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Plot:After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, is mistakenly released from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.
Cast: Sherri Moon Zombie, Daeg Faerch, Malcolm McDowell, Danielle Harris, Heather Bowen, Tyler Mane, Pat Skipper, Dee Wallace Stone, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Hanna Hall, Daryl Sabara, Courtney Gains Adrienne Barbeau, Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Scout Taylor Compton, Udo Kier, Kristina Klebe, Adam Weisman, Richard Lynch, Tom Towles, Ezra Buzzington, Richmond Arquette, Sybil Danning, Richard Fancy, Dan Roebuck.
My Thoughts:Good in some ways, bad in others.
Review:One can never be sure what to expect with a remake of a classic such as "Halloween". Rob Zombie however has taken it upon himself to take a crack at it, and well to be honest...the film wasn't as bad as I expected. In fact, it actually had alot of merit. This remake doubles as a prequel of sorts because it sets up the character of Michael Myers more than Carpenter's version did. Carpenter's version had the death of Judith Myers kicking things off before he's sent away and then escapes Smithsgrove into Haddonfield. Zombie's version delves more into young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) childhood early on, to give us an idea as to why he became the messed up psycho killed that he is today.
That part of the story is a bit overdone, but at the same time it's certainly enjoyable and connects pretty well to the rest of the story. Sherri Moon Zombie, Rob's wife plays young Michael's mother, with William Forsythe playing his trailer trash dad. The basic jist here is that Michael's family are pretty much a bunch of pricks, with the exception of his mother and baby sister Laurie. Switching up from Carpenter's version, Michael's father is long deceased in this updated "Halloween" film. Zombie really presents these characters well in the early going of the movie, and Sherri gives a great performance as Michael's mother who works as a stripper while Michael's father just boozes it up at home. This film shows a new side of Sherri acting wise. In "House of 1000 Corpses", and "The Devil's Rejects"...she played the psychotic Baby, but in this movie she plays a completely different character who doesn't show any flashes of a mean streak unless it's directed at her useless slug of a boyfriend.
She even has some really good emotional scenes in the film. However, the problem with the early part of the film ironically enough is that the Myers family as they are represented are basically a take off of alot of white trash families from middle america, and as the film goes on and Michael becomes a very disturbing adult, it's really hard to believe that something as simple as one bad parent, and a bratty older sister (Hanna Hall) could send a young Michael Myers off the deep end. Either way it does, and that's when this film really gets good. If there's one thing that zombie improved over the original "Halloween"...it's the graphic nature of his version of "Halloween". Carpenter was more about setting a mood and tone with his version, using music, certain camera angles, and very eerie sceneries.
The violence was secondary. Zombie gets the mood right, the music right, but cranks up the violence 20 fold. This is a VERY GRAPHIC movie, and if one of your biggest complaints about Carpenter's "Halloween" was that it wasn't violent enough, well you won't have that to complain about coming out of this updated version. We get numerous stabbings, pipe beatings, and various other graphic methods of human disposal. Whereas Carpenter was shy with his violence, and even tried to hide some of it, Zombie allows this film to wear the blood and gore on it's sleeve....and proudly. The scene's where young Michael finally snaps, and methodically takes out most of his family is the films premier scene, as well as it's most graphic violence wise. There's also a little treat for genre fans here as Michael dawns the infamous "Shatner mask" a little earlier than in Carpenter's version. The film also breaks a few profanity records I think, lots of cursing in this one. Another thing that's cranked up to the max from Carpenter's original.
The movie does however suffer some issues once young Michael becomes an adult, and it seems like so much energy was placed into making the early years of Michael Myers come to life perfectly on screen that once he grows into a massive adult, played by one Tyler Mane, although he does maintain his creepiness, Rob couldn't figure out what exactly to do with him. Once he escapes Smithsgrove, after disposing of some very unpleasant characters, he of course heads off after his sister Laurie (Scout Taylor Compton) who has now been adopted by the Strode family. But for some reason this part of the film feels rushed, and not as dramatic as it did in the original "Halloween". Yeah we get the usual "Michael watching from a tree" or "Michael watching Laurie and her friends from the darkness" scenes, but they just weren't as effective as they were in the original. Although Rob does manage to set them up really well with the sceneries and music which is played at just the right moments.
He did indeed do an excellent job of creating a new updated version of Haddonfield, but the characters just didn't seem to fit into it for the most part. The performances of the later characters in the movie are very good, all except oddly enough Malcolm Mcdowell. I'm sorry, the guy is a talented actor but he's no Dr. Loomis. He came off as whiny, as opposed to Donald Pleasance who came off as actually afraid of Michael, yet at the same time very dedicated to locking him back up again. Mcdowell comes off as some random guy who got dragged into this whole mess off the street and really doesn't want any part of it. Even though there is alot more building upon Loomis and young Michael's relationship in this updated version, when Michael as an adult is rampaging through Haddonfield, and Loomis is pursuing him, you just don't feel and sense the rich history between the two, an element that was present strongly in the original.
But as for the rest of the performers, they were good, most noteably Scout Taylor Compton as Laurie, and Tyler Mane as Michael Myers, and if you're a big horror fan, you'll also notice the cameos strolled through this movie from Ken Foree, Danny Trejo, and others. Danielle Harris and Kristina Klebe as her best friends Annie and Lynda aren't really in the film long enough to give the viewer a chance to feel a certain way about them, Rob pretty much has Michael cut through everyone pretty quickly on the aforementioned "Halloween Night", so the final exciting showdown between Laurie and a determined Michael Myers can commence.
Although the films climax with Michael chasing Laurie isn't as scary as it was in the original, it's certainly alot more moody, dark, and atmospheric which is basically trading a plus for a plus. Michael bee-lining for Laurie instead of slowly walking after her also adds a more terrifying dimension to it all. Of course, I would've appreciated if Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) wasn't so marginalized in this remake. Sure he wasn't the star of the original, but his moments on screen really added a certain something to the movie., so it felt like he was alot more of a major player in the movie than he really was.
I didn't feel that way about the new sheriff Brackett. Rob delivers an awesome cat-and-mouse game between Michael and Laurie at the end of the film, but ruins it all by ending the movie on an abrupt and kind of disappointing final scene. I won't give it way of course, but it's nowhere near the memorable classic ending that Carpenter's "Halloween" delivered. This new ending won't be etched into many memories as the original films ending was, however when it was all said and done, the film did present a few new theories about Michael's motives for returning to pursue Laurie. Rob's update of a classic, is a 50-50 effort in my book.
Positives:Great performance by Scout Taylor Compton, and Tyler Mane made a great Michael Myers. Alot of the scenes were very moody, and dark which was a plus, and the music was done very well. The violence and gore factor was a plus from the pretty tame original.
Negatives:Like I said I had a hard time believing young Michael's childhood pushed him over the edge as it's a quite common childhood for many middle america kids in real life. The final scene was disappointing, and Malcolm Mcdowell made a poor Dr. Loomis. Danielle Harris and Kristina Klebe needed more screentime and atleast a little bit more character development.
Overall:A break even movie.
Review by Mr. HoRrOr at Horror Movies &stuff.com http://www.hms.notlong.co
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