A spooky new trailer has arrived for Halloween Kills, the sequel to 2018's Halloween, which was itself the spiritual successor to John Carpenter's 1978 horror masterpiece. Iconic serial killer Michael Myers returns for more ghoulishly gory thrills – and if you don't believe us, check out the body count teased in the trailer. Power saws, light fixtures and more implements become deadly improvised weapons in the hands of the unstoppable Myers, who is unwittingly rescued from the burning home of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) following the climax of the previous film.
Director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride were acclaimed for their 2018 reboot/sequel, which essentially wiped out decades of unnecessary Halloween follow-ups and spin-offs. They continue to tinker with Myers' bloody legacy in Halloween Kills as Laurie suggests that his increasingly brutal methods of killing are an act of transcendence, hastening his transformation into a deadly being that is much more than a man. There's also the interesting suggestion that his killings are no longer random, but pointing him in a specific direction back towards his early childhood (witnessed in that masterful point-of-view tracking shot at the beginning of Carpenter's film).
There are thematic overtones of past Halloween movies, particularly the second and the fourth, as the local community of Haddonfield, Illinois thrillingly unites to confront Michael at his own game. We can't help but feel he'll relish the challenge to spread more collateral damage. Series creator John Carpenter (whose unmistakable theme music adorns the new trailer) has promised a grisly escalation in Michael's activities, at the same time that his rampage impacts on the next generation of Laurie's family. This includes her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and her granddaughter Alison (Andy Matichak) whose ceremonial clutching of Michael's bloody knife appears to initiate an especially personal one-on-one confrontation.
It all looks like good, gruesome fun, and a spirited follow-up to one of the best horror reboots/sequels of recent years. Halloween Kills is released in Cineworld cinemas on the 15th of October 2021, and will be followed by Halloween Ends on the 14th of October 2022.