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Overall Rating : 5/10
Directed By : Rob Zombie
Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange)
Tyler Mane (X-Men)
Danielle Harris (Halloween 4)
Scout Taylor-Compton (Wicked Little Things)
Supplied By : Dimension Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : December. 17, 2007
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| PLOT The residents of Haddonfield don't know it yet... but death is coming to their sleepy small town. Sixteen years ago, a young boy named Michael Myers brutally killed his stepfather, his elder sister and her boyfriend. Now, he’s escaped from the mental institution and makes his way back to his hometown intent on continuing his murderous rampage. |
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| THE REVIEW Any Horror fan should be familiar with the story of Michael Myers and Halloween. Many fans have watched the film numerous times, and many films after it have been inspired by it. In Director Rob Zombie's version of HALLOWEEN, instead of making a straight to the subject remake of the original, he opted to "re-imagine"(as he calls it) and expand the story with more explanation on a few points that were left open by the original. 10 year old Michael Myers, hasn't exactly had a great childhood. His father dies when he was younger, living his Mom to take up an occupation as a stripper to make ends meet for he and his Sister's Judith and baby Laurie - all the while, Ronny White, his Mom's lowlife Boyfriend sits back and reaps the benefits. Not only that, but Michael is troubled mentally, and has a weird fascination with the killing of animals, but he soon develops another fascination - the killing of people, which is urged on by he being bullied at school. Come Halloween night, Michael, dressed in costume is ready for Trick of Treating - the thing is, no one is really eager to go with him. Later that night, while his Mom is working Michael decides to get some revenge on those that had left him in the cold on a night he was looking forward to. Wielding a butcher knife he makes his way through the house on a killing spree in which he kills Ronny, Judith and her Boyfriend, while sparing the life of his beloved baby Sister Laurie. After a lengthy trial, Michael is sent to Smith Grove Sanitarium where he spends the remainder of his childhood, and at first he doesn't recollect any of the murders committed at his own hand - but when he brutally stabs and kills a nurse his evil resurfaces,. For the next 15 years Michael remains mute, to the point where his Doctor, Samuel Loomis can't even communicate with him any longer. The Evil inside of Myers that has basically been harbored for years, once again returns when he breaks out of the sanitarium and makes his way back to Haddonfield, his childhood hometown. His quest? to find his baby Sister Laurie, whom after the suicide death of their mother, was adopted by the Strodes - a family that are realtors. While trying to find Laurie Strode, Michael Myers, wearing an all white expression-less mask makes a few house calls in his old Haddonfield neighborhood. Last year when I heard that Rob Zombie would be doing the 9th HALLOWEEN movie, I was really excited, because I am a fan of all of his work, whether it be in music or movies. But this excitement lasted until I learned that it would be a remake, in which then, I was worried - Zombie later called it a "re-imagining to more or less make this less obvious to the fans that had already protested the idea. A few months into its theatrical run, a Workprint(an early version of the film) that was used at advanced screenings, made it's way onto the internet. Fans rushed to download this, as it would be a collector's item for sure, while some people who still protested the idea from the beginning wanted to see it for free, in fear they'd be disappointed anyway. I admit, I am one of those people who just had to see it, I watched it twice as a matter of fact....and each time ended up with a rather unsure, but disappointed feeling about it. Now with the release of the unrated cut on DVD, I was able to see a finalized version - and being technical, all the unrated cut is, is an expanded version of the leaked workprint. The Unrated cut is basically made up of parts from both the theatrical cut, and the workprint, with some scenes substituted both ways either to and from each version. The big difference being Michael's escape from the Sanitarium, the Unrated DVD includes the infamous "rape scene" that was in the workprint. The biggest omission to the disc is that for the people that didn't see the theatrical escape(like me) won't find it as a deleted scene - to get it will mean you have to buy the rated DVD....which seems a little nonsensical for this movie - if it were the original HALLOWEEN, then maybe. After watching this again, I find myself still disappointed with it for the most part yet again. As someone who has watched the original HALLOWEEN series numerous times, I know the movies, and most of the dialogue by heart and I am used to the "feel" that each HALLOWEEN film has - while each sequel had a different story.... they all felt as if they belonged in the same family(wth the exception of HALLOWEEN 3 of course). The original HALLOWEEN and even it's sequels always had a "Suburban" feel and even a little innocence to them, and when the Horror begun in each, that innocence would quickly be erased by it - giving the character of Michael Myers and his actions, that much more of a lasting impact. Here in Rob Zombie's remake of the classic Horror landmark, that old familiar HALLOWEEN "feel" that I mentioned is gone, with only mere pieces of it remaining. In place is Zombie's brash style of filmmaking and dialogue, the type of stuff that made his previous films HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS successes Sure it worked for his own projects, but I believe that this particular style doesn't necessarily belong, nor fit in a HALLOWEEN franchise film. I wasn't really convinced that this was a HALLOWEEN film, as it feels more like a film that is actually ripping off an an original film rather than retelling it. It felt as if the iconic Michael Myers character had been placed in a storyline that was anything but his own - I hate to say it but even HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION felt a more natural fit than this. The good parts of this film come by way of the film's first half, in which we follow 10 year old Michael. I feel that this works well because fans had yet to see this side of the story and it was an original portion scripted by Director Rob Zombie. Fan's had yet to see Myers' childhood upbringing, so it was something new and discovering - and Daeg Feach's perforce as Michael Myers helped make it believable enough. The problem is that what isn't exactly believable is the transition between the younger and older adult Michael. We have to believe it is the same person, who's now grown because the script says we do - but that doesn't mean it's convincing. Tyler Mane as the adult Myers creates a new tougher version of the white masked killer, but maybe the character is a little too tough, due to Zombie's vision. Here in this film, Michael Myers whom has always been portrayed as this sort of "human with the devil inside him" is now somewhat a figure of the supernatural, and almost zombie like - something that strays a little too far away from the original concept for my taste. As for the acting, I don't know what to say, as the characters do seem all over the place, while some seem not to belong at all. There are many actors whom have worked on other films with Zombie. Now I know the want is stronger than the need when you cast actors you are familiar with, but in my opinion, it makes things kind of boring and repetitive. This, along with various film tricks, in which Zombie has used in his other films essentially make this film feel as if it needs a new title - something like THE HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES ON HADDONFIELD STREET would be more appropriate. As for the other performances, i'll mention annie and her gang, which includes Annie and Lynda. In the 1978 version, I had always been annoyed by Annie and Lynda(more so Lynda), in this remake that is reversed as I didn't mind Annie and Lynda at all, but it was Laurie that annoyed me. Not only was Laurie changed from completely innocent, to a little bit of innocence wit a hint of slut - Scout Taylor-Compton(no offense to her) just didn't get the job done as one of the key characters, she has definitely had better performances. As an audience we are supposed to want Laurie to survive the onslaught, but nothing in this version lent anything for me to want her to. Jamie Lee Curtis is still queen. I do have to thank Kristina Klebe for portraying Lynda in a way that, in my opinion was not nearly annoying as PJ Soles' portrayal of the character - I actually liked the new Lynda. Kristina is a great actress, and an even better person, it's unfortunate we don't get to see her as much as we do Laurie. Same could be applied to Danielle Harris as Annie, Danielle Harris, the only HALLOWEEN alumni to ever return to the series in different roles(she had standout performances in both HALLOWEEN 4 and 5 as Jamie Lloyd, Michael Myers' niece), she has a delightful presence on screen and will always be a HALLOWEEN fan favorite. Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN is really an odd ball as it doesn't feel like anything but just another mediocre slasher film, yet it has a legendary name and characters. With this project, Rob Zombie was given the opportunity to direct a film, that just about any Horror director would kill to direct, but unfortunately he let his own original ideas overflow, and in the end, HALLOWEEN's original idea and formula was lost. |
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| GORE
METER 5/10 A slit throat, Michael bashing people's heads in with different objects, stabbings slashings and etc. In my opinion, this is one time where gore isn't beneficial to the story....no HALLOWEEN movie should have this much gore, even it isn't a lot. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4.5/10 Like the movie, the score sounds like a generic remake of the original's score, with the reworked theme just being ok. It also had some classic rock tunes as well, but there were very few times in which they actually fit in with the movie. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM As a huge HALLOWEEN series fan, this remake is a big disappointment. It's an even bigger disappointment that this remake more than likely signifies the end of the beloved original HALLOWEEN franchise and fans that have waited for years will now never get a proper HALLOWEEN 9. While the original HALLOWEEN gave us character we'll probably remember forever, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN consists of things most fans will most likely want to forget(like a Samuel Loomis whom is entirely unlikable), or forget them unintentionally. I really wanted to like this film in all honesty but I can't bring myself to rate a film that's just slightly better than the BLACK CHRISTMAS remake any higher(I can barely give it the 5/10 I give it here). Rob Zombie seems to do better on his own original scripts rather than remaking the works of other people. Perhaps people who have never seen any of the original HALLOWEEN films will like this, but I am almost certain that most HALLOWEEN diehards will leave it disappointed. This DVD will be available on December 18, 2007 |
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