Michael Myers in the Middle

After a well-received reboot with "Halloween" in 2018, "Halloween Kills" is exactly the kind of middling, bloody sequel that helped lead to franchise fatigue in the first place

Michael Myers is an American institution. Chances are even those who've never seen a "Halloween" film are at least tangentially familiar with the name, if only enough to confuse him with his hockey-masked counterpart. For over 40 years, he's lived as one of the premier big screen boogeymen through several different iterations. 2018's "Halloween" was released as a direct sequel to the 1978 classic of the same name, stripping the character back down to a seemingly motiveless serial killer and broke box office records in the process. It grossed over $255 million against an estimated $10-15 million dollar budget, resurrecting the franchise from the dead much like Michael himself has done many times. "Halloween Kills" is the second installment of a planned trilogy and it feels like it. While the 2018 film is far from perfect, it had an identity; something this film sorely lacks. "Halloween Kills" is a standard horror sequel that inevitably repeats some of the franchise's past mistakes.

After being mortally wounded during her last encounter with Myers, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is rushed to the hospital with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) by her side. While ailing, they all take comfort in the fact they believe they've rid themselves of Myers for good. However, the unstoppable killing machine predictably escapes his would-be fiery demise and again wrecks havoc in Haddonfield. Riled up by his return, Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) and Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet) spearhead a movement for the town's residents to hunt Michael down themselves and finish him once and for all. David Gordon Green returns to direct and the film is based on a script by himself, Danny McBride and Scott Teems.

To its credit, "Halloween Kills" certain delivers on its title. With a high body count and some of the most gruesome kills in Michael's entire catalog, the movie usurps the Rob Zombie version of the character for what was previously his most brutal interpretation. Once again portrayed largely by James Jude Courtney (with assists from Airon Armstrong and Nick Castle), Michael is the star of the show. Without a clear-cut protagonist, the attention is set squarely on his shoulders and the film noticeably sags when he's not on-screen. That's mostly due to nonsensical, paper-thin characters who are only fodder for the slaughter. With Michael's most engaging foil in Laurie taking a noticeable backseat this time around, the film doesn't have a strong counterbalance for its antagonist. There are virtually no character arcs, no memorable character beats and almost no story progression from the last film. The acting is fine enough, despite hammy dialogue and some awkward bits of social commentary. The rest is serviceable by slasher standards, but wholly unremarkable. If you came for the carnage, there's certainly enough to carry you through. If that's not your cup of tea, perhaps the excellent score by John Carpenter, his son Cody and Daniel Davies will suffice. Otherwise, save a few spoilers, one could probably skip this and wait for the upcoming "Halloween Ends" without missing a beat. C+