like dozens and dozens of other movies, it’s hard for me to think of other examples where I have felt weirdly like I’m in it like I am in this one,” he admitted. “It’s strange to consider that I may have just spent the last 20 years playing rapists and murderers and drug addicts and like the worst people on earth. But in reality, I’m just kind of a goofy dad. Nobody saw that coming. I didn’t think the next stage of my career was going to be Reginald VelJohnson characters. And I love everything he has done! So I’m fine with going full VelJohnson.”

Knives Out is open now in theaters nationwide.

Photos courtesy Lionsgate

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Looks like Jamie Lee Curtis might be heading back to Haddonfield, that is according to a report from Collider. It states the sequel to Halloween (itself a sequel to the first film, but not the other sequels) will start shooting in September. It’s likely we’ll see the iconic scream queen return to the role that made her name.

Though the piece didn’t have an official comment from Blumhouse, they stated “Jamie Lee Curtis is all but assured to return as Laurie Strode, the tough-as-nails franchise survivor who may just be Michael Myers’ worst nightmare, while Judy Greer and Andi Matichak are expected to reprise their respective roles as Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter, though talent deals have yet to close. Not too many other people survived the events of 2018’s Halloween, so expect Blumhouse to introduce a new cast of supporting characters, i.e. a new batch of victims for The Shape.”

The 2018 horror reboot made $255.5 million, making it one of the most successful horror films of all time. So it makes sense that Blumhouse would likely try to recreate that success. The popular franchise had been flagging since its last entry in the Halloween series in 2002, with two mildly received remakes from Rob Zombie in 2009 and 2011. Both of those failed to reignite the flames of the franchise in the same way that Blumhouse’s gritty survivalist take did last year.

It’ll be interesting to see how the producers would follow up on the critically acclaimed hit which was also criticized for its exploration of PTSD and female trauma by some. Fans and critics alike wondered how much more spectacular Halloween could have been if a woman had written or directed it. According to Collider, the same creative team would return for the sequel. But who knows? Maybe Blumhouse–who recently announced a Black Christmas reboot helmed by two brilliant women–will have a surprise up their sleeve when it comes to behind the camera talent? Either way, we’ll likely have to wait a while to hear whether this rumor is true or not.

Strap in, cos we likely haven’t seen the last of Michael Myers or his sometimes-sister Laurie yet.

Nerdist has reached out to Blumhouse for confirmation. 

Images: Blumhouse, Compass International Pictures

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The Halloween franchise has been going for forty years now, but while toy and merchandise shelves have seen many renditions of iconic masked killer Michael Myers, there has never been a movie-accurate toy of the real star, Jamie Lee Curtis‘ Laurie Strode. Until last night, when NECA, in the mood for some Halloween-themed reveals, showcased one pissed-off survivor.

Happy Halloween, Michael. #HalloweenMovie2018 @jamieleecurtis pic.twitter.com/FdCfaK3jeM

— NECA (@NECA_TOYS) October 31, 2018

Toy companies have typically held off doing figures of “scream queens,” based on the questionable perception that they don’t sell as well as the monsters. But considering the company has had success with toys of Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley, it seems the heroines who fight back with a full-on arsenal tend to do a little better. Don’t expect a 1978 Laurie any time soon, however, as due to weird licensing quirks, NECA has only been able to obtain the rights to the most recent film.You might think this is the first Jamie Lee Curtis action figure ever. It’s not. Back in the late ’90s, when toy companies were discovering that there was a market for R-rated movie figures, and independent manufacturers were snapping up the rights for every new property that showed any potential whatsoever, we got this:Let’s just say the toys were a lot better than the okay-but-nothing-special movie (they made a Donald Sutherland figure too!). The new Laurie, however, is special–expect to see more accessories and packaging at a later date.Does this Strode put the step in your stride?

Images: NECA, Universal Studios/Amazon.com

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We are mere days away from the long-awaited final confrontation between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers in the new Halloween, which hits theaters on October 19 (we loved it). Directed by longtime fan of the 1978 original, David Gordon Green, and written by Danny McBride, along with music by Michael Myers’ creator John Carpenter, this latest installment aims to create a true sequel to the original classic, retroactively placing all the other Halloween sequels right in the circular file.[brightcove video_id=”5849971846001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]In this exclusive video, the cast and crew of Halloween 2018 reminisce about their first times seeing the original film when they were all just kids, and the impact it made on all of their lives, not to mention the impact it had on the entire horror genre itself. After all, Michael Myers not only started a trend of iconic masked killers in films that centered around a specific day of the year, he’d also start the tradition of big screen monsters who just so happened to have regular ordinary “guy next door” names like Michael, Freddy, and Jason.“All we wanted to do was make a movie, and make a scary movie, and that’s all we cared about,” says John Carpenter of his now iconic original film, which he directed when he was just shy of 30 years old. No one back then knew they were changing the game entirely, but those who make history don’t often set realizing they’re going to do just that—it just happens anyway.Are you as excited as we are to return to Haddonfield? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Universal Studios 

The post HALLOWEEN Cast and Crew Talk About Their First Experiences with Michael Myers (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

In 1978, director John Carpenter created not only one of the greatest horror films ever made, he accidentally launched a franchise which has spawned 10 films, and seemingly a million imitators. You know the music, you know the mask, it’s Halloween.this year, in time for the original’s 40th anniversary, Carpenter, (as a producer), and star Jamie Lee Curtis are set to return for one more round of Haddonfield highjinks. But now that there are eleven films in the series, how do they all stack up, all these years later? Lets count down the best Halloween films, starting from the very worst to the all-time classics.

#11. Halloween Resurrection (2002)

The original Halloween is like Jenga — take away the right piece, and it all falls apart. But luckily, all the right pieces came together to make this timeless classic: John Carpenter to write and direct, Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence to star, and Carpenter once again to create that iconic and indelible score. Oh, and let’s not forget William Shatner to lend his face, albeit by accident, to create one of the most iconic and memorable images in film history, Michael Myers’ mask. Some people say Halloween doesn’t hold up to modern standards. They are wrong — Halloween is 90 minutes of horror perfection.Which of the ten Halloween films is your favorite? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Trancas International Films

Welcome to Nerdoween! Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating everything spooky, macabre, and just plain weird. Nerdoween 2017 is presented by Alpha, our interactive membership service, which offers you exclusive content from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, as well as a 10% discount on all of our merch.

Stay Spooked

• Every Halloween movie coming to every streaming service in October
• The top 10 scariest monsters in The X-Files
• Schlock and Awe: Children of the Corn

The post Ranking All 11 HALLOWEEN Films From Worst to Best appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas!! Halloween!!! Yes, the leaves are crinkling beneath your feet, the wind has a chill, and there’s a hint of bonfire smoke in the air. You’re sweating because you live in LA and want to wear a scarf. It’s magical, isn’t it? Well, if there’s one thing that’s most wonderful about this spooky season, it’s popping some corn and sitting down to watch a scary movie. So we’ve compiled a list of some of the best horror icons for you to curl up and pay homage to this Nerdoween.

Sennia Nanua – The Girl With All The Gifts

Mike Carey’s award winning bestseller gave us a brand new take on zombie lore, but Sennia Nanua’s stand out performance as the book’s protagonist, Melanie, gave this incredible indie adaptation even more depth. Sennia’s Melanie is a victim, monster, child, and leader of a new world all wrapped up in one. This post apocalyptic movie has more nuance than a lot of  standard zombie fare, and most of that is thanks to Nanua.

Neve Campbell – Scream

For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott was our first introduction to the radical world of the final girl. Her genre defining, rule breaking role in Wes Craven’s Scream brought the decades old conventions of slasher movies crashing down, whilst creating a resurgence in referential horror that would end up changing the face of the genre forever.

Brandy – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Speaking of final girls, Brandy is often overlooked but truly wonderful in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. This sequel to the original Scream-influenced second wave slasher saw a group of teens get slowly slaughtered on a mysterious holiday island. Most memorable for dreadlocks-wearing Jack Black getting a hook through his hand, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer surprised us by having Brandy survive alongside franchise staple Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween

Arguably the defining Hollywood final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis’ star making turn as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s low budget contemporary classic introduced an era of “scream queens.” She gave the movie a heart that many of the era’s exploitative horror movies severely lacked. Curtis’ Laurie became quickly iconic, launching Curtis into the spotlight and a thousand other scream queens into slasher canon.

Sigourney Weaver – Alien

Ridley Scott’s Alien is a masterpiece. It broke ground in many ways not least because of Sigourney Weaver’s radical portrayal of Ripley. The Nostromo’s civilian adviser turned badass alien assassin, Weaver’s performance is at the dark heart of Scott’s hard sci-fi horror hit. Ripley is easily one of the most iconic horror heroes of all time and her journey from scared observer to sole survivor is one of the most exhilarating ever put to screen.

Naomie Harris – 28 Days Later

Danny Boyle’s dark take on what would happen if a rabies-like virus turned most of the population into crazed, violent beasts, 28 Days Later deatures Naomie Harris’ nurse Selena traversing a desolate London trying to find safety for her and her newly found ward played Megan Burns. The two women battle to survive, but as always the most dangerous thing around them are actually the survivors. Selena is a wholly fresh take on a final girl, one who is driven first and foremost by her radically caring nature.

Aki Maeda – Battle Royale

Kinji Fukasaku’s cult classic political satire based on the book of the same name tells the story of a dystopia where teen delinquency is so bad that once a year a school class is sent to fight to the death. Aki Maeda’s Noriko is Battle Royale’s final girl. Though most horror movie survivors are defined by their strength or willingness to fight, Aki’s survival is based predominantly on her kindness. Battle Royale is still one of the coolest entries into modern horror canon and Aki Maeda is the unconventional hero the movie deserves.

Heather Langenkamp – A Nightmare on Elm Street

Another seminal slasher, A Nightmare on Elm Street saw Langenkamp’s Nancy take on the terrifying figure of Freddy Krueger, the living incarnation of a dead child murderer who was killed by an angry mob of local parents. Nancy is a fantastic final girl fighting not only against dream demon Freddy but also against the peril of useless parents and apathetic authority figures. Langenkamp’s final girl and her foe sparked a seven film franchise, TV series, and remake. But none would ever top their fearsome first outing.

Marilyn Burns – Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Tobe Hooper’s 1974 exploitation classic was so shocking that it was banned in the UK until 1999. This beautifully brutal film is a masterpiece in sheer terror and is held together by its young and unknown cast led by the film’s sole survivor, Marilyn Burns’ Sally. Her rawly emotional performance led many to believe that the movie was in fact a snuff film, and gave us the gift one of the most iconic and hopeful final scenes in cinema history.

Emayatzy Corinealdi – The Invitation

Karyn Kusama’s 2015 thriller is one of our favorite contemporary horror movies, and it has one of the best ensemble casts to have graced our screens for a while too. Though the lead is arguably Logan Marshall-Green’s grief ridden Will, it’s Emayatzy Corinealdi’s Kira who gives the film its vital emotional core. Her nuanced performance strikes all the right chords, portraying a woman who wants to be a supportive partner but who also knows something isn’t quite right. A defining role for Corinealdi.How do you feel about our heroic horror icons? Which one of these classic movies will you be revisiting this Nerdoween? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Dimension, XYZ Films, 20th Century Fox, Compass Int, Poison Chef, Bryanston Pictures, New Line Cinema, Toei, DNA Films, Mandalay Entertainment

Need More Nerdoween?

• 7 horror anthologies that you need to binge right away
• Behold a terrifying Beetlejuice costume.
• Get the lowdown on Halloween eps from ’90s sitcomes.

 

The post 10 Halloween Horror Icons Who Changed The Game appeared first on Nerdist.

We have now officially entered the sacred month of Nerdoween, a.k.a. Halloween, a.k.a. October, which means it’s the perfect time to fill your crisp days and chilly nights with classic horror movies. Some of our favorites come from the often maligned, definitely underrated, and undeniably brilliant slasher genre, so we’ve picked 10 of the most iconic films from the spectacular subgenre that you can stream right now!

Halloween (1978)

The original and still the best! Though there are other movies that predate Carpenter’s brutally brilliant classic that helped to shape the slasher genre as we know it, it’s hard to argue that Halloween wasn’t the film that sparked the slasher boom of the ’80s. Jamie Lee Curtis cemented herself as a complete badass–and, of course, one of the original scream queens–in this terrifying, tense, and tormented entry which sees a local babysitter terrorized by a mysterious masked man on the titular holiday.Halloween is currently streaming on Shudder

Scream (1996)

From the O.G., we’re going straight to the film that uppended our expectations of what a slasher could be whilst reigniting what was seen as a long dead genre. Wes Craven’s meta masterpiece is still one of the best horror films ever made. Witty, hilarious, and at times genuinely scary, this reinvention of the genre is also one of its best examples as a masked maniac kills off a wily, self-aware cast who break down the rules established in slasher films of yore whilst being hacked and slashed by “ghostface.”Scream is currently on Starz

Black Christmas (1974)

Arguably the first recognizable slasher flick, this legitimately fear-inducing cult classic is an atmospheric fright fest focused on the sisters of a college sorority getting ready for Christmas break. Creepy prank calls have got them on edge, but when they start disappearing, things get really scary. There’s a rawness to this film that makes it get under your skin. The cast, including a young Margot Kidder, are brilliant and don’t easily fit into the often misogynistic slasher movie stereotypes that we’re so used to seeing.Black Christmas is currently streaming on Showtime

Scream 4 (2015)

The only sequel on our list, Wes Craven’s return to the series and the meta motif he created is honestly one of the better horror films of the last decade. Turning the satirical spotlight onto celebrity serial killer culture, true crime, and torture porn, this late stage entry is not only a great reunion for the original cast–and incredible new additions–but it’s as smart, funny, and scary as the original.Scream 4 is currently streaming on Netflix

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

This is the film that launched a thousand bannings. Easily one of the most controversial horror hits of all time, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an undeniable horror classic. The rawness and framing of the film left many wondering if they’d watched a snuff movie, which led the British Board of Film Classification to rain censorship and terror down on so-called exploitation movies for decades. In fact, the introduction of the Sawyer family and Leatherface was so controversial that the 1974 film was banned in Britain until 1999.The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is currently streaming on Shudder

Chopping Mall (1986)

Definitely one of the weirder and more fantastical choices on our list, this B-movie fave is a brilliant subversion of the slasher trope in that the killers are actually maniacal security robots gone wrong! Yep, this high concept ’80s horror pits promiscuous teen mallrats against some very high tech killers, and the results are absolutely amazing.Chopping Mall is currently streaming on Amazon

The House on Sorority Row (1983)

This awesomely scary and genuinely gorgeous chiller is a stone cold slasher classic that has stylistic hints of the trippy, technicolor Italian giallo movement. Starting with the classic “an innocent prank gone horribly wrong” setup, we follow a house of sorority sisters as they celebrate their graduation whilst trying not to be killed by a mysterious witness to their earlier crime. Stylish and atmospheric, The House on Sorority Row is an oft forgotten masterpiece in fear.The House on Sorority Row is currently streaming on Showtime

Child’s Play (1988)

Luckily for us all, the original Child’s Play is currently streaming, which is a rarity! So grab your fave stuffed pal, pick up something sharp and get ready to enjoy this raucous romp about a young boy who gets the birthday gift of his dreams…only to find out it’s actually possessed by a serial killer. Surprisingly scary for a film about a doll, Child’s Play is a classic for a reason: it’s funny, frightening and filled to the brim with brilliant practical effects. Get ready to fall in love with Chucky all over again.Child’s Play is currently streaming on Amazon

High Tension a.k.a. Switchblade Romance (2003)

This movie is so so so so good. Alexandre Aja’s brutal breakthrough is a spiritual successor to classic grindhouse movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, though it was unique enough to also play a huge part in the rise of the burgeoning New French Extremity movement. Though it does fall into a couple of unfortunate tropes, it’s still vibrantly violent and ultimately refreshing to see a film centered around two strong women. But don’t get too attached, because when the killings start, they don’t stop till the film’s shocking final twist!High Tension is currently streaming on Shudder

Prom Night (1980)

If you enjoy a very classic style of slasher, then this 1980 offering starring Jamie Lee Curtis is a great start. Four teens have to pay for a childhood mistake that led to the death of a young girl and, of course, their creepy comeuppance comes in the form of a masked menace haunting the halls of their high school as they get ready for prom. This solid slasher is a perfect entryway into the subgenre for those just taking their first steps.Prom Night is currently streaming on CrackleWhich slasher selection will you be streaming? Got some suggestions we missed? Hate being scared? Run up the stairs in your heels into our comments section and let us know!Images: Compass Productions, Dimension, Warner Bros., Bryanston, Concorde Pictures, Artists Releasing Corporation, Universal, EuropaCorp, AVCO Embassy Pictures

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When Jamie Lee Curtis auditioned for the role of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s 1978 film, Halloween, she never anticipated the character’s decades-spanning and era-defining role. Playing Laurie was simply a job for a struggling young actress looking for work. Though initially linked to the the final girl trope, Laurie has grown to represent the broad spectrum of feminine power and resilience.A character borne both from Carpenter and Curtis, the Laurie of 40 years ago has long been a cultural touchstone. But Curtis doesn’t put too much stock in how Laurie’s been often imitated over the years. Instead, she focuses on the way that her struggle against Michael Myers has resonated throughout the character’s life and the unanswered questions of that struggle now. “How does she live for the rest of her life, having survived that traumatic moment?†she asks.Written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, the Halloween of 2018 is a radical slasher film that reverses and reinterprets the original film through the lens of intergenerational trauma with the addition of two new characters, Laurie’s daughter Karen, played by Judy Greer, and her granddaughter Alyson, played by Andi Matichak. The paranoid Laurie has lived in fear of Myers for decades, and though Karen has resisted her mother’s overprotective nature, all of Laurie’s worst fears come true, and her obsessive preparation comes in handy.We recently caught up with Jamie Lee Curtis, to talk about the new Halloween, the scene in the script that didn’t make it into the movie, the character direction she got from John Carpenter 40 years ago, and what it means to place the power in Laurie’s hands now. “Flip it and reverse it–the Missy Elliott song,†she laughs. “That’s why I said yes.â€Nerdist: Watching the three generations of women come together in Halloween made me really emotional. What it was like for you to invite these women into your Strode lineage?Jamie Lee Curtis: The intent of the movie, my intent, was to peel back the layers of real trauma, real, generational trauma and expose what it looks like. My job, from the beginning, was to tell the truth. I worked hard to make sure that the viewer felt what Laurie has been through.It helped that that was the intent of the filmmakers, and that the writing was very strong. But there are moments that aren’t written here. You just have to feel it, because words are cheap and feelings are worth a billion words. There had to be real feelings here, and that was my job.What was your reaction to the script?The reason I said yes was because the script [had a scene]—and it’s not even in the movie—the script opened with Alyson running, jogging through Haddonfield on a morning run because she’s on the track team. Then she came home, said hi to her mom, and went up to her room to change for school. She opened the louvered closet door in her room and pulled the string with the bare bulb. That’s when I knew what David and Jeff and Danny had done. That they had immediately put the reader back in Haddonfield 40 years later, with the descendents of the trauma, and yet seemingly they were all fine, but we were back in the closet 40 years later.There was something so simple and so beautiful about it. Then meeting the journalists and hearing the history through them, the way a Greek chorus serves. That too made me go, “oh my god that’s beautiful.†And they’re fucking British, which is just perfect because they’re so out of their element. Two British journalists, staying in a motel in Haddonfield, digging up old bones to try to suck the marrow out of them, to make a penny, under the bullshit auspices of trying to uncover new insights. Which is just another way of saying, “I’m going to suck your blood.â€When you were making the original film with John Carpenter, what initially drew you to Laurie as a character?Nothing. There was a script; they were meeting actresses; I was an actress. They were making a movie and there were three parts for girls, and they were having me read for the part of the high school brainiac. Done. What drew me to it was begging for a job–there wasn’t a moment of contemplation. I didn’t have the job, I got the job, took the job, did the job. There’s no deep thought attached to it.Laurie has become this archetype in horror films: the final girl.But all of that is a construct of replication and repetition. A trope only becomes a trope when it’s replicated. If you’re the source material, if you’re the headwater of a trope, you’re the original, you’re the OG, and therefore you don’t have to answer anything about it. The people that have to answer to the trope are the people that replicate from it.Was there anything that John Carpenter said to you about Laurie when you were filming that helped you get a bead on the character?The character’s on the page, it’s right there. I didn’t need anybody to tell me who she was; I knew. The only thing he kept insisting was vulnerability, over and over again. Vulnerability, vulnerability, vulnerability. The V word is what he definitely encouraged from me.Michael Myers’ desire to kill and Laurie’s desire to survive are two immovable forces. It’s this dichotomy of survival and she’s the ultimate survivor.Michael Myers has an overwhelming desire to kill, and Laurie Strode has an overwhelming desire to survive. And that’s why we’re here.

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You probably wouldn’t expect David Gordon Green and Danny McBride to be the first choice to make a sequel to the mother of all horror film classics, John Carpenter’s Halloween, but thanks are due to producer Jason Blum for sending it their way. Forty years after the original film’s release, Green, McBride, co-writer Jeff Fradley, and most importantly, star and  big beating heart of the franchise Jamie Lee Curtis, made a film that’s a profoundly feminist re-examination of its psychology of trauma through its iconography. It’s also a rip-roaring slasher flick that’s hands down the best Halloween sequel ever.

The film starts out in a self-reflective place. A pair of British crime podcasters (Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees) are in town for the 40th anniversary of the Haddonfield Babysitter Murders, and are hoping to not only speak to Michael Myers, locked up in a prison mental hospital, but to possibly facilitate some catharsis between Laurie Strode (Curtis) and her would-be killer.

The troubled Laurie lives alone in a fortified compound, maintaining a constant hypervigilance for the past several decades that’s had a profound effect on her life. She’s a doomsday prepper, alright—locked, loaded and armed to the teeth for the day she meets Michael Myers again. She’s been reckoning with her trauma and PTSD since that fateful night, and has had no relief. It’s not 20 minutes into the film before you realize, “holy crap, is this a horror movie about trauma?”

It’s not just Laurie’s trauma, though. There’s the intergenerational trauma that weaves its way through her family—her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), who was raised in constant preparation for Michael’s return, and now wants nothing to do with it; and her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) who bears the weight of the strained relationship between her grandmother and mother.

Naturally, it’s Halloween night when a prison bus transferring Michael to another facility crashes and he escapes. It’s the reunion Laurie has been expecting, dreading, and praying for, and there will be catharsis, all right, likely from the business end of one of the rifles she’s been stockpiling in a basement panic room. Shockingly, the people of Haddonfield have forgotten to fear Michael Myers. Those ‘70s-era serial killer boogeymen murdering at random aren’t the most dangerous and common predators anymore, and in terms of horror movie monsters, he’s all too real—there’s nothing supernatural about him. But Michael Myers wants to make sure they remember; that you remember.

In many ways, Halloween is a horror film in name only. While it features some brutally gory images and violence, it’s not all that scary, with Michael’s plodding yet propulsive walk and perfunctory killing style. The tension doesn’t build until Michael faces a foe who can actually take him on—Laurie. And in that regard, this is a horror film that inspires cheers, not screams.

Michael’s new doctor, the new Loomis, Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), posits the theory that the never-ending pursuit of Laurie is what keeps Michael alive, while Laurie’s fear of Michael is what keeps her going. The Halloween films have always been about these two very simple forces meeting again and again—her survival instinct and his desire to kill. That’s why she’s the only person who can face him.

But this show-down is symbolically important as well. Because this Halloween is about the specific question of female trauma and male predators, and how a victim can reclaim some power through her own actions. To this end, Green brilliantly reinterprets the iconography of the original film. We see the same, familiar items—the knife, the closet doors, the stairs—but reversed. The places and things that put women in peril are violently ripped back by them in this movie. Watching Laurie, we see that she’s learned from her story in the same way that we have. There’s absolutely no yelling “don’t go in there!” to this Laurie Strode, because she’s already thought of it, and secured her house around it.

For all of the deep and fascinating semiotic analysis of this film, it’s also just a great Halloween movie. Matichak proves to be a perfect final girl as Allyson, cut exactly from her grandmother’s cloth: tough, smart, and principled. The film is stunningly shot, in highly stylized, beautiful images that never overwhelm the storytelling. And the score, by John Carpenter himself, as well as his son Cody Carpenter and Daniel A. Davies, is a masterpiece that will send chills of pleasure up your spine. It’s everything in a Halloween film that inspires us to return, again and again, but the reversal, reimagining and reinterpretation of these elements is what truly thrills in this new iteration. 

4 stars out of 5

Images: Universal

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“This is Halloween, this is Halloween…” goes a song from another seasonal movie, but it could also sum up a lot of the reactions coming out of the Tornoto International Film Festival‘s world premiere of the new Halloween, which is technically the third movie in the franchise to bear that title, and also the third (maybe) to be a direct sequel to the first film. John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis returning gave us all hope, as did the attachment of producer Jason Blum. But David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, a team best known for comedies, were a big question mark with fans of the scary series.

UPDATE, 1:00 A.M.: The written reviews are rolling in, and as of this writing it’s 100% fresh.

Nerdist’s own Katie Walsh has weighed in, but since we want you to read her review, we’re not going to spoil it here. Go read!

Variety‘s Peter DeBruge, who is no easy mark for slasher cinema, says it works as both fan-service and horror movie. His review is more spoiler-heavy than most, but his bottom line is that “[David Gordon] Green (who flirted with the idea of directing the “Suspiria” remake) has pulled off what he set out to do, tying up the mythology that Carpenter and company established, while delivering plenty of fresh suspense.”

The Hollywood Reporter‘s John DeFore is on almost exactly the same page, saying it’s “delivering both fan service and honest-to-god moviemaking of the sort rarely seen in horror spinoffs.” He also spoils more than most fans will want to know, but “The bottom line: killer.”

Chris Evangelista at Slashfilm calls it “a love-letter to horror fans.” He heavily praise Jamie Lee Curtis, the John Carpenter score, and the fact that Michael Myers is scary again. Like some other reviewers, however, he doesn’t like the new psychiatrist character who replaces the late Donald Plesance’s Dr. Loomis, calling him, “absolutely terrible, and he’s involved in a subplot that brings the entire movie to a screeching halt. It’s such a wrongheaded idea that I can’t believe it made it into the final film.”

Dread Central’s Jonathan Barkin declares, “They did it. They actually did it. I’m sitting outside the Elgin Theater with the largest grin on my face.” He specifies that “as intense as it is, Halloween is surprisingly emotional and touching at moments while fiercely hilarious at others.”

Peri Nemiroff at Collider also praises the humor, but notes for the skeptics that this is no comedy: “When the violence and brutality of Halloween kick in, they’re ruthless and relentless.” Giving it an A-, she concludes that “Halloween is a shining example of what any other budding slasher reboot or sequel should strive to be.”

While Indiewire’s headline uses the word “campy,” Eric Kohn’s actual review doesn’t make it sound that way, as he praises the cinematic qualities Green gives the material, finally noting, “However, the movie would be a harmless, discardable remix of standard horror notes if not for Curtis, who charges through the movie as if she never stopped running four decades back.”

PREVIOUSLY:
Well, now folks have finally seen the film, and even granted that festivals have a very charged atmosphere, the response is mostly good-to-great so far from critics Tweeting out their thoughts.

Hell yeah, #Halloween rocks! So scary & pretty funny. The way it balances the freak-out and the nervous humor and the nasty kills is just fantastic. All of it plays so well together. Badass to the bone. Loved it. As David Gordon Green says, “it’s simple and relentless.”#TIFF18 pic.twitter.com/ZpebQfdAVF

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) September 9, 2018

#Halloween is suuuuper satisfying, not least because it’s a movie that actually gives Judy Greer something to do! #TIFF18

— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) September 9, 2018

Oh my God, the new #Halloween is SO FREAKING GREAT! I loved it! Can’t wait for you all to read my review later Sunday! #TIFF18 pic.twitter.com/QpJMqnfUNw

— Jim Vejvoda @ TIFF (@JimVejvoda) September 9, 2018

#Halloween is vicious! Loved the continuation of Laurie’s story but the pure evil of Michael’s drive to kill and the randomness of it is there and it’s strong. Beautifully shot, score is on point, some great humor and loaded with gore. It’s the complete package.

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) September 9, 2018

Some had misgivings, but not of the movie-ruining sort:

#Halloween I am pleased. The film tackles trauma across generations through DYNAMIC WOMEN. I have some issues with the portrayal of its few Black characters, specifically the exaggeration of Jibrail Nantambu’s character. But..I am overall content. #TIFF18 pic.twitter.com/7D7SoXhbDo

— Jaleesa Lashay Diaz (@JaleesaLashay) September 9, 2018

#Halloween: There’s an entire subplot in this that’s TERRIBLE and should’ve been cut. Thankfully, everything else is an absolute blast. Brutal, scary, and yes, funny. #TIFF18

— Chris Evangelista @ TIFF (@cevangelista413) September 9, 2018

Meanwhile, dissenters were polite.

Carpenter’s #Halloween is one of my all-time favorite horror films. Completely lacking its despair & discipline, David Gordon Green’s did nothing for me. The occasion itself was moderately fun–the score, the cheering crowd eager to be pleased, Jamie Lee Curtis, etc. #TIFF18

— Tomris Laffly (@TomiLaffly) September 9, 2018

The new HALLOWEEN starts with an interesting premise. The ending is good. The rest was really disappointing. #tiff18

— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) September 9, 2018

JoBlo.com beat the crowds to post the first review on Rotten Tomatoes, the only one as of this writing, and it’s a fresh, with Chris Bumbray calling it “worthy, faithful follow-up very much in the mold of Carpenter’s original.”

We’ll be updating as more reviews come in, and will have our own review from Katie Walsh shortly. Here’s a possible preview:

Um, why did I just cry in HALLOWEEN?

— Katie Walsh (@katiewalshstx) September 9, 2018

So far, nobody seems to have angrily hated it.

Image: Universal

The post HALLOWEEN Reactions From the Toronto Premiere Are Scary Good appeared first on Nerdist.

Well, this sure is a tricky treat. David Gordon Green’s never exactly been known for horror, as his twin fortes have been broad comedy and atmospheric, local-flavor dramas, but his Halloween is looking like it keeps every iota of atmosphere he’s known for and throws a stone-cold killer into the mix. The Shape is that guy in the neighborhood you just don’t want to bump into, in the house kids are told to avoid.

Here’s what you don’t see. Most of those intro shots of Michael Myers on his kill-spree are part of one single tracking shot. They showed the whole thing back at Comic-Con, and the reason it’s broken up here is that it contains gore they can’t show in a non red-band trailer. If you like the first long shot at the beginning of this trailer, it gets even better and really orients you into the world of Haddonfield on that very “special” night.

And yeah, Jamie Lee Curtis‘ Laurie has gone full Sarah Connor as a mother, seemingly crazy but in fact the only one who’s properly prepared. She’s still going to have her hands full, though, particularly if Michael remains as bulletproof as he usually is. Meanwhile, he’s taken the time to learn some amateur dentistry, which makes him particularly horrific to those of us with dental-related phobias.

Are you looking forward to facing down the new bogeyman? If you’re at the Toronto Film Fest, it’s only “three more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!” The rest of us get to wait ’til Oct. 19. Let us know in comments what your hype level is.

Image: Universal

The post Michael Myers Is on the Hunt in New HALLOWEEN Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

In 1978, John Carpenter unleashed Michael Myers unto the world and put a new kind of terror into the hearts of moviegoers. Almost 40 years to the day, Universal is going to do it again and reintroduce Myers to audiences anew. Get a glimpse into what evil looks like with the first trailer for the new Halloween.

This movie isn’t going to be a reboot, but more of a retcon. Much like Superman Returns forgot Superman III and IV existed, the 2018 Halloween looks to be a direct sequel to the 1978 original, forgetting all the other films in the series. (It also does away with the sibling storyline.) Michael Myers (Nick Castle) is in prison and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been preparing the last 40 years for his inevitable escape.

In the original, Laurie was the stereotypical “girl being chased.” It’s going to be awesome seeing Michael Myers try to resume his reign of terror when he has to deal with a tough-as-nails Laurie ready and willing to kill him. That’s not to say this is going to be an action movie. Before Laurie and Michael finally lock horns, the trailer definitely indicates a substantial and gruesome body count along the way.

Halloween, also starring Judy Greer and directed by David Gordon Green, opens in theaters October 19th, 2018.

So what do you think? Are you excited for this return to the Michael Myers universe? Why did they bring Michael his mask, an obvious trigger? Let us know on Facebook or sound off in the comments below.

Images: Universal Pictures

More on the new Halloween!

• Jamie Lee Curtis talks the legacy of Laurie Strode
• How Michael Myers returns in the new Halloween
• What the new Halloween learned from the original

The post Michael Myers Is Back in New HALLOWEEN Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

When horror scholars and film critics talk about the “Final Girl,” they’re almost always talking about some variation of Laurie Strode. When the slasher movie was a nascent low-budget movie notion, John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote a smart, capable heroine amidst peers that were more concerned with goofing off and getting laid. As the slasher boom took off in the 1980s, female leads became the norm, and other filmmakers made the virginal, often tomboyish character even more of a contrast to a supporting cast of often-nude knife bait. Laurie’s impact has everything to do with Jamie Lee Curtis.

Curtis has played Laurie in the original Halloween, its 1981 sequel, the 1998 movie Halloween H20 and its sequel Halloween Resurrection, which ignored everything in the timeline after Halloween II. Now, on a tiny street in Charleston, SC, subbing in for Pasadena, CA as the new Haddonfield, Curtis has returned to the role in David Gordon Green’s 40th anniversary film sequel, which ignores everything after the original. This is effectively the third different Halloween timeline, something which isn’t lost on the franchise’s star.

“The truth of the matter is, I did Halloween II because it picked up exactly where Halloween left off,” Curtis told a group of journalists, huddled into a house on an idyllic Charleston street. “I felt I owed it to the people who loved the original movie, that it picks up the second the last one ends. I felt as the face of the movie, it was my responsibility. But I also recognized by then–I had already done Prom Night, Terror Train, kind of a bad thriller called Road Games in Australia, and then I did Halloween II–that it was time to say no more because if I hadn’t, I would never have been able to do anything more.”

But she did return, a few times. Curtis came back for Halloween: H20, the 20th anniversary film. “The idea of that movie was to kind of complete the story, but of course, with the Halloween movies there’s a completion and there’s a completion. I wanted to end that movie the way we ended the movie. I wanted a concrete ending; when Laurie turns her back at that gate with that ax in her hand, she is saying ‘it’s you or me because I’m not running anymore, I’ve been running my whole life, I’m not running, so it’s you or me, it’s us.'” But as we know, you can’t let a good franchise die, so the story was amended so that Laurie had actually killed an innocent man and Michael Myers was still alive. “I said I will come in and finish my version of Laurie’s story; that was the reason I was in Resurrection.”

But having effectively finished her run as Laurie Strode twice, why would Jamie Lee Curtis come back to do yet another entry that changes the story again? She feels an unending sense of responsibility to the story that started her career. Curtis knows how important Laurie and the Strode name are to horror fans.

The day we were on set, she was not shooting, but still went through hair, makeup, and wardrobe so that we could see what Laurie Strode looks like now. In a world where Michael Myers isn’t her brother, she’s been hiding her for 40 years, damaging–if not ruining–her relationships with family along the way.

The family in this case are her estranged daughter Karen, played by Judy Greer, and her granddaughter Allyson, played by Andi Matichak. Curtis refers to the characters as the “Three Tall Strode Women,” though each deals with Michael Myers’ eventual return in a different way. For Laurie, it’s been about waiting, and training, and remaining doggedly, obsessively vigilant. “That level of trauma had an effect on this woman who is now 58 years old,” Curtis explained, “and that trauma for her is this persevering sense of eventuality that he will come back and that every day of her life has been in preparation for that meeting.” In the storyline, Michael was caught following his escape at the end of Halloween and returned to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, but only Laurie knows the danger he poses every moment he’s alive.

Curtis explained the abrasiveness that characterizes this version of Laurie. “She slammed into people, institutions, law enforcement, and they hate her because she calls the police every day. She says “do you have somebody patrolling Smith’s Grove? Why aren’t you treating him with the respect that you should treat him? That’s the level of perseverating she has done.”

Naturally this form of living makes it hard on any relationship, especially a maternal or grand-maternal one. To better understand the family dynamic we sat down with the three generations of Strode women.

Jamie Lee Curtis: Laurie Strode I believe, doesn’t even know who the father of her daughter is. We believe the man who raised her, my ex-husband, adopted Karen when she was a year or two old, when I met him, then we made a relationship, and that ended very quickly but he adopted her legally.

Judy Greer: My relationship with my mom is very estranged; we would be estranged completely if she didn’t constantly try to reach out, and by reaching out I mean check up on us to make sure that we’re always safe. She feels like a real watchdog over me and my daughter, so I try then to protect my daughter from this crazy woman who raised me, and try to do things differently myself.

Andi Matichak: I’m kind of caught in between since I’ve been a kid and like any kid, you do want a relationship with everyone in your family, and if Laurie’s making an effort, which she has been since I’ve been born, I’ve always wanted to have some sort of peace, so I think it’s made me more of an older soul as a child, to have to kind of mediate.

Curtis: I think with her own daughter, she was dysfunctional in her raising of her because of this obsession of safety. But because her granddaughter wasn’t raised by her, she can connect to the granddaughter. What did Laurie give her daughter when she found out she was going to have a child? A car seat. Laurie is going to buy the safety item, that is who Laurie is going to be as a grandma.

Greer: What’s nice about the character of Allyson that Andi plays is that seeing her at this age, she’s her own woman; she can reach out to her grandma whenever she wants. If we were finding her at eleven or twelve that’s something but now she has access to phones and can say screw you mom, I want to talk to my grandma, I want to have her at this event, I want to have a relationship with her.

Matichak: That event [40 years ago] really shaped Laurie’s life and drove her to be the woman she is now. I took a lot away from her in the first one. Her performance and her approach, I feel like Allyson is kind of a spawn of Laurie at 17 as well. I think she sees a lot of herself in me and that’s part of the reason she and I are trying to have a relationship.

Greer: One of the things I responded to immediately about the script was the character of Laurie Strode being the star of the movie. I was just really happy because sometimes with a situation like this, it’s like a cameo, and what I thought was so badass about what the screenwriters did was they made it a multi-generational, female-empowered movie and Jamie Lee Curtis’s character is again the star of the movie.

Curtis: Laurie Strode is a survivor. She survived by her wits, even though she made stupid errors, like throwing the knife away twice. Laurie wasn’t a badass, she’s smart and she survived and in that ways she’s badass, but [fighting Michael] was just an instinct, and in this movie, I also don’t want her to be a badass, I want her to be prepared. She was strong because she was smart. Education I think gives you strength, it’s not muscles, it’s brains.

It’s not a coincidence that all of the best Halloween movies star or feature Laurie Strode. Jamie Lee Curtis set the template for strong yet vulnerable horror heroines, and making her the troubled matriarch of a clan of strong women is the perfect way to bring a bit of the ol’ Girl Scout to a 40-year-old series.

Halloween will be released on October 19.

Images: Universal/Blumhouse/Dimension

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

Read More About The New Halloween

• This is what Michael Myers has been doing since 1978’s Halloween
• John Carpenter had three words of advice for the new Halloween
• Confused about the continuity of Halloween? We got you.

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Horror fans, rejoice! Jason Blum has confirmed that John Carpenter will return to compose the score for the upcoming Halloween sequel. Blum, who’s producing the film with his company Blumhouse Productions, told a fan on Twitter that Carpenter is officially onboard.

Confirm!

— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) April 19, 2018

Carpenter was previously announced as an executive producer on the project, and was rumored to be scoring as well. This is an exciting confirmation, as it brings the famed horror director back to the franchise he originated in 1978. Carpenter also scored that film, but none of the sequels. Additionally, this is Carpenter’s first official return to the Halloween franchise since producing Halloween III: Season of the Witch in 1982.The Halloween sequel comes out October 19, 2018 and will be directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the script with Danny McBride. It’s a direct sequel to the original 1978 film, set in some sort of “alternate reality” where the other sequels never happened. Jamie Lee Curtis is returning to her iconic role of Laurie Strode, with Judy Greer playing her daughter and Andi Matichak playing her granddaughter. Curtis told Yahoo that she’s seen a trailer for the film and that it’s “terrifying,” saying of the footage: “They went full-tilt boogeyman.” Hopefully we’ll get that soon!

To tide us over until trailer time, Blum also shared a new poster featuring the iconic Michael Myers mask.

In 6 months, Michael Myers returns. #HalloweenMovie pic.twitter.com/6CvvBvihdx

— Blumhouse (@blumhouse) April 19, 2018

Are you excited for the new Halloween movie? Can’t wait to hear new John Carpenter synth jams? Let us know your feelings in the comments!

Image: Compass International Pictures/Universal Pictures

More in horror!

• 11 horror movies we can’t wait to see in 2018
• Read our review of A Quiet Place
• Are horror movies still scary without special effects?

The post John Carpenter is Writing the Score for the New HALLOWEEN Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas!! Halloween!!! Yes, the leaves are crinkling beneath your feet, the wind has a chill, and there’s a hint of bonfire smoke in the air. You’re sweating because you live in LA and want to wear a scarf. It’s magical, isn’t it? Well, if there’s one thing that’s most wonderful about this spooky season, it’s popping some corn and sitting down to watch a scary movie. So we’ve compiled a list of some of the best horror icons for you to curl up and pay homage to this Nerdoween.

Sennia Nanua – The Girl With All The Gifts

Mike Carey’s award winning bestseller gave us a brand new take on zombie lore, but Sennia Nanua’s stand out performance as the book’s protagonist, Melanie, gave this incredible indie adaptation even more depth. Sennia’s Melanie is a victim, monster, child, and leader of a new world all wrapped up in one. This post apocalyptic movie has more nuance than a lot of  standard zombie fare, and most of that is thanks to Nanua.

Neve Campbell – Scream

For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott was our first introduction to the radical world of the final girl. Her genre defining, rule breaking role in Wes Craven’s Scream brought the decades old conventions of slasher movies crashing down, whilst creating a resurgence in referential horror that would end up changing the face of the genre forever.

Brandy – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Speaking of final girls, Brandy is often overlooked but truly wonderful in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. This sequel to the original Scream-influenced second wave slasher saw a group of teens get slowly slaughtered on a mysterious holiday island. Most memorable for dreadlocks-wearing Jack Black getting a hook through his hand, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer surprised us by having Brandy survive alongside franchise staple Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween

Arguably the defining Hollywood final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis’ star making turn as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s low budget contemporary classic introduced an era of “scream queens.” She gave the movie a heart that many of the era’s exploitative horror movies severely lacked. Curtis’ Laurie became quickly iconic, launching Curtis into the spotlight and a thousand other scream queens into slasher canon.

Sigourney Weaver – Alien

Ridley Scott’s Alien is a masterpiece. It broke ground in many ways not least because of Sigourney Weaver’s radical portrayal of Ripley. The Nostromo’s civilian adviser turned badass alien assassin, Weaver’s performance is at the dark heart of Scott’s hard sci-fi horror hit. Ripley is easily one of the most iconic horror heroes of all time and her journey from scared observer to sole survivor is one of the most exhilarating ever put to screen.

Naomie Harris – 28 Days Later

Danny Boyle’s dark take on what would happen if a rabies-like virus turned most of the population into crazed, violent beasts, 28 Days Later deatures Naomie Harris’ nurse Selena traversing a desolate London trying to find safety for her and her newly found ward played Megan Burns. The two women battle to survive, but as always the most dangerous thing around them are actually the survivors. Selena is a wholly fresh take on a final girl, one who is driven first and foremost by her radically caring nature.

Aki Maeda – Battle Royale

Kinji Fukasaku’s cult classic political satire based on the book of the same name tells the story of a dystopia where teen delinquency is so bad that once a year a school class is sent to fight to the death. Aki Maeda’s Noriko is Battle Royale’s final girl. Though most horror movie survivors are defined by their strength or willingness to fight, Aki’s survival is based predominantly on her kindness. Battle Royale is still one of the coolest entries into modern horror canon and Aki Maeda is the unconventional hero the movie deserves.

Heather Langenkamp – A Nightmare on Elm Street

Another seminal slasher, A Nightmare on Elm Street saw Langenkamp’s Nancy take on the terrifying figure of Freddy Krueger, the living incarnation of a dead child murderer who was killed by an angry mob of local parents. Nancy is a fantastic final girl fighting not only against dream demon Freddy but also against the peril of useless parents and apathetic authority figures. Langenkamp’s final girl and her foe sparked a seven film franchise, TV series, and remake. But none would ever top their fearsome first outing.

Marilyn Burns – Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Tobe Hooper’s 1974 exploitation classic was so shocking that it was banned in the UK until 1999. This beautifully brutal film is a masterpiece in sheer terror and is held together by its young and unknown cast led by the film’s sole survivor, Marilyn Burns’ Sally. Her rawly emotional performance led many to believe that the movie was in fact a snuff film, and gave us the gift one of the most iconic and hopeful final scenes in cinema history.

Emayatzy Corinealdi – The Invitation

Karyn Kusama’s 2015 thriller is one of our favorite contemporary horror movies, and it has one of the best ensemble casts to have graced our screens for a while too. Though the lead is arguably Logan Marshall-Green’s grief ridden Will, it’s Emayatzy Corinealdi’s Kira who gives the film its vital emotional core. Her nuanced performance strikes all the right chords, portraying a woman who wants to be a supportive partner but who also knows something isn’t quite right. A defining role for Corinealdi.

How do you feel about our heroic horror icons? Which one of these classic movies will you be revisiting this Nerdoween? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Dimension, XYZ Films, 20th Century Fox, Compass Int, Poison Chef, Bryanston Pictures, New Line Cinema, Toei, DNA Films, Mandalay Entertainment

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In 1978, director John Carpenter created not only one of the greatest horror films ever made, he accidentally launched a franchise which has spawned 10 films, and seemingly a million imitators. You know the music, you know the mask, it’s Halloween.

Next year, in time for the original’s 40th anniversary, Carpenter, (as a producer), and star Jamie Lee Curtis are set to return for one more round of Haddonfield highjinks. But before we get to part 11, how do the other films stack up, all these years later? Lets count down the best Halloween films, starting from the very worst to the all-time classics.

#10. Halloween Resurrection (2002)

1998’s H20 was decent enough that it should have been the end of the franchise. I mean, Laurie gets her revenge, Michael finally dies, “The End,” right? Yeah sure. Four years later Resurrection came out, which undid the satisfying ending of the previous film, killed Laurie off in a stupid, contract fulfilling, obligatory cameo, and then spent the rest of the movie in some stupid webcam show plot in the Myers house, and Michael facing off against… Busta Rhymes. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.

#9. Halloween II (2009)

Everything wrong with the Rob Zombie remake compounded by two. So off-the-rails batshirt crazy that I almost like it. But no, really it’s terrible. Luckily, this was the last Rob Zombie Halloween movie, as the next movie will once again be a sequel to the original two films. I mean, the movie ends with Laurie telling Michael she loves him before stabbing him over and over and taking on his mask. You tell me.

#8. Halloween (2007)

Remakes shouldn’t be exact replicas of the original. What’s the point? But at the same time, they need to honor the core of what the original film is. Rob Zombie’s Halloween strips the original film of everything that made it work — mood, suspense, and the unexplainable origin of Michael Myers, a kid who was pure evil for some unknowable, arcane reason — and gave him the same abusive white trash upbringing that apparently creates any psychopathic killer. The film is competently made, but misses the entire point of Halloween.

#7. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

If Halloween 4 was decent schlock, then part 5 is terrible schlock. The filmmakers wanted to get more gory, which is more Friday the 13th than Halloween. The teen characters are all grating and awful, and young Jamie Lloyd is less endearing and more annoying, This movie performed poorly at the box office, so its cliffhanger ending isn’t resolved for six more years.

# 6. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

The first Halloween movie from Dimension films came out nearly six years after the previous installment, and ties to tie up the loose ends from the previous films, plus semi reboot the series. It also made the mistake of trying to explain how and why Michael is what he is with this convoluted story about druids and evil cults, totally demystifying him in the process. At least this movie gave us Paul Rudd.

#5. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 4 isn’t a great movie, but it attempts to evoke some of the mood of the first two films, and mostly succeeds, just in a more schlocky way. Ten years after Laurie Strode’s night of terror, we’re introduced to her 9 year old daughter Jamie Lloyd. Laurie dies offscreen in a car accident, mostly because in 1988 Jamie Lee Curtis’ career had take off and she wanted nothing to do with horror flicks. Michael escapes confinement, goes looking for his last living relative, and lots of people die.

#4. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Otherwise known as “the one without Michael Myers.” This one is beloved by some fans for the movie that attempted to think outside the Michael Myers box and give us something new, in this case, Halloween masks that kill little kids. Had this movie made money, it would have recast Halloween as an anthology series, which is what producer John Carpenter wanted.

#3. Halloween: H20 (1998)

After the success of Scream, slasher movies were back in a big way, so Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the franchise that made her famous. Essentially saying that parts 4-6 didn’t happen, we find that Laurie Strode faked her death, convinced her brother would come back for her someday. 20 years to the day of their last encounter, he does.

H20 wastes too much time with the teen characters (future stars Josh Hartnett and Michelle Williams among them), but everything with the broken and terrified Laurie Strode is gold. When she finally decides to stop being afraid and goes after Michael once for all, it’s a fist bump moment. Sadly, they couldn’t leave well enough alone and made another one.

#2. Halloween II (1981)

Make no mistake, Halloween II is nowhere near as good as the first film. Although still written by John Carpenter, the second film relies less on suspense and more on gore. BUT – Halloween II gets major props for being the purest sequel ever made, picking up right where the first one left off and essentially chronicling the rest of Laurie Strode’s worst night ever. And although Carpenter has changed his mind about it, I actually like the “Michael is Laurie’s brother” twist.

#1. Halloween (1978)

The original Halloween is like Jenga — take away the right piece, and it all falls apart. But luckily, all the right pieces came together to make this timeless classic: John Carpenter to write and direct, Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence to star, and Carpenter once again to create that iconic and indelible score. Oh, and let’s not forget William Shatner to lend his face, albeit by accident, to create one of the most iconic and memorable images in film history, Michael Myers’ mask. Some people say Halloween doesn’t hold up to modern standards. They are wrong — Halloween is 90 minutes of horror perfection.

Which of the ten Halloween films is your favorite? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Trancas International Films

The post Ranking All 10 HALLOWEEN Films From Worst to Best appeared first on Nerdist.

With the unbelievably exciting announcement that Linda Hamilton will be appearing in the new installment of the Terminator franchise, along with Jamie Lee Curtis’ recent tweet confirming her unexpected return to Haddonfield, we’re very much on cloud nine about two of cinema’s all-time badasses returning to the big screen roles that brought them to prominence.

This recent turn of events is an interesting one, as both the Halloween and Terminator franchises have become practically irrelevant of late, despite a recent reboot for the Schwarzenegger-starring sci-fi featuring Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor. As for Haddonfield’s most infamous son, Michael Myers has been missing in action since Rob Zombie‘s ’00s remakes which, while fun diversions, added nothing to the Halloween lore.

There is something wholly satisfying about seeing the Hollywood studio system turning to these older women to helm their floundering franchises, especially since the reaction to both announcements has been so positive. Whereas many fans are tired of constant reboots and sequels, there is something universally exciting about seeing the women who held these films together triumphantly returning to the screen.

For fans of the seminal movies that spawned these franchises, Hamilton and Curtis are intrinsically connected to our memories and enjoyment of them. They spark a nostalgia and excitement for a time when these films were fresh and unique, not tied into extensive convoluted timelines and focused on huge set pieces filled with generic CG rather than story and character. Though Curtis herself has starred in a number of Halloween sequels that are no way near as good as John Carpenter’s classic, her inclusion always makes them far more watchable. Not just because she’s a great actor but because to fans she’s still Laurie Strode, Haddonfield’s first final girl. After over 25 years, seeing Hamilton return to the role of Sarah Connor following a number of other actress who tried to fill her shoes brings us that same excitement.

So why have the studios suddenly seen sense and realized that Curtis and Hamilton are the kind of stars fans want to see in their movies? Well, that’s probably to do with the financial and critical performances of their last entries. Though Rob Zombie‘s Halloween movies were made on a relatively small $15 million budget each and took in over $100 million combined, medium profit and middling reviews weren’t enough to make a third movie stick. As for the much-maligned and misspelled Terminator: Genisys, though the movie made over $400 million worldwide, only $86 million of that came from the vital domestic market. And when it comes to the critical response, the movie currently has 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.

After the critical and commercial success of Wonder Woman, this year in cinema’s biggest talking point thus far, it’s no surprise that studios are looking toward women to help their failing franchises. But the choice to bring these older women back is in its own way a radical one. (Even though, in the case of Jamie Lee Curtis, it makes so much sense, you just wonder why it hasn’t happened already!) Lately, Curtis has been reveling in her horror history in Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s Scream Queens. Although her character Laurie Strode canonically died in 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection, when the reboot was announced many fans were already dreaming of Curtis’ return.

Hamilton’s return to big screen action is long overdue and has been rumored for years in company with the would-be Expendabelles (*eye roll*) movie–a female centric offshoot of the old-men-blowing-stuff-up Expendables franchise that came to prominence a few years ago. But Terminator could be the comeback that Hamilton so desperately deserves, and vice versa; without her Sarah Connor, would we really ever have had Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman?

Then again, the movie is still being brought to you by Hamilton’s ex-husband, James “Wonder Woman sucked” Cameron, who’s already talking about introducing a new younger female lead to whom Hamilton may pass the torch. Maybe after the positive fan reaction, he’ll come to his senses.

Whatever happens with these movies, we’re stoked to see the return of these strong women to our screens. Have these announcements reignited your passion for some old faves? Or do you wish Hollywood would leave well enough alone? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Fox, Orion, MGM, Tri-Star Compass International, Dimension

For more badass women, look no further!

• 7 essential Sabrina the Teenage Witch comics to check out!
• Does the new Tomb Raider trailer get the tone right?
• Emma Stone is in Oscar contention again: our review of Battle of the Sexes!

[brightcove video_id=”5187870333001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]

The post Why Linda Hamilton and Jamie Lee Curtis Will Save TERMINATOR and HALLOWEEN appeared first on Nerdist.

When it comes to slasher movies, you expect certain tropes, right? A large, expendable cast, a host of stupid decisions, and of course, more horrendous blood and gore than you can shake a severed arm at. So it’s remarkable that Halloween, one of the most influential slasher movies, has none of those things. It doesn’t even have that many jumpscares. And yet, it is one of the most enduring and beloved classics of horror! Let’s slip on our creepy, expressionless white masks and go trick-or-treating all the way back to 1978, shall we?

Side note for those who have already seen the movie: This is not an acceptable first date prank.

After his thriller Assault on Precinct 13, screened at the Milan Film Festival, John Carpenter was approached by indie movie financiers Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad. They wanted to do something in the world of horror, they wanted it to be about a killer stalking babysitters, and they wanted Carpenter to make it. Along with producer Debra Hill, Carpenter quickly threw together an outline that impressed the older producers. But Yablans made one critical change to the story- it had to take place on Halloween, and Halloween would be the title.

This inspired Carpenter to borrow from Samhain, the Celtic holiday Halloween is descended from. It celebrated the one time of year when the vengeful dead could come back to the realm of the living and threaten them once more. That germ of an idea- that evil never truly died- inspired the unstoppable, silent, ghostlike nature of Michael Myers. It was also a fantastic novelty at the time, as no horror movies had really centered on the idea of Halloween before. The imagery of jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, and kids in costumes had become so separated from its grim origins that it was a shock for movie-goers at the time to have all those things be associated with terror and violence.

Yes kids, Jamie Lee Curtis was not always the embodiment of being a mom.

Once the script was done, though, the challenge was just beginning. Carpenter had just $325,000 and four weeks to make the movie. Cast members had to wear their own clothes, the neighborhood where the movie was filmed had to volunteer their own kids for scenes of trick-or-treating, and it was shot in the middle of spring. Fall leaves and ripe pumpkins had to be sourced in from strange and lesser-tread places. Most infamously, Michael Myers’s mask, the face of evil, was made from a two-dollar Captain Kirk mask.

Despite the low budget, the movie was a tremendous box office success. John Carpenter went on to become a legendary figure in horror, directing The Fog, The Thing, and They Live. Jamie Lee Curtis would appear in a string of horror movies in the early 80s, but broke into stardom with Trading Places and became a household name in America. The film’s characters became equally as beloved. Michael Myers is an indisputable icon in the pantheon of great movie monsters. Dr. Loomis is a memorable, flawed, and fascinating horror hero. Of course, there is criticism that the movie is empty-headed carnage. But it isn’t dumb; It’s just simple.

If I was meaner, I might make a joke about Donald Pleasance having a vision of his future career.

It sets up who Michael Myers is, who Dr. Loomis is, and who Laurie Strode is. Once these few key characters are set up, the movie never stops moving toward the inevitable confrontation between the three of them. Halloween is a depiction of one long, eerie stalk, and we get to be both stalker and stalk-ee. We see through Michael’s eyes quite often, forced to hear his muffled, heavy breathing and watch him commit his violent acts. When we are in the perspective of the victim, we barely see him at first. Just tiny glimpses here and there, unsure of just how far away he is. Then he’s closer, but in shadow, slinking in and out of tiny puddles of light. When he’s close enough to touch us- or Laurie- it’s too late.

I had the joke caption scared out of me.

It gives you a strong, shivery impression of being watched, so when violence breaks out, it feels much more explicit than it actually is. Michael Myers kills only 5 characters in the movie, and 2 of them are bloodlessly strangled. But we’re shaken anyway, because we were right. The boogeyman really did get us, just like we knew he would.

“Through The Projector Lens” is a feature celebrating classic, unforgettable movies that have stood the test of time. If you would like to see a film featured, especially if it has a relevant event coming up, let us know in the comments! Don’t be scared to share your favorite memories of Halloween either!

All images credit to: Trancas International Films

The post Halloween: Through The Projector Lens appeared first on Nerdist.

In 1978, John Carpenter‘s second major film, Halloween, was released and, through word of mouth and the screams of audiences everywhere, it went on to become the highest-grossing independent film of all time (for a while).

40 years later, the film still manages to be as effective and intense as it was when released, even if a lot of the methods it employs have become the oft-replicated tropes of slasher movies everywhere. Why was it so innovative and how is it so effective? The answers are things I still look for every single October, and even other times throughout the year.

Carpenter is one of my all-time favorite directors, and I usually say his 1982 film The Thing is my favorite of his, but Halloween is easily a close second. I think it’s a perfect horror movie. It sets things up, ratchets up the tension, and builds to a crescendo that still has people on the edge of their seat. No, it’s not as gory as all the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, or other such “knife movies” that came after it, but it’s not trying to be a gorefest. It’s trying to be a simple story of three girls being stalked by a murderer in a mask for seemingly no reason at all. The sequels added a backstory and a blood relation between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), but as far as this movie was concerned, he was just “The Shape.”

The Shape as a creation is one of the better conceits of the whole endeavor. It makes Myers both a person and a cipher. We see his POV in the film’s opening scene, where he puts on a clown mask, gets a knife, and kills his post-coital older sister, only later revealing that he is, indeed, just a child. Many years later, we get from his rightfully scared psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) that the boy is purely and simply evil. Nothing is going on behind those eyes, and he has become obsessed with Halloween night and reliving is previous murder. Every scene with Loomis and his attempt to convince the Haddonfield police chief (Charles Cyphers) that “Evil has come to your little town, Sheriff.”

While all of this is happening, we’re seeing him, a man in bland coveralls and a stark white mask (yes, we all know it’s a modified William Shatner Star Trek mask) following high school girls, one in particular who did nothing more than walk up to the his old house and be seen by an escaped lunatic. He’s not doing anything for a while except just stalking (which is immeasurably creepy) but because of Loomis, we know that he is the very embodiment of death.

To contrast all of that evil and death, we have three very realistic and relatable high school girls. This was the benefit of having Debra Hill as Carpenter’s producer; of her many, many contributions to the early films of Carpenter, she wrote the teenagers with dialogue and scenarios that are completely believable. They’re babysitters, they have boyfriends, or want boyfriends, they talk about silly things, they smoke pot and hide it from their parents – everything the teenage audience could relate to. Laurie specifically is smart and supremely likable and a little bookish but a truly good person. She doesn’t just run away when a murderer is chasing her, having already killed her friends; she goes back to see if her charges, Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace, are all right. A heroine we can believe in.

In terms of the more technical, Halloween is a masterclass in low-budget filmmaking by Carpenter. He makes do with what he has, which is not a lot. He’s aided by the great cinematographer Dean Cundey, with whom he made all of his best films (in my humble opinion) and they do everything in their power to make a guy following girls look as scary as possible. They do this by playing with the Shape’s placement in the frame. Sometimes he’s in the foreground with the girls in the background; other times he’s waaaaaaaay in the back while the girls, or Loomis, are in the midground. Laurie seems to be the only one who can see him for awhile, but he’s always there, disappearing almost as quickly. This is a great way to ensure the iconic and mythic nature of your villain. He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t have any facial features, he’s truly just a wandering ghost.

As the movie goes on, and it gets to be night time, the Shape and how he’s shot get even more ghostly. He stands in the shadows and in some shots you can’t even see him unless you look really hard. His white face, though, gives him away. One of the film’s most amazing shots is when Laurie is standing in a darkened kitchen after falling down the stairs. There’s a dark doorway next to her. Slowly, the Shape’s face comes into light and we know he’s right there. This was such an easy trick. It’s just putting a light with a dimmer switch above the Shape’s head and slowly dialing it up until he’s visible onscreen. It’s beyond effective and always elicits a scream or at least a gasp.

This deep focus photography in a widescreen format works especially well at the end when Laurie runs away, repeatedly stabbing or otherwise incapacitating the Shape, only for him to get back up and continue pursuit. The best usage of this is when she hides from him in a closet which has nothing more than a slatted wooden door to keep someone out. Naturally, he finds her and yanks the light on, making him enormous and monstrous in the frame. She stabs him in the eye with a wire hanger and when he drops the knife, Laurie stabs him in the abdomen, causing him to fall and presumably be dead. She tells the kids to go get help and she catches her breath on the doorjamb as we see in the background the “dead” Shape sit bolt upright and turn to face her. It’s one of the greatest scares in cinema history.

And even all of this wouldn’t work without the music. This is a film that is entirely dependent on the soundtrack to build the tension. Carpenter wrote the synth keyboard score reportedly very quickly, but it’s incredibly effective throughout. From the distinctive, 6/4 time, high-pitched theme with low rumbling undertones, to the driving, percussive march to the finish with the Shape’s pursuit of Laurie, to the stings and squeals that punctuate scares and near-misses, the score is fairly sparse, but it’s all important. The movie without the soundtrack would be boring; the movie with the soundtrack is perfect.

Halloween is a movie I’ve seen probably close to 30 times at this point, and each time I discover something new. While it doesn’t “scare” me the way it once did, I’m still amazed by how much it continues to affect me and make me anxious and has me predicting when the scare’s going to come, and almost never being exactly right. While most of its tricks were ripped off whole cloth in subsequent slasher outings, Carpenter, Hill, Cundey, and the rest of the cast and crew achieved something none of the rest can boast: they did it all first. It’s not old hat if nobody did it before you. It’s new hat! It’s getting to be that time of year when I break out one of my three Blu-ray copies of the movie and experience The Night HE Came Home yet again. John Carpenter’s Halloween truly is a cut above the rest.

Images: Compass International

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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