10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween (2007)

If there's one actor who serves as the bright spot of this entire film, it's Danny Trejo. An international treasure for decades now, Trejo has remained a remarkable character actor who does the best he can with bit roles, often elevating entire films in the process. This film is no different.

Trejo's role as Ismael Cruz, one of the head guards at Smith's Grove, is easily Zombie's best addition to the entire narrative. In a film bursting at the seems with absurdly unlikable characters, Trejo's Ismael is sympathetic and endearing as he becomes Michael's only friend in the sanitarium.

Sure, in theory, Ismael is just a one-dimensional stereotype whose kindness is just a cheap ploy on Zombie's part to strengthen the gut-punch impact of when Michael later murders him (as Zombie literally has him repeatedly say "I was good to you", again displaying all the subtlety of a hormonal teenager).

But in execution, Trejo makes it so much more. His screentime may be brief but he sells every second of this performance and quickly becomes the most compelling character of the entire film. Even the aforementioned death scene carries a certain heft to it specifically because of how endearing Trejo makes Ismael.

Timelines be damned; Trejo's Ismael should absolutely make an appearance in one of Blumhouse's future Halloween films because he deserves better than this.