The killer Michael Meyers is back for revenge in the new "Halloween" movie. (Courtesy) 

“It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” – Sheriff Brackett, “Halloween (1978)”

It has been 40 years since The Shape came back to Haddonfield, Illinois, to stalk the babysitters and for 38 of those years, he has never been as terrifying since his first appearance, until now.

The great, silent, Shatner mask wearing force of nature that is Michael Myers is back in the new entry in the Halloween franchise “Halloween.”

Rating: **** (out of 5)

The film takes place 40 years after the events of the first movie, where Myers (played much of the time by original actor, Nick Castle) killed five people after escaping from the asylum where he’d been kept since age 6. Survivor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has since spent her life preparing for him to escape again, even at the expense of her family.

True crime podcasters Dana (Rhian Rees) and Aaron (Jefferson Hall) come to visit Myers, who is days away from being transferred to a new facility, which is a super good idea. They try to get Michael to speak, even going as far as to show him his mask, which they borrowed from the DA’s office. When that fails, they decide to seek out Strode, who also does not want to talk to them, especially after they bring up her troubled past.

On Halloween eve, the bus carrying Myers crashes, because of course it would, and Michael escapes, because of course he would. Myers makes his way back to Haddonfield to seek bloody revenge. What Myers doesn’t know is that Strode has been waiting for his return and will stop at nothing to take him down once and for all.

“Halloween” is directed by David Gordon Green. Green’s career went from serious indie wonderkind with artsy fair such as “George Washington” and “All the Real Girls” to screwball comedies like “Pineapple Express” and “Your Highness.”

He co-wrote the film with his recent, frequent collaborators, Danny (Kenny Powers) McBride, whom he created “Eastbound and Down” with for HBO, and Jeff Fradley, who worked with his fellow scribes on “Vice Principals.”

All of the creators of this film initially were reasons to give me pause on my excitement on this project.

Green’s career has been varied enough that I wasn’t super worried about his direction. I was terrified at the notion that Kenny Powers, who I struggle to like at the best of times, was writing a “Halloween” movie. A man known for brash, gross-out comedy involved in the return of one of horror’s iconic screen villains did not sit well. Luckily, all my fears were unfounded.

There is an adjustment that fans of this series have to make — everything after the first film is not part of this story. No longer are Michael and Laurie brother and sister. Gone is Jamie Lloyd. Gone is the Cult of Thorns. (Okay, I’m fine with that one being taken away.) You no longer have to watch eight films to get this movie, you just have to watch one. (Though, if you have seen at least the first three films, there are lots of great nods and homages to them.)

“Halloween” is a surprisingly faithful and worthy companion to John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s original work. There are some moments that aren’t perfect — some clunky dialogue here, leaps in logic there.

However, with the right expectations, this is an incredibly satisfying film with great scares, over-the-top kills and just the right amount of fan service.

No one will ever top the original “Halloween.” But if you’ve sat through the high points of this franchise such as Silver Shamrock masks, psychic nieces, a weird plot about a curse from a cult, Rob Zombie’s unshowered two-hour music video remake, a white horse that still makes no sense, and Busta Rhymes fighting Myers with kung fu, this entry is pretty much Oscar-worthy.