★★★½

Picking up right where 2018’s Halloween left off, Halloween Kills continues to follow Michael Myers on his seemingly never-ending slaughter. Director David Gordon Green follows up with a wildly entertaining slasher flick, delivering on everything a fan of the franchise would have asked for, albeit in the same, slow, and foreboding style that audiences have seen before. The melodramatic nature of the townsfolk may be a bit too much in parts, and the overarching story is never particularly special, but that looking-over-your-shoulder feeling of dread remains, and Halloween Kills proves that Michael Myers is still as terrifying as ever.

After trapping Michael Myers and burning him alive in her home, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) learns that everything didn’t go to plan: Michael is still alive. Her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), and granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), find out about their failure while in the hospital, where Laurie is being tended to. The city of Haddonfield, Illinois lives in a perpetual state of fear. This feeling is exaggerated every Halloween, when the survivors of Michael Myers get together at the local pub and pay respects to all they have lost. When word gets out that Michael is on the loose, the disgruntled townsfolk take matters into their own hands.

Green knows how to direct a Halloween movie, from the nostalgic opening credit scene to the subtle sounds of Michael breathing. The style in Halloween Kills doesn’t differ much from its predecessor, or even the 1978 original. Myers’ slow plod through Haddonfield is equal parts unsettling and hilarious. We know that he is coming, and we know what he is going to do, but Green and his staff excel in showing “how” he is going to do it. The film is unbelievably gruesome, as it certainly is not for the faint of heart, but fans of the franchise will feel at home here.

It is this familiar feeling that may also be Halloween Kill’s biggest flaw. Aside from highlighting the dangers of a blind mob mentality, the film does nothing that we wouldn’t expect. Michael wakes, Michael walks, Michael kills. There is no room for creativity, outside of the varying ways that Michael slashes his victims. Viewers who are just looking for a predicable horror experience will be satisfied; anyone looking for an evolution within the genre may leave the theater feeling a bit disappointed.

Halloween Kills respects the Halloween narrative in spades. The series’ continuity provides enough of a nostalgia punch to engross casual and hardcore fans alike. By connecting 2018 all the way back to 1978, Green and his writing staff are able to draw an intriguing through line. Every character in this film, no matter how inconsequential they may seem, has some sort of connection to the horrors brought on by Michael Myers. Michael becomes fear incarnate in this bloody sequel, and the events that unfold merit a watch for any fan of the genre.