This week was an eventful one for horror fans. First, the second trailer for Nia DaCosta’s Candyman dropped mid-week, and by the end of the week, Universal/Blumhouse released the new trailer for Halloween Kills, the sequel to Halloween 2018. Click here for an excellent breakdown of that Candyman trailer, written by Dani Bethea. Meanwhile, here are my initial thoughts on the Halloween Kills trailer (see below the link to the trailer).

• The film seemingly picks up right where 2018 left off. The first shot of the new trailer shows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) with her daugther and granddaugther in toe, fleeing from the burning house where they “killed” Michael in the last film. The trio says, “no, no, no,” as firetrucks and amublances rush to the scene. Laurie hollers, “Let it burn!” This is likely to be an emotional opening.
• The trailer then cuts to Michael standing on the proch, flames roaring behind him. It’s a beautiful, cinematic scene, especially the middle-shot with his mask center frame. From there, Michael kills each firefigther one by one fairly easily.
• This is going to be a bloody, gory film. That scene with the firefigthers indicates such, along with some other kills shown in the trailer, specifically one featuring at least three-four victims (teens maybe?) wearing Silver Shamrock masks (nice nod to Halloween 3)!
• Laurie’s family finally believes her. Much of Halloween 2018 was about Laurie’s trauma from the intiial film and her family dismissing her pain. But now, her granddauther, Allyson (Andi Matichak), says, “The boogeyman is real. My grandmother was right.”
• Echoes of Halloween 2, maybe? It’s already been stated, and it’s clear in the trailer, that at least part of Halloween Kills will take place in a hospital. We see Laurie Strode in a white gown. Will the entire film mainly take place in a hospital like Halloween 2? Judging by the trailer, it seems unlikely, but still, it’s a nice nod to Halloween 2.
• Michael becomes the hunted. The second half of the trailer focuses on the town coming together, wielding shotguns, ready to hunt down Michael, led by Laurie Strode.
• The return of some OG characters. It’s already been stated that Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace (the charming kids Laurie babysat in the first film) will return for this sequel. Their characters are likely to feed into the storyline about a town’s collective trauma and its need to defeat the boogeyman.

Overall, it looks like Halloween Kills is going to be a fun, bloody good time. If there’s anything you noticed in the trailer, feel free to comment! Here’s to counting down until October.