Halloween 2007

Since the plot is remarkably the same, I’m just going to copy-paste my original plot analysis from the original film:

“Halloween is about Michael Myers, a man that many years ago, murdered his own sister as a child. Locked away for years, he finally escapes and wreaks havoc on a random set of teenage friends, but not before stalking them first.” – Review of Halloween (1978)

Oh sorry, that’s not exactly accurate – this time, his victims aren’t as random as the original movie. This time, you more or less discover as the film moves along what you discover in the 1981 sequel – that (spoiler alert), Laurie is Michael’s younger sister. So his murderous rage is all about killing his family – that much you know about in the original series, but it’s more than that now, because you now understand on a deeper level how truly horrible his childhood was before he became the monster. In the original film, Loomis briefly explains how he intimately knows the extent of Michael’s evil ways – in this film, we see it. We see his abusive and repulsive family, his budding interest in death beginning with animals, his fascination with masks and self-loathing, and his untamable hatred towards the mental hospital but surprising respect towards Dr. Loomis. We see all of this because it takes its sweet time introducing us to his history that we needed the first time around!

More than that, it introduces us to more than just an idea that this man is evil, but also a physical representation of one heck of an intimidating beast of a man. Seriously, this guy is huge. He’s a hulk. The original film had a typical guy in a mask. Why was he wearing a mask? Because it’s Halloween, I guess…this movie explains everything. It took away all of my complaints about the first movie and then some. The best way I could describe this film is as if they took the script for the original movie, got a better director, got a better writer to rewrite certain scenes and introduce integral elements, got better actors, invested in better equipment and technology, and hired a different director of photography – because it actually shows us what we needed to see that the first film left out. In my honest opinion, this movie improved on just about every level.

However, where it didn’t improve – was partially in casting. I do believe this is the best guy to ever play Michael. It made the most sense, but the rest of the cast was either just fine, or a bad choice. Now, I like Malcom McDowell as much as the next guy, I think he’s a wonderful actor, but Dr. Loomis wasn’t the right choice for him. Loomis needs to be Michael’s opposite, someone caring and understanding but ultimately hurt when he can’t get through to Michael’s inner child. Donald Pleasence did a pretty good job in the first film, but McDowell looks and sounds too evil to play this type of role. It almost went to John Hurt, which would have been perfectly fine. I would have also accepted someone like Liam Neeson in that type of role. Not McDowell. The rest of the cast did a fine job at acting, but not so much at creating something memorable…and the original did when it came to Jamie Lee Curtis.

In my honest opinion Halloween was better than the original – but only on a technical level. It didn’t change anything about the series that was already good to begin with. It just improved on the parts that the original lacked. If you watched the rest of the classic series, you’ll notice that they’re always struggling to explain plot holes in order to make another movie – this movie mostly got that out of the way from the beginning as to not run around aimlessly trying to find direction. As far as horror goes, it’s a solid slasher film. The series has never really been a favorite of mine, but I definitely respect the film went with this remake. Check it out!

What a great diversion from the "original" franchise! While this stuck to the basic premise of the Halloween films (i.e. Michael is traumatized, murders family, escapes from asylum, goes on killing spree) the whole "origin of Michael" twist was a GREAT change (IMO) from the original - and still yet-to-be-explained - theme throughout the eight films included in the "original" franchise. Still no explanation of how he became seemingly indestructible and capable of superhuman feats but oh well...I guess that's not a part of the story so we'll never know. After 9 films, does it even matter anymore? Yeah, it kinda does to some of us because, at this point, Michael Myers doesn't make any sense to me. Neither did Jason Voorhees, which is why I burned out on THAT franchise before ever completing it. As far as films go, however, this was definitely a nice changeup from the original movies, and of course with it being a Rob Zombie film, it's going to be gruesome (as is the language) and much more violently appalling. The rape scene did absolutely NOTHING for the story, however, so it loses several points right there. There was absolutely NOTHING in the story of Michael Myers that needed or wanted a rape scene; that's just someone getting their rocks off in some sick manner. I mean, the guys could've just walked in to Michael's room and started trashing the place; there was no reason to write a rape scene in to this film. Likewise, the other sex scenes (there are several, be warned) were unnecessary and added nothing. At least in the aforementioned franchise (the one with the hockey mask), the writers incorporated really cool methods of killing two people at once; here, it was, "Sorry to interrupt before you finish, but here's where I kill you" and then on to the second victim (always the female) who lays helplessly on the bed, floor, kitchen table, wherever....bare breasts smeared with lover's blood while she screams and waits for her turn to dance with Michael. I don't know... I loved the whole first part of this film, and I enjoyed the far-more-gruesome kill scenes, but I just don't see the Halloween collection ever becoming a favorite of mine simply because I don't understand Michael Myers. But as far as horror movies go, this one was great and deserves to be watched by any fan of horror. Again, this is just my opinion, but had John Carpenter written the original Halloween like this one, I probably would've been hooked almost from the start. When you can understand the background and "upbringing", so to speak, of a villain, it makes it easier to buy into them as an antagonist. Perfect example was the Joker movie; it brought a whole new depth to the Batman villain. Here, it's much easier to buy into Michael Myers as a psychopathic killer simply because this film gives you a TINY peek into Michael's childhood (being bullied, made fun of, pushed around by everyone, including his older sister, etc) but there's still no explanation for why he seems to be immortal and given to Hulk-like strength. The cast and crew did great work here (for the most part) but understand that - as in all these goofy horror films - there are some plotholes big enough to drive a truck through. You just have to roll with it and enjoy the film. At 2:01:00, this is kind of lengthy for a shallow horror movie but if you take a popcorn break about halfway through, it's not too bad. Hard to sit through the whole thing at one time, though...

I'm unmoved by this 'Halloween' remake.

I guess that is of little surprise as I'm not someone who overly enjoys the 1978 original, I do like it but it is nought special to me personally. All in all, based on reading back my review of that aforementioned flick and based on my thoughts whilst watching, this is a weaker film in every way.

The only true positive I have is the Michael Myers theme, which is just a carry-over from the 1970s release - as ace as it is to hear it again, I would've preferred if they went without it... it kinda feels like they forced themselves to find spots to use it for the sake of using it. This production missed a Jamie Lee Curtis-esque performance, no-one stands out in that regard - Scout Taylor-Compton tries, but to no avail.

I never found Michael Myers himself all that scary or uncomforting in the original and that is again the case here, even to a further degree in all honesty. Myers just feels so brute-force all the time that there is no intrigue or creepiness about him here in my opinion. Malcolm McDowell didn't do anything for me as Loomis either, though it's cool to see Brad Dourif appear.

The opening 50 minutes and the closing 50 minutes felt like a bit of an abrupt switch too, admittedly I might have noticed something that doesn't exist but that's how it felt. It seemed early on like a noticeably different portrayal of 'Halloween', then the latter part felt more like a more standard, by the numbers remake.

If not for the name, this would be a very forgettable movie... in my eyes, anyway.

6/10
One of the better
Rob Zombie movies but not a very good
Halloween Movie.
To much back story bull-shit like way way to much, over half the chuffing movie.
Okay we get it already
Your telling me your version of Michael is from the most fcuked up family that ever walked gods green earth.
The kills we're just pointless and boring,
The camera either shakes and cuts away
are Michael just
Strangles them are breaks their necks.
He even leaves some half alive which is a massive no no for me, Michael is not sloppy He's efficient in what he does and you certainly don't get to come out the other end after He's had a hold of you.

Oh all that screaming at the end was stressing me out and grating on my nerves, I just wanted
Michael to end her and my suffering, she was so annoying.

This movie spent way to much time trying to Explain Michael which has always been the
One Mistake of the hole franchise.
Michael just is and does what he does and no-one can put him down and keep him their.
That's what I'm here for to see people get fed into
The Meat grinder that is
Michael Myers.

anything else in-between is just time wasting bull-crap.

Halloween extended
Directors cut:

Is certainly not the worst entry but it's definitely not the best entry.

Oh boy, another movie I'm in the minority opinion of... or am I? I actually don't know this time, I think this movie has like a cult following or something. Which says a lot about this movie more than other horror remakes that are brought up. I've seen other people on here give excellent reviews explaining why this movie works more than what the common viewer gives it credit for, but I'll just share a couple random thoughts of mine.

This movie does not in any way tarnish the original movie or "ruin" what John Carpenter's movie created. I personally believe Rob Zombie took a run-of-the-mill slasher film, upped it a few notches, and tried to explore characters much further. I give Carpenter all the credit in the world for all he did for the horror genre; his music and movies completely revolutionized the medium, for better or worse. But what Zombie was able to bring was a little more humanity to the picture, yes, I'm actually saying that. The scene at the hospital where Michael Myers screams in his mother's face, like emotionally gutted me. Imagine your a mother, and you see this child, your son, that you've raised all your life to love and be a good kid, just murder someone right in front of you and scream in your face when you try to console them. Imagine the guilt and failure that goes on in her head. That whole sequence with the sirens going off and the slow-motion happening is one of the most brilliant scenes in a horror movie I've seen. Captivating and mesmerizing. Great work all around.

Zombie knew just all the right elements to make this unique, yet also play perfect homages to the original classic. I can understand this over-the-top white-trash style not working for some people, I agree with that, but it's hard to argue the amount of brilliance seen in this. It's one of the smartest horror remakes ever made. Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Lumis? Come on, that not perfect casting? I might post some more thoughts later after I watch the four hour documentary on this Blu-ray, but I wanted to get things out. I wasn't sure how I'd dig this, but I'm really leaning towards loving it. Rob Zombie did a commendable job paying tribute while expanding the universe. In fact, I believe Zombie enhanced the original and the character.