If you’re looking for a good horror movie to watch, look no further. “Halloween Kills” has everything you could ask for, from graphic kills, to scenes filled with suspense, to an ending you probably won’t expect.

 “Halloween Kills” is the newest addition to the “Halloween” series, and it does not disappoint.

Here’s the breakdown; “Halloween”, the original, starts out in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night. A young boy, Michael Myers, inexplicably stabs his older sister, killing her. His parents immediately send him to be incarcerated at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, for 15 long years. 

Years pass, and on a fateful night, while inmates from Smith’s Grove are being transported on a bus, there’s an unfortunate accident that leaves the bus tipped over, letting all the inmates escape with Michael among them. He goes on to stalk and attempt to kill Laurie Strode and her friends.  Strode manages to survive, and Michael’s doctor, Dr. Loomis shows up, hot on his trail, and shoots him in the chest, surprisingly though Michael survives and escapes. 

Forty years later, Michael’s back, with one goal in mind, to kill Laurie Strode. Picking up right where “Halloween 2018” leaves off, “Halloween Kills” starts out with Laurie and her two children driving away from her safehouse. As they’re driving, medical and fire engines rush to the safehouse, unaware of what’s inside. As the team of firefighters enter the safe house, looking for survivors, they stumble across the basement, where Michael is trapped.  Unaware of what he’s capable of,  they rescue him.

His bloody pillaging begins immediately.  As he makes his way out of the safe house, with music helping build the suspense, he finally stands in the doorway, pick in hand, ready to kill whoever he sees first. Unfortunately, that happens to be the team of firefighters sent to put out the fire.

He uses their own tools against them, brutalizing the firefighters using picks, axes, and even a saw at one point. This firefighter scene created controversy and was petitioned to be taken out of the film because some people didn’t like the idea of firefighters getting brutally killed. 

Making his way through Haddonfield, he leaves a trail of sorts; people he’s killed as he goes along. Some of these include, an older couple murdered in their own home, and some poor children hung up on a swing set. Now, the town is on the hunt for Michael, and they want blood. 

The bodies and kills in the film are pretty disturbing, and the effects used, especially with the old couple are great. It gets more graphic when the audience finally sees the children on the swing set, as they’re hung up and tangled in the mess of chains that hold the swings up. It’s disturbing to see, and it sends chills down your spine as you watch. 

The background music used throughout the film helps build up suspense, whether it’s when Michael is stalking/killing a victim, or when the people of Haddonfield find another one of Michael’s victims. The music often builds and builds during a kill scene, finally hitting a crescendo right as Michael does the deed. Meanwhile, the music is slower, softer, yet still suspenseful when the people of Haddonfield find his victims, or when it cuts to Laurie, who is recovering from her injuries in the hospital.

 More and more people swarm into the hospital as a result of Michael, and it gets a little intense at parts, showing some of Michael’s victims, having been brutalized by him. Now, if you’re planning on seeing this movie, you can see it in select movie theatres, or you can stream it on the service Peacock, if you’ve paid for a membership as it doesn’t come with the free, basic plan. 

While it doesn’t exactly meet with the expectation of its predecessors, “Halloween Kills” still has good acting, the storyline, while a little boring at points, is easy to follow, and the special effects are spectacular, as they usually are. The costuming and the setting are fine; nothing too special. If fans of the previous films are looking for something to draw them back in, it’s definitely the kills throughout the film. If you’re looking for a horror movie packed with everything you could ask for, “Halloween Kills” is that movie.