Billed as a direct sequel to 1978’s Halloween, this movie explores what would happen to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) if she spent 40 years waiting for her murderous brother Michael to come back. Not just waiting, though, prepping. Laurie Strode is the ultimate badass doomsday prepper.

Things kick into high gear as Michael escapes custody while being transferred on a bus from one psychiatric prison to another. The mayhem ensues as Michael searches for things to kill, primarily his sister, Laurie.

While I won’t go so far as to say this is a perfect return to form for the Halloween franchise, it is definitely satisfying on many levels. I really liked the ambiance, tone, and pacing. Where it kind of missed the mark was the overuse of The Shape. One of the things that made the original so great was how you felt Michael’s presence (or rather the presence of evil) without seeing him much until the third act. This movie had him out and about, which wasn’t necessarily bad, but seemed to lessen the suspense of the big bad coming to get you.

I’d still happily take this one over pretty much every Halloween sequel they attempted (including the Rob Zombie remakes). I think that was the point by making the story essentially take place following the original film. A worthy sequel means the other sequels don’t really matter. I still liked Halloween II, though.

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Available to stream on: HBO (subscription required)