Halloween Kills
Halloween Kills is a treat for any fan of the Halloween movies, or of the slasher genre, in general. John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis both served as executive producers, a fact that comforted me considering my dissatisfaction with the Rob Zombie remakes. Halloween Kills does a great job of continuing the stories of some of the lesser-known characters (even featuring some of the same actors, all grown up) from the 1978 movie while simultaneously serving as a direct sequel to Halloween (2018). We get to see our fearless queen, Jamie Lee Curtis, once again playing the role of Laurie Strode, wounded and in the hospital after the events of the 2018 installment of Halloween, which ends with Michael Meyers trapped in a house Laurie has set ablaze. Halloween Kills offers plenty of glorious and unique kill scenes throughout. It’s a downright death fest, which is the best type of fest if you ask me.
The 5/4 timed, world-renowned piano theme to Halloween rings through the speakers as Michael Meyers slaughters innocents all over Haddonfield. A whole team of firefighters gets axed, and in a genre plagued with copycats and cliches, I cannot ever recall witnessing firefighters, some of the bravest and most altruistic humans in society, finding themselves on the business end of a boogie man’s rampage.
The movie seemed more complete and much more on-the-money in terms of atmosphere and authenticity than any of the Halloween films of the last 30 years. Overall, it had everything I love, Michael Meyers, Jamie Lee Curtis, the Halloween theme song, and abundant death.
Candyman
Jordan Peele’s direct sequel to the 1992 classic, Candyman, is a well-executed horror movie directed by Nia DaCosta and a chilling reminder of the reality of racial inequality that plagues America. The story centers around Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) and his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris). He is an artist, and she curates at an art gallery; it’s a match made in heaven. When Anthony learns of the Candyman from Brianna’s brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), he becomes obsessed with the tale and the Candyman (Tony Todd) begins to wreak havoc upon their lives and the lives of many others super violently, to say the least.
Speaking of, it’s really violent. Hooks are getting jammed into gangrenous wounds, groups of gum-snapping high school girls are getting disemboweled, racist cops are getting hooked through the jugular. It’s a fun time. Jordan Peele was able to bring up tough topics like gentrification and inequality while delivering a super eerie, haunting story packed with gore and geysers of blood, all while staying true to the spirit of the original Candyman. Seeing Tony Todd don that brown overcoat and mess people up again was awesome.
My only real criticism was the absence of engaging music. There was decent music present at times, but it seemed too minimal and very infrequent. I am a fan of larger, more present, and commanding scores that complement the drama presented on screen, so in that regard, I felt it came up a little short. Otherwise, Jordan Peele’s Candyman is a 2021 must-watch for sure.
The Devil Below
To round out my top three of 2021, we have the subterranean horror flick, The Devil Below, which stars Will Patton, Alicia Sanz, and Adan Canto. It follows a group of young scientists looking for a lost Appalachian mining town that’s faded into obscurity since its fabled burning decades earlier. After a car chase, the group hops an electrified fence and finds the remnants of the town. The group quickly realizes they’re not alone and that their ghoulish new company isn’t of the human species.
This is a movie that I found one day while scrolling through good ol’ Netflix during the COVID lockdown. I was immediately intrigued twofold because I am a fan of Will Patton’s work and because I love stories about the Appalachian Mountains, which I vacation in a lot. I often find myself camped out among the crooked pines and towering oaks of George Washington National Forest wondering what the subject matter would be if those mountains could speak, the horrors they’ve surely witnessed, the life that they support, as well as everything in between.
So, when I realized The Devil Below was a tale of an evil, subterranean species in the Appalachians, I was excited. I wasn’t disappointed either; this movie wasn’t a perfect one, but I enjoyed it. Angry mobs are cool, expeditions into abandoned mines are cool, the movie was cool. However, I do feel that if I wasn’t predisposed to like Will Patton and the Appalachians, this movie probably wouldn’t be on my list. But I am, and it is. It’s worth a watch.