Trailer for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th ‘Halloween’ Part 2 Cuts Family Ties [VIDEO]

The trailer for the new sequel-preboot of 'Halloween' wastes no time rectonning John Carpenter's biggest mistake.

I'll admit it, the new direct sequel to the original 1978 horror classic 'Halloween' looks a lot more promising than any of its counterparts. That being said, we've seen it. Several times. Ad nauseum. Is this long overdue step in the right direction a case too little, (and way) too late? I guess we'll find out this October.

For those of you not up to speed on what's happening with this one, I'll try to give you the broad strokes before deep-diving into obscure franchise nerdery. This one is brought to you by Director David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, the duo that brought you both 'Eastbound & Down' and 'Vice Principals.' They reportedly leaned heavily on original creator John Carpenter, asking for his blessing before making any major moves.

One of those moves was bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, a role that she has played 4 times before in the franchise, which has killed her off twice previously (see 'Halloween 4' and Halloween 'Resurrection'). Immediately, the trailer lets you know that she is not related to Michael Myers in this alternate timeline sequel. You may not realize it, but that revelation that became the basis for Micheal's killing spree was not introduced until 1981's 'Halloween II.' Since the events of that sequel did not happen in the world of this new movie, neither did any of the Myers family nonsense.

I know this is all sounds complicated and that's because it is. I previously attempted to explain how these sequels all fit together in much more detail, which you can read by clicking here, but it's a lot to take in. So much so that I'm not sure if this counts as the second, third, or fourth direct sequel to 1978's 'Halloween' -- they subtly rebooted the timeline two or three times in the sequels, and that was before Rob Zombie's hard reboot in 2007. Try to make sense of the franchise map I made below. The films connected by orange lines are part of the same continuity.

Either way, I'm going to give this new crack at the franchise a shot. I just don't know that this stuff can work anymore. Almost every scene in the trailer is something we've seen before in other 'Halloween' movies -- Laurie Strode battling Michael, Michael popping out of a closet, Michael walking among unsuspecting trick-or-treaters, Michael escaping the custody of a mental institution because of a crash and ending up in a small auto repair shop... ugh. That doesn't mean it can't be good, it just means the creators have their work cut out for them if they're going to breathe new life into the franchise.

Also, it will be interesting to see if Michael can be killed in this new world. I suspect that he can and will not be the undying killing machine he became in the sequels.