The residents of Haddonfield don't know it yet... but death is coming to their small sleepy town. Sixteen years ago, a ten year old boy named Michael Myers brutally kills his step father, his elder sister and her boyfriend. Sixteen years later, he escapes from the mental institution and makes his way back to his hometown intent on a murderous rampage. Elsewhere a shy teenager by the name of Laurie Strode is babysitting on the night Michael comes home... is it pure coincidence that she and her friends are being stalked by him?
"The darkest souls are not those which choose to exist within the hell of the abyss, but those which choose to move silently among us."
- Dr. Loomis |
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I wish this would've been a prequel. As many of you know, if someone in Hollywood wants to piss me off all they have to do is make a prequel or a remake of one of our beloved classic horrors. It's strange that I enjoyed the first half of the film considering I hate prequels with a passion but there was something new and fresh about it that made me excited about the rest of the film. Then the second half hit... but we'll get to that in a bit.
The first half of Halloween we get an in-depth look into Michael Myers childhood and his downward spiral into madness. Basically, the first 5 minutes of the original (when Michael kills his sister) is drawn out into a 50 minute massacre including beating a school bully to death, slicing his step-father's neck wide open and stabbing his sister 17 times. Fun, eh? But these murders were not what impressed me. What impressed me was our chance to try and understand and sympathize with Michael. The psychological effects these people had on him were traumatizing and we're made to feel pity and concern. Later in the hospital Michael does not remember anything about the murders. So do we hold him accountable for his actions? Of course. But it's not the murders that caused him to go insane, it was the years of isolation in the Haddonfield Hospital that did it.
Michael's obsession with making primitive masks was clever. (See video clip below.) His feeble attempts to hide his hatred for himself and hide from the world were a small hint of his impending implosion. When we catch up with Michael many years later, his little psych-ward cell is covered from top to bottom in these creepy masks. I really enjoyed this idea.
When I watched Sheri Moon in House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects, I was certain she was the worst actress to ever disgrace the silver screen. She ruined both of those movies for me. But she was excellent in this film! What the fuck happened there?! Is it she can only successfully play roles of normal "mother" type figures or did she attend acting classes? I guess we will never know but I was very impressed.
*white noise* -- We interrupt this review for an urgent news bulletin. The rest of this movie sucks. I repeat, the rest of this movie sucks. We now return you to your regularly scheduled review. -- *white noise*
That's right! When you notice (about half way through) that the remake of the original is beginning, TURN IT OFF! It's, by far, one of the most offensive attempts at remaking a classic I have ever witnessed. Rob Zombie took the original and bastardized it. This is why I feel this should've been a prequel. At least it would've been original.
First of all, he turned Laurie Strode into a dim-witted whore. How the fuck could you do this? She's supposed to be the damsel in distress! Her cocky attitude and finger-banging of bagels (not to mention being portrayed by the horrific Scout Taylor-Compton) makes us want her to be killed! (I hope Jamie Lee Curtis found this offensive. The role that made her famous being twisted into a heap of shit covered garbage.) Pretty much all the acting in the second half is embarrassing. The biggest disappointment was the performance by Ken Foree of Dawn of the Dead fame. His role of "Big Joe Grizzley" was pointless besides the fact Michael got his coveralls and boots from him. Lets also not forget the character change of young Lindsey Wallace. Her oh-so-classic line of "Oh no you di-ent!" screams "I will be pregnant by the age of 13!" all over it. Sigh.
What the fuck is the deal with every damn house being a heap of shit on the inside? It seemed like everytime Michael entered a room the walls would be cracked and covered with dusty holes. Why? Was this to make the film seem more "haunted?" Well, I think it just made the film seem unbelievable and pure horse piss! FUCK!
 There is only one good aspect of the whole second half and that is the smokin' hot Danielle Harris from Halloween 4 and Halloween 5. I can't believe how she has aged! She turned into a powerhouse of hotness! She could probably walk through the streets atop the infinite pitched-tents which would resemble a flattened porcupine. I bet she could, oh yes. I'm sure the pregnancy rates also skyrocket when she's in the area. Men see her and run home demanding sex. Email me Danielle, we'll do an interview. jpbutcher@thefleshfarm.com
Take out the first half and this movie is 99% shit.
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- Oliver Stone was rumored to be attached to this project before he decided to make World Trade Center.
- At one point Dimension Studios considered making a crossover film featuring Pinhead from the Hellraiser series, following in the footsteps of Newline Cinema's horror crossover Freddy vs. Jason. A poll was held on the official site, but response from fans was negative and the studio dropped the concept.
- The movie's production was delayed due to the death of Moustapha Akkad, the producer of all 8 previous movies. Akkad died of severe injuries as a result from the terrorist attacks at Jordan in 2005.
- Before deciding to go with Rob Zombie's version, the studio was about to green light "Halloween: The Missing Years", which would have been a prequel, set within Michael Myers' early days at the Asylum.
- This will be the third Halloween film that Danielle Harris has been in. She first appeared in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5 as Jamie Lloyd, daughter of Laurie Strode. Her character was re-cast in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, in which the character was also killed off. She now returns to the franchise (a popular choice with many Halloween fans) for the third time now playing 17 year old Annie Brackett, even though she is nearly 30 years old.
- One of the most complex scenes in the film was shot on Monday, February 26 2007, on the campus of Los Angeles City College. The day's shooting facilitated the use of 160 extras and about 100 crew people.
- In an early scene in the film, the movie White Zombie is playing on the TV. The band ‘White Zombie’, whose name comes from the film, is where Director Rob Zombie first gained attention in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Adrienne Barbeau's role was cut from the final finished film.
- The hoodie Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) wears is from Sheri Moon's personal clothing line, Total Skull.
- The ending in the work print (often called "The Sonny Corleone Ending" by Zombie) was never intended to be the real ending, and was filmed and used in the work print to keep the real ending secret.
- While calling 9-1-1 to get help for the injured Annie, Laurie identifies the street she is on as "Winchester Road". "Winchester" is the name of the production company which produced the horror classic The Thing from Another World by Howard Hawks. The movie prominently appears on the TV during a horror movie marathon on both this version of Halloween and the original film by John Carptenter. Carpenter later remade The Thing. This was Rob Zombie's nod to the originals and remakes of both films.
- The inclusion of the plot line about Michael Meyers' early days at the mental institution under the care of Sam Loomis is a nod to a plot line added in by John Carpenter for the TV viewing of the original Halloween. As told by Carpenter, when the original film was first sold to TV, they demanded added scenes to replace the edited portions of the murder scenes. So Carpenter recalled Donald Pleasance, the original Sam Loomis to film scenes of him at the hospital taking care of Michael.
- Heather Bowen was a finalist for a walk-on role through a contest on the official Halloween website. She won overall through a lottery-style drawing by Moustapha Akkad at the Haddonfield 25 Fan Convention.
- On Rob Zombie's Official Halloween Myspace page, he announced that the films trailer will be shown with the double-featured film Grindhouse.
- In the opening scene of the movie, the song "God of Thunder" by KISS is played and young Michael Myers is seen wearing a KISS t-shirt. KISS is a major influence on Rob Zombie's music career and the inspiration for the make-up and costuming for his band White Zombie.
- William Forsythe actually injured his leg prior to shooting, which is why his leg is in a cast in the film. In the script the character only had an arm brace, but Forsythe's leg injury was also worked into the film.
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