‘HALLOWEEN (2018)’

R 1:46

Two-time Golden Globe winner Jamie Lee Curtis returns to Haddonfield, Illinois, and screams new life into “Halloween,” a worthy successor and namesake to the seminal 1978 slasher movie that spawned a long string of lackluster sequels that unfortunately would not die.

The imminently watchable Curtis (“True Lies,” “A Fish Called Wanda”) got her big break playing Laurie Strode, a teenage baby sitter who manages to survive the rampage of stoic masked serial killer Michael Myers, in John Carpenter’s original “Halloween.” A direct sequel to the first film, the new “Halloween” picks up 40 years later with the promise of a final showdown between Laurie and Michael.

Directed by David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express,” “Your Highness”) and co-written by Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, “Halloween” mostly makes good on that promise. It sneaks in numerous clever callbacks to delight longtime franchise fans while still forging its own nerve-jangling way with timely themes, bloodier frights and interesting new characters.

The movie opens with a pair of British journalists — Aaron Korey (Jefferson Hall) and Dana Haines (Rhian Rees) — who want to make a “Serial”-style podcast about the “Babysitter Murders” visiting Myers (played by James Jude Courtney and originator Nick Castle, again credited as The Shape) in Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. The murderer has become an object of fascination, even to his new psychiatrist Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), because he has refused to speak a word in the 40 years since his capture.

Laurie is not fascinated; she believes Michael is pure evil and that shouldn’t be studied or celebrated. She also is convinced that he eventually will escape and go on another killing spree.

She has turned her rural home into a fortress and arsenal, and years ago lost custody of her daughter because of her grim obsession with self-defense and security. Although Laurie is estranged from her now-grown daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and son-in-law Ray (Toby Huss), she has a special bond with her teenage granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).

Of course, Michael does escape during an attempted transfer to a more secure facility, and he does return to the quiet suburban town and begin violently killing denizens. Laurie is determined not only to protect her family but also to finally kill the seemingly indestructible killer.

Credited as an executive producer, along with Carpenter, Curtis transforms Laurie from a resourceful baby sitter into a fierce survivor.

The new “Halloween” still has some of the same old slashermovie problems, including characters who do inexplicably stupid things, an overreliance on jump scares and some sizable plot holes. But in an era of complicated and even prestigious horror movies, it’s also bloody good fun.

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Judy Greer, Toby Huss (horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity)