Halloween Kills Director Explains His ‘Aggressive’ Approach To The Sequel

Michael Myers in Halloween Kills

2020 saw the entertainment come to a screeching halt as a result of the ongoing global pandemic. Countless movies were pushed back (sometimes a full year), in hopes of making a box office profit once theaters return to normal. David Gordon Green's Halloween Kills was one of those projects, which will now be hitting theaters on October of 2021 in time for the titular holiday. While little is known about the highly anticipated slasher, Green recently explained his "aggressive" approach to the sequel.

The 2018 Halloween movie was a massive success when it theaters, with David Gordon Green and company crafting a direct sequel to John Carpenter's 1978 original. That movie was largely focused on the effect Laurie Strode's trauma had on her family, while Halloween Kills will feature a ton of returning characters for more of an ensemble project. Green recently opened up about how he went about crafting his second installment in the franchise, saying:

When we made the last one we wanted to find a way for someone who’s never seen the original to get up to speed with the story. But this one gets right to the action. It’s very aggressive. It’s more efficient. We wanted it to be an explosive middle before things get streamlined and personal again.

Well, this is exciting. While 2018's Halloween had a ton of exposition to reveal the events of the original film and source of Laurie's trauma, it looks like Halloween Kills will be hitting the ground running. This is an exciting concept, and one that coincides with the limited footage we've seen from the slasher thus far.

David Gordon Green's comments to Total Film are sure to please hardcore Halloween fans out there, who were disappointed when Halloween Kills was delayed a full calendar year. While the movie's contents are still a complete mystery, all of the reports from set have teased how violent and intense the upcoming sequel will be. And it seems that Green specifically focused on streamlining the story so that he didn't have to hold back at all.

Indeed, it was previously revealed that Halloween Kills will pick up moments after the last movie finished. Laurie, Karen, and Allyson are in the back of a truck after fighting Michael Myers off and trapping him in the basement to burn alive. Unfortunately it looks like The Shape survives, resulting in Haddonfield and his various survivors arming up to face the villain.

David Gordon Green assembled a great cast to bring Halloween Kills together. In addition to Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis, a number of actors will be reprising their roles from John Carpenter's original movie: Kyle Richards, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Stephens. Additionally, actors Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Longstreet will be playing adult versions of Tommy Doyle and Lonnie Elam respectively. It's a big cast, and smart money says many of them will die before Michael Myers is done.

The first teaser for Halloween Kills was already thrilling, and shows what chaos Haddonfield will be thrown into this coming October. Michael Myers' rampage through the town in the 2018 sequel was random and terrifying, and it seems the citizens are finally fighting back. It'll also be interesting to see how Laurie's relationship with her daughter and granddaughter is altered by their shared experience.

Halloween Kills is currently set to arrive in theaters on October 15th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.