Halloween Kills: Recut

I watched Halloween (2018) when it first came out, While I thought it was decent for a slasher film, I didn't continue the series after seeing the lukewarm reviews of Halloween Kills. I've now decided to watch through the latest Halloween trilogy using fanedits. Ryantology's edit seemed like a good choice for the second film.

"Halloween Kills: Recut" is well done from a technical perspective and the editing is seamless. However, I do have one narrative criticism. I wont get into spoilers, but I was confused with the conclusion. I wasn't sure if Judy Greer's character was having vision or the final event was actually happening. I went and read the changes afterward for clarity, though I am not sure that is ideal.

Unfortunately, I also don't think the edit helped make Halloween: Kills much more compelling (at least for me). Michael Myers going around as an indestructible force didn't really do it for me. I liked the flashback and introduction of surviving characters from the first film, but the town mob events that came from that could have been better executed (not the editors fault).

Ultimately, I don't think Halloween: Kill itself brings much new or interesting to the slasher table. Ryantology's two-in-one film might be the better way to view the first two films. Never-the-less, if you are looking to watch a standalone version, "Halloween Kills: Recut" is a nice tight edit of the second film.

I have a lot of time for any fanedit by Ryantology. He approaches each edit with a genuine sense of love and enthusiasm, whilst ensuring it’s as professional and polished as possible. Knowing he’s as big a Halloween fan as I am, it’s always exciting when he announces he’s working on a new edit, regardless of what entry it may be in the series. So, it’s fitting that he should release his version of Halloween Kills, an entry which I consider to be one of the very worse in the entire series… could he actually save this film for me? Let’s find out.

Firstly, this is a tough ask for me. I have so many problems with this film. The dreadful dialogue which some of the legacy characters have to deliver, the fact Tommy is a complete idiot, the redundant over the top kills to characters introduced purely just to get more kills in the film and stretch it out, the ludicrous and heavy handed mob culture scenes…. Need I go on? Whilst I realise many of the Halloween sequels are hardly masterclasses of writing, Kills takes it to a whole new level of scraping the barrel for me. I think it’s because you get the feeling David Gordon Green honestly feels he and Danny McBride are doing something really clever and special here. Well, they’re not.

Anyway, onto the edit. Put simply, Ryantology deserves huge kudos for trimming or completely excising the worst sequences of this movie. He almost succeeds to the point where I could legitimately say I enjoyed the movie… almost. He tries really hard to get you to believe that the legacy characters are treated with some kind or respect or credibility. For example, Tommy’s story in the bar is truncated so skilfully, that it’s now a scene that has far more impact, even though it’s shorter (sometimes less is way more and this proves it). Unfortunately, Tommy is still an idiot for the most part and I still hate the way he’s written and portrayed in this film – but to be fair Ryantology does what he can here to make him more bearable. This is true for most characters now in this edit – they are at least bearable thanks to some nicely judged trims.

The movie is much leaner now, and this helps elevate Kills far more than it probably deserves. The one aspect of the movie I’ve always liked is not surprisingly James Jude Courtney’s portrayal of The Shape. He’s awesome and fills each scene he’s in with dread and a genuine feeling of suspense and terror. Ryantology’s sublime cut work actually adds to this even further, resulting in the finale at the Myers house where Allyson, Cameron and Lonnie venture in to confront Michael, being even more powerful and effective. Initially I wasn’t too sure on the way Ryantology intercuts Michael attacking Karen with the attack on the mob, but having had time to reflect on that, I think it works a lot better than the original scene we got and I absolutely love the final shot of this edit.

He also tries hard to make the mob scenes better at the hospital – and they are improved. However, I still hate the whole clumsy and heavy handed way this scene is constructed and it remains the worst part of the film for me.

So, whilst I couldn’t say Ryantology has managed to save Kills for me, as personally I think even more needs to be cut, it is a huge improvement on the theatrical version.. and I mean huge. At least now I can find some consistent enjoyment the movie, and that’s something I never felt previously. The fact I can score this as an 8 in terms of enjoyement, is purely down to the skill of the editor here. In terms of Halloween fanedits, this one is right up there with some of the best.

When I went to see this movie in theaters I was pumped! However, I left the theater sorely disappointed! The movie had too many "Oh come on, no one would do that!" moments, as well as the phrase "Evil dies tonight" being repeated too much! What Ryan did genuinely made this movie much more bearable. If I am not mistaken, the "Evil dies tonight" phrase was said 4 times with his cut, 3 of which were back to back from the mob, which made it seem like the phrase was really used only twice. That right there is an awesome change! He also cut the Big John, Little John search/death which I found very tasteful, as I hated the "Michael, you've come home" line. When I seen the original movie, I knew it would be gory, which I was cool with, but when I seen it, I thought "Ya know, this is maybe a little overkill with the gore", to which Ryan tamed some of it down in a way that didn't take from any scene, but still made sure you didn't feel as though you were just watching a new age gore-porn slasher. I give his edits a 10/10. They made the movie better for sure. That being said, I would love to cut out the entire hospital chase, but it could affect aspects of the story. The movie itself just isn't good, but Ryan did a great job at making it so much more tolerable!

Halloween Kills was promised to be the ultimate slasher by John Carpenter himself, with this cut I feel like I can actually see that. It's Halloween Kills without the clunky dialogue and excruciating pace, and makes for a good sequel. Sometimes fan service is done right, but I don't think I've seen a movie mess it up more than Halloween Kills which is where this cut really delivers. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb, bad one liners are gone, and it's suddenly a very fun 90-minute slasher.

Hospital scene is still a drag, though, just less-so.

I am a big fan of the slasher genre in general, but Halloween was always my favorite. Although, I can't say I like many of the sequels (or the awful Rob Zombie remakes), only a couple to be honest, it was so unique and straight up creepy that the factor quality, over quantity, made it my absolute favorite. My next go to for a slasher is Friday the 13th - since the editor mentions it also :p

I know the theatrical version of this wasn't well recieved, but I belong to the group of people that really liked it. Just for reference, I hated Halloween Ends and I can't wait for an editor to salvage that dumpster fire! Be that as it may, Kills wasn't without its flaws and all of those flaws were things that were addressed by the editor. The only thing that I disagree with, is trimming or removing completely the brutality of some kills, but I totally understand the mentality behind that decision. But for me, the kills work both ways, I enjoyed the theatrical ones and I also enjoyed the ones in this version.

The only thing I was surprised that it wasn't removed, was after the scene at the hospital were the mental patient jumps of the roof and then the police officer and the survivor say that they do not know if that was Michael, because he was always wearing a mask. Umm...what? Yes, he was, but he was unmasked when he was captured and taken to the mental hospital. I'm pretty sure the picture with his face would be all over the news and the people of Haddonfield would have memorized his face for ever and ever. Besides that and the trimming or removal of some killings, this edit is great and it elevated the movie to another level. And from what I can see from other reviews, people who hated the theatrical one, really enjoyed this one, so there you go!

My biggest surprise though was the beginning. I could not believe how well the removal of all those scenes worked and how it added to the "mystery" of straight up showing you the murdered people, instead of showing you what happened every step of the way before that. Well done sir!

Technical wise is flawless, I could not tell where the cuts were made, every scene was handled extremely well and so was the sound.

So, I most definitely recommend this edit to everyone, whether you liked the theatrical or not, and I really hope someone can fix Halloween Ends so I can have a closure to this new trilogy. Otherwise, I'm afraid I can only watch a fanedit that I found of the first one, were it actually kind of closes the story (no firemen going to put out the fire).

Next, I will try the combo of the two films that the editor made later the same year, I wonder if that works even better.

Thanks to everyone who read my review and big thanks to Ryantology for all his hard work!