After 40 years, we find Jamie Lee Curtis playing the same role of Lori Strode in the first “Halloween” movie. As of late, Halloween movies have been lacking in originality, and the same  cliche themes have been used over and over again. The “Halloween” series has outlived its life expectancy and is really starting to become overly predictable. Thriller films as a whole have been extremely disappointing within the last few years; with the clear exceptions of movies that have come from M. Night Shyamalan. Instead of producing great content, directors and producers choose to invest their time, money and energy in continuing storylines that have clearly run its course and “Halloween Kills” is a prime example of such. 

This trend has become common amongst other Halloween franchises as well, a lot of the content is repetitive and overdone. The cult following that the original “Halloween” film accumulated has remained unmatched. Thriller and Horror films were much more creative during the 70s and 80s; I am not totally sure what it is but they have lost their creative edge. The supernatural, and the murder hungry stranger trope have made appearances in far too many movies, and the initial fear those characters held has been lost. The inability to create any new and interesting content is going to be detrimental to Halloween movies as a whole.

Another frustration of mine, regarding Halloween movies, would be to stop the terrible remakes of older movies. A prime example of this would be the recent “Candy Man” remake by Jordan Peele. The original 1992 film was so well received, they managed to accumulate over $20 million dollars. However, the remake was so incredibly disappointing, that in an attempt to modernize a classic movie, it fell short. I will admit part of the disappointment may be a result of audience expectations. 

There are two major solutions I would like to offer producers and directors to possibly save these seasonal horror movies as whole. The first solution would be to either become inspired by books of the past, and turn those into films. One movie, despite its remake that was very well received, was “It”. The movie was produced excellently, and did the book justice; it managed to incorporate aspects of the book so well and really embodied fear well. Additionally, the sequel also managed to be well done. Typically, sequels (if not part of a series) usually end up flopping in the box office. There are some awesome authors who write well and use their skills to create a terrifying narrative; given those resources, all the directors would have to do would be to convert the book into a film.

The second solution I would offer would be to allow for more creative inspiration. Creating movies with the hope that it is a blockbuster will not only be lacking in terms of story, but chances are it will be very disappointing. Giving creatives more freedom can allow for stories that will not disappoint, they will probably be less predictable as well. Jordan Peele is a great example of how giving directors creative freedom can eventually lead to creating blockbusting films such as: “Get Out” and “US”. Also, while I am not entirely familiar with the process of producing a film, I think it would be a good idea to slow down the process of actually releasing the movie. I recognize the importance of hitting deadlines, and pressure from the audience, but I would much rather wait a few more months for an awesome movie, as opposed to immediately getting a mediocre movie.

Personally, Halloween and horror movies are two of my favorite things, and I really respect the culture around it. I would like and appreciate it if we could revitalize the culture as a whole. Also, as a director, I could not imagine releasing a project that was not my best work, if I recognized that my product was rushed and I was not given enough time to perfect my product then I would completely rethink about releasing the product as well. With that being said, I am excited for the new movies that will be coming out in the next few weeks, along with the horror movies that will be released outside of the Halloween season as well.