The new iteration of Halloween was such an amazing film when we first reviewed it back in October. It essentially revived the franchise that was dead for more than a decade. Upon a second (and third viewing), my feelings toward the film remain relatively the same.
First of all, the film is a fantastic blend of comedy, horror, and thrills. Let’s be clear, the film is not a straight-up comedy like Shaun of the Dead. However, Danny McBride does infuse some of his wit and smarts into this film. In a way, this is more realistic than the original was back in 1977. There are people who watch horror films and react the same way as we would if we were in this film. It subverts the trope that all slasher film victims are just plain idiots. There’s nothing more frightening than that.
But the best thing about Halloween is its giant lead-up to The showdown between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. The hype builds up more and more as the film progresses. Yet the end result isn’t something that you might expect. With all the attention going towards Laurie’s preparedness and training for this day.
The slow cat-and-mouse game between the two slowed down the film to a halt. So those viewers looking for a big epic payoff might be severely disappointed. However, the ending will please fans of the original since there are plenty of callbacks to the original encounter between Laurie and Michael.
But what made this showdown worth it in the first place is due to the performance by Jamie Lee Curtis. After playing the character multiple times, this iteration of Laurie is easily her most tragic. When PTSD is a common terminology nowadays, it’s easy to bring in Laurie as a PTSD victim. Curtis is absolutely tragic as Strode as she brings so many layers into this role.
Overall, Halloween is a fantastic reboot/sequel to the revolutionary 1977 film. Even though it’s sad that the excellent Halloween 2 is cast aside, it’s easy to see why. Halloween delivers on many entertaining levels.
Movie Review: 4/5 atoms
Video
Halloween hits Ultra HD Blu-ray with an HDR transfer and a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This 4K upscale looks stellar on Ultra HD Blu-ray. There’s a nice even contrast to the picture with the way the image has a nice depth to them. Not to mention, the black levels are a smooth inky black as well. This is especially good since the film mostly takes place at night. The same can be said about the bright areas as well. The whites during the nighttime scenes pop from the screen. Unfortunately, the whites take on a darker shade during the daytime scenes.
The colors are set up similarly to the whites as well. During the day, the colors look natural without any sort of vibrancy to them. The subdued palette focuses primarily on Earthy tones. During the night, the colors pop from the screen, especially from the police lights. The skin tones, on the other hand, are natural throughout. The detail clarity is superb, as well. Every pore, skin tone, and texture are distinct and crisp along the edges. Overall, this is a great transfer.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Audio
Halloween hits Ultra HD Blu-ray with a DTS:X and a core 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. This review will reflect Halloween‘s DTS:X track. In this audio mix, the score takes center stage as John and Cody Carpenter bring a little bit of Halloween nostalgia to the score. The score completely envelopes the sound stage from all sides and up top as well. The surround speakers get a lot of love as well. The sound effects are spectacular as well. This object-orientated mix expands the sound stage to make the mix sound more open. Not to mention, the effects seamlessly pan through the soundstage as well.
Unfortunately, the top height speakers don’t get much love as other Ultra HD releases. The overhead effects are relegated to subtle atmospherics. You don’t truly hear these effects until towards the end of the film as Michael Myers is walking above the basement. Thankfully, the dialogue is still audible Overall, the audio mix is great but overhead effects are a bit lacking.
Audio Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Special Features
Halloween‘s Ultra HD Blu-ray has the following special features on it:
- Deleted/Extended Scenes
- Extended Shooting Range – Deleted Suicide Thoughts
- Shower Mask Visit
- Jog to a Hanging Dog
- Allyson and Friends at School
- Cameron and Cops Don’t Mix
- Deluxe Banh Mi Cops
- Sartain and Hawkins Ride Along
- Back in Haddonfield: Making Halloween
- The Original Scream Queen
- The Sound of Fear
- Journey of the Mask
- The Legacy of Halloween
Even though the meat of the special features involves the deleted scenes, every single one of the deleted scenes is pointless to the overall storyline. Be that as it may, the “Deluxe Banh Mi Cops” scene is just as hilarious as the original scene in the film. The making-of featurette isn’t a very good featurette. Sure, it has a lot of behind-the-scenes footage in it. However, there isn’t much structure to the featurette at all. It just goes all over the place without any proper segue into the next part. The same thing can be said about “The Original Scream Queen” as well. Although it’s structured better, the featurette doesn’t go too in-depth with the history and story of Laurie Strode.
Thankfully, “The Sound of Fear” goes more in-depth into the making of the score of the film. It’s here that you can learn a thing or two about everyone’s role in the scoring of the film. Besides, it’s amazing just to hear John Carpenter’s story about how he created Halloween’s iconic theme. Similarly, “Journey of the Mask” provides unique information into the recreation of Michael Myer’s iconic mask. Unfortunately, the featurette isn’t that long so it doesn’t quite go too in-depth.
“The Legacy of Halloween” is easily the best bonus feature in this releases. In “Legacy,” the roundtable discussion between Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter, David Gordon Green, and Jason Blum is an interesting one. It features certain stories that the casual Halloween fan might not know about. It’s just a shame that this release doesn’t have some sort of lengthy featurette that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original film.
Special Features Rating: 2/5 atoms
Overall, Halloween is a fantastic and entertaining reimagining and homage to the original film. Thankfully, the film is able to live to the hype. The video transfer and audio mix are both superb. Unfortunately, the special features are inadequate with the lack of in-depth featurettes.
Overall Rating: 4/5 atoms
This Blu-ray was reviewed using a retail/advance copy/unit provided by Universal Home Entertainment.
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