Meeting Nick Castle & Halloween 2018 Trailer Review

Meeting the Man Behind the Mask

At Comic Con in Niagara Falls this summer, I was perusing the table of talent that was there. We saw Nick Castle and thought, we had to at least shake his hand. How could we not? The original Halloween is a classic and here was the real life Michael Myers in front of our faces.

Nick Castle was by far the nicest person I encountered that day. It was kind of a bummer that he didn’t have anyone at his table, but we were so excited to meet him, I hope it made up for that. He spent a good ten minutes just shooting the breeze with us. I even stupidly asked him if he was going to be at the premier of the new Halloween not knowing he was PLAYING Michael… I literally kicked myself. He was such a nice guy though, he came out from behind the table to talk to us and he was truly cordial, like we were old friends coming to visit him at work. We told him that he was the source of many childhood nightmares and he said, “I was going for a comedy, but then they put that scary music in and made it a horror.” It was a sweet moment getting to talk to a genuinely nice person who just happens to play the most frightening and recognizable horror movie villain of all time.

Trailer Review

For reference, this is the one I’m talking about. Not the first one that came out (Which was awesome by the way! Did you see that homage to the original with the people in the night breaking out of the mental institution!? Chills…)

I have to say, seeing this new trailer, it felt cool to say that I met the man behind the mask. I was at work, listening to background noise videos on YouTube, and an ad started playing. I knew the new trailer for Halloween was coming  out, so when I heard that tell-tale Michael music, I dropped what I was doing immediately to watch it a few times. I had to. I have been excited for this movie since we met Nick Castle and, even though I met him, this trailer still scared me silly. I do, however, think that the first one for this movie was better and scarier, but I digress.

What I Liked

I loved the beginning of this trailer so much. It had that original 1978 feeling with the, dare I call it, retro looking Halloween decorations and chillingly recognizable piano. Aesthetically, it paid it’s respects to the original. That’s something I really appreciate.

Some great moments include the amazing and downright creepy Michael sit-up after he falls down the stairs (a move that should be patented if it hasn’t been already). Our Queen of Minor Roles Judy Greer pops up and has the nerve to call Jamie Lee Curtis crazy. That was iconic. Michael’s almost childlike way of picking up the hammer was frightening. Lastly, the Scream Queen herself is a force to be reckoned with. She is without a doubt, a BAMF. I love me some strong female leads. Girl, I want to BE you. I mean, minus the whole living in the same world as Michael Myers. That’s not fun for anyone.

I’m pumped for this movie. It will be one of the rare movies that I actually go to see in theaters. I like that the trailer left me wondering if Laurie will succeed in killing Michael. We shall see, now shan’t we?

What I Didn’t Like

My biggest reason for not liking this trailer is how confused I was. The opening narration leaves me to believe that every movie after the 1978 Halloween didn’t happen. Is this their way of dismissing the godawful sequels? I wouldn’t mind that, but I don’t understand how they’re going to explain it away. Maybe it will end up being like the spoof that the Scream movies did with their movie-within-a-movie gag.

As much as I love Nick Castle, I think we see too much of Michael. In the original trailer for the 1978 original, you hardly see him which makes it so much scarier when you finally do see him. This trailer that came out today has me a little worried that they gave away all their trade secrets and we won’t be surprised at anything when the movie comes out. However, I could be pleasantly surprised.

I will say, there were some moments that just didn’t sit well with me. I thought the teeth scene was not very true to the original Michael. It seemed too much like a gross slasher moment rather than a real Michael moment; him being cold and cruel.

Overall Thoughts

Nick Castle is a cool dude and I’m happy to go see my new best friend (joking) in a movie. I’ve even got a little inside scoop. We asked Nick if this was their way of wrapping up the series in a nice bow and he said, “If it does well, it won’t be the last one.” So, should we be preparing ourselves for a Halloween series revival? Time will tell.

I hope you enjoyed my honest thoughts on this new trailer. If you’ve got some critique of your own, I’m dying to talk about it and geek over the little details. Leave a comment, debate me, agree with me, anything.

Until next time,

Julia