Movie Review: Halloween by ME

Title: Halloween
Starring: Daeg Faerch, Danielle Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon
Directed By: Rob Zombie
Produced By: John Carpenter, Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein
Genre: Suspense/Horror, Remake and Sequel
Release Date: August 31st 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
Distributors: MGM Distribution Company

Ten year-old Michael Myers has a bad childhood and kills his family. Fifteen years later, he escapes from the mental institution where he has been held and goes on a killing spree. If you don't know the plot, where have you been since 1978?

Many people feel that remakes are unnecessary. Especially a classic horror film like Halloween. But, if it's going to be done, who better than horror aficionado, musician and director Rob Zombie? Probably best known as ex-frontman of the band White Zombie as well as a solo career, Rob Zombie came onto the movie scene with House of 1000 Corpses and the follow up The Devil's Rejects. With Halloween he hones his directorial skills by taking the best elements of 70's, 80's and todays horror films and combining them in a way that pays homage without ruining a classic, I hope. I say I hope because I may be one of the few people who has never seen the original Halloween (gasp!). Yes it's true, I was more into Freddy and Jason as a teen. Is this a bad thing? Depends on how you look at it. Sometimes a fresh perspective is needed instead of a comparison between new and old.

As imposing a figure that Tyler Mane is, I don't think it was quite necessary to have such a large man play Michael Myers, especially when you have such a small kid playing him at ten years old. Speaking of the boy, Daeg Faerch, is one creepy little kid. You kinda feel sorry for him until he turns psychopathic. I found myself thinking that making the movie had to be at least a little traumatizing for the boy with some of the things he had to do. Malcolm McDowell is by far the best actor in the film. You actually get to see some of the effort that Loomis expended on trying to rehabilitate Michael. There are quite a few cameos including Zombie's usual suspects Sherri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley and Sid Haig. There are quite a few horror icons as well though. Some of who are Udo Kier, Clint Howard, Dee Wallace and many more. Hell, even Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees puts in an appearance. I saved Scout Taylor-Compton for last because of a split decision. On one hand she is a good actress and plays the part well, when she is acting with adults or dealing with Michael. It's when she has to interact with the other teens or the children that things seem forced. The scenes of the three friends seemed almost like a caricature or stereotype of how teens act. I am not sure if it is her fault or the other actresses, but there you go.

As a non-Halloween fan, I can honestly say that I enjoyed most of Rob Zombie's vision. Some bad/overacting on the teenagers part was the only thing that got to me. So, this is one you will either love it or leave it no matter what any reviewer/critic says due to the fact that the original Halloween is a much loved classic.

I can't believe I didn't mention the soundtrack! All I can say is that Rob Zombie is a master at picking perfect songs for his films. The Devil's Rejects and Halloween have got to have the best classic rock soundtracks that have been released in a while.

Till we finally get Freddy VS. Jason VS. Ash VS. Michael Myers VS. Barney,
keep reading

Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com

Movie Review: Halloween (2007) by JW

Title: Halloween
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris
Director: Rob Zombie
Producer: Malek Akkad, Patrick Esposito, Andy Gould, Andrew G. La Marca, Matthew Stein, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Rob Zombie
Genre: Horror
Release Date: August 31, 2007
MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity and language
Distributors: Dimension Films

This guy’s got some nerve. Rob Zombie has made all of two movies, then up and decides out of thin air he wants to do a remake - of Halloween no less. Who the hell does he think he is anyway? Sure The Devil’s Rejects was great, but Halloween? The grandfather of all slasher movies? Talk about swinging for the fence. This is more than just a horror movie. This is a remake of arguably the greatest slasher flick of all time, the 9th Halloween movie, and a Rob Zombie movie. There were so many prejudged expectations that it never really had a chance, did it?

By now the story of Halloween is the stuff of horror movie lore. In case you are freshly revived from a time capsule: A 10 year old Michael Myers kills his sister and others on Halloween night. He is committed to a mental institution, Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, under the care of Dr. Samuel Loomis. After not speaking for 15 years, Myers breaks free from the hospital and heads back to his childhood home, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

Let me just say this - this ain’t your granddaddy’s Halloween. This is Zombie’s take on the classic, and there are differences. In order to justify the remake, there had to be something new enough to interest me. This movie takes chances, and for the most part - they pay off. If you want a shot by shot rehash of something, go watch Van Sant’s pile of swill Psycho remake. That’s not to say it’s not without its flaws, but overall it worked very, very well.

The most glaring difference is the back story. We are made privy to some of Michael Myers’ history previous to his initial batch of Halloween killings. To dig deeper into the back story is to attempt to gain a better understanding of Myers’ motivations. At first, I was mildly offended by Zombie’s presumptions. Why would you go and ruin a good thing by trying to explain why Michael Myers is the way he is? Wasn’t that one of the reasons the original worked - not knowing why? Absolutely, but as the movie unfolded and we were able to see the rest of the chances Zombie took with the picture, everything found its place and it worked. In the end, the back story gives us the necessary information to almost care that he completes his journey. At the very least it added an additional level of tension not present in the original.

Detractors will protest the amount of violence and blood in the film, crying foul because the original worked so well with so little. Huh? Zombie’s first movie was called House of 1000 Corpses. You can’t rack up that many dead bodies without shedding a little blood. That’s like going on a date with Rachel Ray and complaining because she cooked dinner for you.

There are a lot of great performances here that worked too. Sheri Moon-Zombie shows some unforeseen range as Myers’ stripper mother, Deborah. I loved William Forsythe as Deborah’s abusive boyfriend. Tyler Mane makes for a very imposing adult Myers. And Daeg Faerch as young Michael Myers is without a doubt, the creepiest kid I have seen on film in a long time. One down spot for me was the Dr. Loomis character, played by Malcolm McDowell. I appreciated the concept of further intertwining Myers and Dr. Loomis’ story, but this Loomis came off as a bit egotistical whose motivations were more than simply caging the evil of Myers.

All in all, I loved this movie. It worked for me on many levels. As a horror movie, it is tense and conceptually fresh. As a Halloween movie, it is an original yet respectful reinvention. And as a Rob Zombie movie? The script is sharp and inspired, the music is great, and the performances rose above regular horror movie conventions - it is a worthy tribute that Zombie successfully made his own.

And you get to see a ‘monkey’ selling guns.

This movie is Rob Zombie’s Halloween. It is violent, bloody, and fierce. It is audacious in its concept, arrogant in its confidence, and skillful in its execution. I admire the chances he took, and his presumption to think he could pull it off. There is a fine line between introducing original devices to the story and respecting the material of origin. Zombie walks that line to perfection. While not quite as good as The Devil’s Rejects, this is hands down the best Halloween since the original.

And there’s the rub.

http://www.halloween-themovie.com/

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Jeremy Welsch (jndubbs@gmail.com)