The 1978 flashback in Halloween Kills solves an old mystery from Michael Myers' original night of terror. To say that Halloween Kills has proven divisive would be underselling it. The first big divide for the slasher sequel is between the audience and critics, with Halloween Kills' critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes currently being a woeful 40 percent while its audience score is a much higher - if not great - 66 percent. Critics disliking a slasher movie is nothing new, but this stands in contrast to the relatively warm critical reception that greeted Halloween 2018.
The other divide when it comes to the response to Halloween Kills is between the longtime fans themselves. Some hate the new entry with a passion and feel its excessively brutal, gory kills and unlikable characters put it more in line with the Halloween movies directed by Rob Zombie. On the other hand, some have lots of appreciation for its unsparing approach, especially since so much of the carnage was realized with practical effects. They also don't mind the controversial "evil dies tonight" mob.
One sequence that seems to unite most opinions on Halloween Kills is the 1978 flashback sequence revealing how Michael Myers was arrested after getting shot six times by Dr. Loomis. Director David Gordon Green's recreation of John Carpenter's original Halloween look and atmosphere is incredibly well done and very convincing. The flashback also, albeit subtly, finally resolves a headscratcher tying back to Michael Myers' original rampage, involving a list of items he stole from Haddonfield's hardware store.
Early on in John Carpenter's original Halloween movie, Laurie Strode and her friend Annie run into Annie's father Sheriff Brackett. During their conversation, Brackett mentions that there was a break-in at a hardware store, with the thief stealing a Halloween mask, a set of knives and some rope. The logical conclusion is that the thief was Michael Myers, presumably right after he got back to Haddonfield. However, while the purpose of the mask and knives are obvious, Michael is never actually seen using rope during the film, despite Brackett's reference.
While some assume Michael used the stolen rope to rig up the moment where Bob Simms - not to be confused with Halloween Kills cameo actor Bob Odenkirk - body comes swinging out of a closet, that's not confirmed in the movie and the rope is never seen onscreen. However, the purpose of the rope is plain and clear in a rather ingenious callback during Halloween Kills 1978 flashback, as when Michael attacks a cop in his sister Judith's old bedroom, he's seen strangling him with a rope. A nervous young Hawkins then accidentally shoots and kills the other cop while trying to save him from Michael's grasp. It's a great reference to the original, but at the same time, only one the most hardcore series devotees are likely to notice. While Halloween Kills may be far from perfect, it was clearly made by people who love Carpenter's creation.
