Controversial Horror Sequel On Peacock Is A Must-Watch This Halloween

Taking the universe back to its roots, David Gordon Green first kicked off his offering to the fans with 2018’s Halloween. Serving as a direct sequel to the original 1978 movie of the same name, the title picked up with Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode, who, several marriages and one child later, had been hiding away from Michael Myers, anticipating that he’d come for her one day. After the deranged killer breaks out of the mental institution, he does, in fact, seek Laurie out, causing a night of murderous mayhem that would serve as the prequel to Halloween Kills.

The first two movies of Green’s trilogy flow one into the other, with Halloween Kills picking up immediately following the fade out of the first film. Returning to the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he first rained down terror decades earlier, Michael pits himself against the village’s civilians. But this time, they know he’s coming, and they’re ready to fight back.

For most of Halloween Kills, Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode spends her storyline from the inside of a hospital after nearly being killed by the masked madman in the previous movie. This gives other characters a chance to shine, namely Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, who appear as Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter, respectively. Also back in the saddle for the 2021 film is The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, who appeared in the original as the young girl Laurie Strode was babysitting.

Audiences were clearly excited for another Halloween movie when Halloween Kills slashed into cinemas in October of 2021. The theater industry was still recuperating from the COVID-19 pandemic, so Universal Pictures made the call to offer the title in cinemas and stream on Peacock so subscribers could tune in at home. The production is one of those wonders from the pandemic that, despite people being wary about going to theaters and the added option to stream at home, it managed to wrangle more than $133 million against its $20 million budget.

Fans and critics seem pretty torn about the acceptance of Halloween Kills. Part of the beauty about a franchise like this one is that filmmakers can come in with their own vision and take it in whatever direction they’d like, meaning whether it’s an all-out kill fest from Rob Zombie or something closer to the original like Green’s, there’s space for everything. On Rotten Tomatoes, Green’s sequel sits with a tough-to-swallow 39 percent critics’ rating, while audiences took it a bit easier, granting it a 66 percent rating.

There are a lot of stellar choices out there for the month of October watchlist but if you have yet to see Halloween Kills, add it to your queue now on Peacock.