Therapy and counseling are a bad idea in some cases. Murderers like Myers are unreceptive to it and it would have weakened the necessary resolve of a Determinator like Laurie.
The death penalty is completely justified with some criminals.
Gun control is a bad idea and citizens should be allowed to arm themselves with firearms as well as explosives in case of intruders. This particular Accidental Aesop was intentionally defied by star and executive producer Jamie Lee Curtis, who made sure that Laurie would not use any gun or equipment she supports the ban of. Laurie noticeably does not use assault weapons or bump stocks in the movie and respects proper gun safety rules. Also, guns aren't presented as a perfect tool to defend one's self; the young boy and the police were armed, but it didn't save them. Guns are ultimately tools that can be used, but they won't always save you. Indeed, the boy, jumpy, accidentally shoots and seriously wounds Sartain. Yes, Sartain turned out to deserve it, but that doesn't change the fact that the boy shot and nearly killed a bystander out of frightened reflex, instead of the main threat.
A childhood done The Spartan Way is not a form of child abuse if it prepares your child for a harsh and cruel world. Laurie at least has the excuse that Michael was still alive, meaning the movie likely doesn't endorse such training. Also, Karen herself wasn't presented as being wrong in wanting a normal life.
Insane doesn't equal violent; Despite being played for a creepy factor at one point, none of the other patients who escaped from the bus are shown to be dangerous or a threat to anyone. Michael's an outlier, which is part of what makes him so scary.
The insistence of many characters that Michael is evil rather than insane (such as the late Doctor Loomis on a recording) further emphasizes this.
If a kid is scared of someone/something being in their room, you should at least actually look around, just in case.
Kids should run away from danger instead of trying to do something clever to save the day.
Is Michael out for revenge against Laurie, the one who blinded him and got away, or does he operate without care or discrimination? Does he kill for pleasure or is he indeed reacting to some marching order only he can hear? Is his final look at the Strode women one of cold, burning hatred or simple boredom? The movie is ambiguous about this. The only one who knows is Michael, and he's not talking.
Is Laurie Strode actually Properly Paranoid or did she waste her life becoming a Crazy Survivalist? While training her daughter paid off in the end, it was nothing that a woman given a few self-defense courses couldn't have accomplished as well. Also, Michael might have been dealt with by a few handguns or something less excessive than a self-destructing house.
Michael leaving the baby alone. Pet the Dog? Cruel Mercy? Didn't feel like it? Him simply not caring about it because murdering a largely oblivious infant would do nothing for him? According to David Gordon Green:
Green: Our rule in the writing process was to give him nothing... In production, we added one thing that may come back to haunt me, but I stand by it at the moment. We gave him an ethical decision in which he doesn't kill the baby. That was something that came up while we were shooting. We were looking for an interesting 15-second gap in a long sequence. And there were 15 seconds, no tension, no new information. And the goal was, "How do we put something that's 15 seconds" worth of intrigue in the sequence? And the production designer and the DP came up with the idea of putting a baby crib in the living room and then a baby. It was one of the things that was just exciting, and it fixed the problem; it filled the gap. And now we're looking at a character who I proclaim is the essence of evil and has no motivation, no emotion, no real stimulation other than being a predator. And yet we've given him this one consideration in which he does the right thing. So I'm not exactly sure how to stand by that and justify that, although I think it's fascinating to think of someone that is nothing but a cold-blooded, faceless, motivation-less killer. He made one decision that we are happy that he made.
Relating to the ACI regarding Michael and the baby, if he chose not to kill the baby because there was no challenge to it, then why did he kill the boy on the highway? Was it out of pure cruelty? Or did Michael notice that the boy was holding a gun and didn't want to take his chances?
Doctor Sartain; probably not since Freddie Harris has there been a character fans just couldn't agree on; Is he a useless addition to an otherwise decent movie, being an unwanted Hate Sink who besmirches the legacy of Doctor Loomis, turns out to be as bad as Michael when he almost kills Hawkins (a character well liked by the viewers) proceeds to kidnap Allison in order to prevent himself from being killed by Michael, all while heavily implying as that he put the film's events in motion? Or does he provide an interesting twist to the movie by being evil all along, an example how evil can influence others, as well as providing a reasonable explanation to how The Shape could escape despite being unable to for decades. If anything, his death was really memorable and satisfying, something most detractors and supporters of the character can agree on.
Laurie in this incarnation, particularly in comparison to Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later. There's plenty that love the crazy survivalist persona she evolved into, and it was praised as some of Jamie Lee Curtis's best work in years. But there's some who feel the character has become a bland Action Mom who has no growth (in contrast to the other film, where she had a clear arc building to her fighting back) and results in many of the Accidental Aesops above.
Over the course of the film, we knew Michael Myers was going to get his ass handed to him in the finale, and it does not disappoint. Seeing him get a couple of his fingers shot off, beaten, shot in the side of the head, falling down a flight of stairs, stabbed, and finally, become trapped while a fire rages around him is nothing but cathartic to watch. For an added bonus, watching all three generations of the Strode women work together as a family is doubly cathartic to watch, seeing them move past the pain and suffering Michael Myers has grieved them over the years.
Given his unrelentingly cruel decision to help Michael escape from the bus just to see what would happen when he killed again, watching Sartain ultimately fail when Michael turns on him and smashes his head to bits with his foot is also satisfying to watch.
Character Rerailment: Subsequent movies and Rob Zombie's take on the subject made Laurie Strode's sibling relationship to Michael an incredibly important element of Michael Myers' motivations. Here, Michael is just stalking and killing people because he can. This highlights he's not a disgruntled family man, he's just a monster.
Despite only getting about five minutes of total screen-time, Julian was quite popular among viewers for providing some welcome moments of levity in the film.
Sheriff Hawkins was a huge hit among audience members for being the rare slasher movie cop who's not useless, being both smart and badass enough to run Michael down with his car, and would have killed him if it wasn't for Dr. Sartain. The fact he share traits with Sheriff Ben Meeker, who was a dark horse on his own right, from Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers further helps.
Vicky has some popularity for being a genuine Nice Girl who cares about the kids she babysits, even checking on him upon hearing a noise rather than disregarding it. It makes her death at Michael's hands particularly saddening when she tells Julian to save himself.
Officer Francis has a small following due to his hilarious discussion with his partner over his poor food choicesand his memorable and gruesome death, where he's decapitated and his head is mutilated into a jack-o-lantern. As he was played by the film's makeup artist, he actually made his own head!. You can even buy a replica of his severed head online.
Some fans have jokingly called the new film "Halloween H40", after the seventh film, H20, due to it taking place on an anniversary of the original movie and for putting previous franchise entries into Canon Discontinuity like H20 did, as well as Jamie Lee Curtis returning for both. It also helps differentiate the title from Halloween (1978) and Halloween (2007).
To a lesser extent, some have called it David Gordon Green’s Halloween, much in the same way as fans call the original John Carpenter's Halloween and the remake Rob Zombie’s Halloween.
Fanon Discontinuity: The case for fans whom actually grew to like the idea of Michael and Laurie being siblings, they were not keen on this film removing the element from the franchise.
First Installment Wins: Amongst the David Gordon Green trilogy/2018 timeline of Halloween movies, this one is largely considered the best of them, and it's considered one of the sole if not the sole Halloween film to successfully measure up to the original 1978 film (which is no easy achievement with the many, many other sequels and remakes that the original has spawned). Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, by contrast, are much more contentious by comparison because of their more questionable and cliched story, characterization, pacing, logic, and Ass-Pulls by comparison.
Some fans believe Aaron survived his fight with Michael and may reappear in the sequels.
There are also those who would like to think that the kid on the hunting trip near the bus crash was only knocked out despite it appearing as if his neck was broken. The fact that his death isn't commented on by the police at the scene when it feels like it would have been helps.
Surprisingly, despite getting stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck with a pen knife, then ran over with his own damn car, some fans believe (or rather hope) Hawkinssurvived all of that. Halloween Kills confirms that he did.
P. J. Soles's cameo as the voice of Allyson's teacher is amusing if one knows about the last time she was asked to cameo in a Halloween sequel; she was offered the role of Laurie's secretary Norma in H20 and wasn't sure about taking it due to another trope. Clearly they found a compromise for her.
After the widespread usage of the name "Karen" being used to describe an overbearing woman, the scene with Karen arguing with police about finding her daughter that ends with Laurie screaming her name may elicit a few chuckles.
Iron Woobie: Laurie Strode would make Ellen Ripley proud. For forty years she has lived in fear that Michael would return for her, to the point where she lives in near-total isolation stockpiling weapons, has been twice divorced, lost custody of her daughter, has a strained relationship with her family...and is now a total badass.
Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Michael Myers is considered in and out of universe as pure evil, with his moniker, "The Shape", referring to his lack of humanity. This incarnation of Michael murders eighteen people, including a young boy, upon escaping a prison transport for no reason other than he could. However, the person who gets the most hate from the fanbase from this movie isn't Myers, but Cameron, Allyson's boyfriend. He lies to her about getting drunk and kissing his ex, only to spitefully break Allyson's phone when she calls his bluff. This puts her in danger when she's forced to walk home, unaware that Michael's rampaging through the town.
Has become downplayed after the film's release and positive reception, but many remarked they were more excited for John Carpenter's soundtrack than the film itself.
Fans of Judy Greer have been drawn to the film for being a rare project where she's in a big role. She's second billed and features prominently as opposed to her track record of playing mothers who are Satellite Characters and little else.
Jamie Lee Curtis' repeated summary of the film as "a movie about trauma" in interviews also gained a following, either for the cumulative Broken Record effect or the specific way she says the word "trauma" (which at times can sound more like "trowma"). (And yes, Jamie did see the meme.)
Taking Aaron's "Say something!" line at the asylum and having Michael give a ridiculous reply.
A similar joke involves the scene where Dr. Sartain tries to get Michael to speak before the latter stomps his head in.
Sartain: Say something... Michael: Something.(kills him)
Moral Event Horizon: Dr. Sartain killing Hawkins (or so he thinks as the 2021 film is concerned) to save Michael from him, then stuffing the unconscious mass murderer into his car along with a captive Allyson, all so he can bring Michael to Laurie Strode and observe what happens. He's essentially allowing the embodiment of evil to run free to kill whoever he wants, all so he can sate his intellectual curiosity about what drives his patient. The fact that he's heavily implied—and Word of God confirms it too—to have set Michael free with the bus crash to begin with further drives the point home too.
Narm: While the film does a great job avoiding this for the most part, the shot of Dr. Sartain rising into frame wearing Michael's mask after he incapacitated Hawkins is fairly ridiculous.
Officers Richards and Francis's back-and-forth about their eating habits, with Richards knocking Francis for bringing a brownie as his dinner. On the one hand, the exchange is totally inconsistent with a slasher film and is more reminiscent of something from the writers' usual comedies. On the other hand, it serves to humanize the two and establish them as longtime friends, which makes their deaths sadder than if they'd just been typical Red Shirts.
Dr. Sartain putting on Michael's mask is considered ridiculous. However, it does add to the creepiness of the whole scene of him revealing his true colors.
Laurie's characterization here is close to how Jamie Lee Curtis wanted her to be in Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later - having her life in complete shambles. This was lessened in the script, as Kevin Williamson felt she should have more to lose.
Laurie lying in wait for a confrontation with Michael is something that was used in Halloween: Resurrection - where she wasn't as successful this time around.
This isn't the first time a revival of an iconic horror film was given the same title as its predecessor, with only the year making it distinct. The Thing (2011) did it first. Except that one was a prequel.
One-Scene Wonder: The kid we meet with his father before they come across the crashed bus. He expresses a passion for dancing and is smart enough to arm himself when getting out of the car. It's all the more upsetting when Michael kills him.
Michael's return to Haddonfield, where he wanders through a block of houses killing those inside in a single long take, all while children are trick-or-treating outside, blissfully ignorant. The scene was prominently featured in the film’s marketing and has been frequently cited as a standout moment in both critic and fan reviews.
A close second seems to be Karen's Wounded Gazelle Gambit to lure Michael out so she can shoot him. Most of Judy Greer's interviews asked her about it.
The infamous jack-o-lantern made from a severed head.
Allyson being chased by Michael Myers, who she only thought was more myth than real until that point. The awesome music accompanying it more than helped cement that.
Michael murdering Aaron and Dana to retrieve his mask.
Michael looking at the Strodes as flames envelope him in the basement.
Special Effects Failure: A humorous one that doubles with Silver Fox. The makeup for Jamie Lee Curtis looking worn and haggard is very effective save in the scene where she is wearing a tank top and it shows what amazing shape she's in.
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: To put it bluntly, there has not been a single widely critically-praised film in this franchise since the original, and many fans were doubtful that a new film could live up to it. This one has received excellent scores from critics and fans alike, and is widely considered a return to form for the franchise. Even its detractors still thought it was merely decent instead of plain bad like many other films in the series.
Take That, Scrappy!: Seeing Cameron arrested for public drunkenness in a deleted scene for the movie can be quite satisfying considering he's The Millstone for trashing Allyson's phone that cause the dominoes to fall. Also, Michael crushing Dr. Sartain's head is fulfilling to many who blame the latter for ruining the pace of the film by going all Big Bad Wannabe and for (seemingly) killing Hawkins.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The story of Michael's arrest. Since this is the first sequel in the franchise that doesn't acknowledge Halloween II (1981) as Canon, the filmmakers were 100% free to come up with their own interpretation of what happened after the original film's ambiguous cliffhanger ending, and they easily could have used it to build up Michael's mystique and menace (perhaps by establishing that he killed even more people after surviving his fall from Laurie's window). But that part of the story is mostly glossed over, and it turns out to be pretty mundane: Michael tried to run, but he was arrested by Deputy Hawkins within a few hours, and spent the next four decades in prison. Originally, there was a reported an opening of the film that was abandoned due to being too complicated that involved showing Michael's capture; this concept was ultimately recycled forHalloween Kills, which does show more of Michael's rampage in 1978 (though he ultimately isn't shown directly killing anyone else that night).
Too Cool to Live: Hawkins, the most competent ally for Laurie to stop Michael, is ambushed by Sartain by stabbing him with his pen knife and then running him over with his own squad car. Subverted in Halloween Kills when he's revealed to be Not Quite Dead.
Unintentionally Sympathetic: Cameron drunkenly kissing another girl then breaking Allyson's phone, indirectly putting her and Oscar on Michael's crosshairs, lead to him being put on the murder wishlist for many viewers. However, this deleted scene puts him in a sympathetic, or at the very least, pathetic light as it depicts him going up to Allyson, genuinely sorry for what he did and vowing to fix her phone. Even when he gets arrested, you kinda feel bad for him since the cops arresting him are Smug SnakeJerkasses who make fun his Bonnie costume and of the things his dad did, leading to him getting arrested for mouthing off to them. Due to it being a deleted scene, however, this was ultimately rendered noncanonical by the release of the following film, right where Cameron finally kicked the bucket the same night.
Karen was forcibly trained from childhood how to fight and kill a psychopathic madman. She becomes haunted by nightmares of her mother's firearms, before she is taken away from her mother at the age of 12. She becomes detached from her mother, and when it appears she finally has a family, Michael Myers pays a visit and kills her husband.
Allyson is initially the idealistic youth of the Strode family, serving as a peacekeeper between her mother and grandmother. But she discovers Oscar's brutally murdered body along with being attacked by Michael Myers multiple times throughout the evening, while also witnessing Hawkins's death at the hands of Doctor Sartain, before being used as a shield by Sartain so that if Michael wakes up before he takes him to Laurie's place, he will kill her first. She later learns her father is dead, and by the end of the night is left deeply traumatized.
Vicky: Being a babysitter character, we kinda expected her to be just another Asshole Victim. But her limited screen time shows her as a Nice Girl, who treats Julian more as a little brother than anything else.
:Green: Our rule in the writing process was to give him nothing... In production, we added one thing that may come back to haunt me, but I stand by it at the moment. We gave him an ethical decision in which he doesn't kill the baby. That was something that came up while we were shooting. We were looking for an interesting 15-second gap in a long sequence. And there were 15 seconds, no tension, no new information. And the goal was, "How do we put something that's 15 seconds" worth of intrigue in the sequence? And the production designer and the DP came up with the idea of putting a baby crib in the living room and then a baby. It was one of the things that was just exciting, and it fixed the problem; it filled the gap. And now we're looking at a character who I proclaim is the essence of evil and has no motivation, no emotion, no real stimulation other than being a predator. And yet we've given him this one consideration in which he does the right thing. So I'm not exactly sure how to stand by that and justify that, although I think it's fascinating to think of someone that is nothing but a cold-blooded, faceless, motivation-less killer. He made one decision that we are happy that he made.
