The reviews are in for the new Halloween sequel - and they're frighteningly good

The first Halloween is a classic. It introduced us to Michael Myers, one of films' most beloved serial murderers, and his beleaguered sister Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis.

The numerous sequels are less well remembered, going off on mystical tangents about Michael and Laurie's backstory or, in the case of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, not featuring the pair at all. Instead it told a story about haunted masks made from chunks of Stonehenge that melted onto kids' faces.

The fact that Halloween III is one of the better remembered sequels shows how bad things got.

The upcoming Halloween sequel – which is called simply Halloween because it's 2018 and filmmakers can't be bothered coming up with subtitles any more – ignores all previous sequels, and looks like it's getting back to the spirit of the original. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, with critics and fans screaming about it like Michael is stabbing them repeatedly with a potato peeler.

Warning: some tweets contain swearing

Note: 'The Shape' was how Michael was credited in the original.

Yes, there is fan service...

...but mostly it's a spiritual return to form, rather than a series of in-jokes...

...even if it's not perfect.

Look out for our own review nearer the time. Halloween will be released in the UK on 19th October, just in time for All Saints' Day.