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Halloween

6/10

Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton, Andi Matichak, Haluk Bilginer, Nick Castle, Rhian Rees, Jefferson Hall

Director: David Gordon Green

Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode for what might be her final confrontation with the masked killer who's been terrifying her (and cinemagoers) since 1978 (it was her debut film).

So it's goodbye to Michael Myers - or is it? After decades of close captivity, Myers (Castle, who created the role in '78) is transferred to another, more rigorous facility, and inevitably escapes to continue his campaign of slice and dice.

We're glad to see the back of investigative journalists Aaron and Dana (Hall, Rees) - 'Aaron and I have made several award-winning exposes' - but naturally, Myers heads straight for Haddonfield, the scene of his original swathe of destruction.

'Michael Myers loose in Haddonfield on Halloween night?' gasps Sheriff Hawkins (Patton). 'We got a circus on our hands.'

This is a well-made, sometimes suspenseful and serviceably thrilling entry to the series, but it has to be added that it's hardly scary at all. Laurie's house of traps is mildly entertaining, but the makers miss the chance to add a little twist by (this being Halloween night) having 'Myers' killed by police, only for them to discover it's an ordinary guy in a Myers mask.

David Quinlan

USA 2018. UK Distributor: Universal. Colour by Company 3.
98 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 20 Feb 2019

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