First Audiences Say ‘Halloween Kills’ Is “Absolutely Brutal and Shocking In the Best Way”

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Part of why metalheads and horror fans love autumn is all the great scary movies being released in theaters and rerun on TV in the lead-up to our high holy day, Halloween. This year, of course, no movie is being more highly anticipated than Halloween Kills, the follow-up to 2018’s killer reboot of John Carpenter’s classic slasher franchise, Halloween. Now, first audiences have seen Halloween Kills, and have made it clear that the movie is both a lot of fun to watch — and totally hardcore in its violence.

As reported by Bloody Disgusting, the first public showing of Halloween Kills took place yesterday at the Venice Film Festival. Shortly thereafter, critics and fans alike went on social media to praise the film.

Collider critic Rafael Motamayor tweeted, “#HalloweenKills is a darker, meaner, more disturbing entry in the franchise. The kills are absolutely brutal and shocking in the best way. It was great seeing old characters again, and there is a flashback that blew my mind.”

Horror/sci-fi festival Beyond Fest tweeted, “HALLOWEEN KILLS does exactly that: it kills… A LOT. As @blumhouse‘s HALLOWEEN redefined Laurie Strode, this cements Myers as the true king of the monsters with OTT kills we haven’t seen in 40 years. Relentless, outrageous, and incredible to watch with an audience, it is insane.”

In his review for Discussing Film, writer Ben Rolph says, “Halloween Kills is a blood-filled roller coaster of a film. Not only will it leave everyone yearning for a conclusion, which they’ll get, but it also leaves a lasting, memorable impact.”

In The Wrap’s review, Asher Luberto says, “Halloween Kills is no mere gore-fest — it’s about the generational trauma bestowed upon Haddonfield. The action sequences are more than just action sequences; in Green’s social allegory, they are a way for citizens to confront their trauma, their rage, their oppression, and to reclaim their power and agency through revenge. We see Haddonfield not just as a victim of a masked assailant, but also a victim of larger forces who will stop at nothing to dehumanize their community.”

These reviews aren’t flawless — plenty of people make a point of noting that certain scripting elements aren’t great, and certain narrative pieces don’t quite work — but overall, the consensus is that Michael Myers is back in fine form. And isn’t that really what we’re here for?

Halloween Kills opens October 15th. Check out the trailer below:

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Words by Chris Krovatin

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