Well better late than never. This movie came out last August but frankly I had no interest in seeing it because I wrote it off as another shallow sequel, and if I wouldn't have gotten bored and Netflixed it then I still probably wouldn't have seen it. But after watching it not an hour ago I felt I had to share my opinion with the world (or all four or five people who read this blog).
At first I was totally against Rob Zombie's Halloween remake but after seeing it I had to respect it. Its far from the masterpiece that the original film is but Zombie made it clear that he never sought to surpass the original but instead do a different take on the character, which he did well. I gave it points because unlike other remakes it really tried to give us something new, and for the most part its pretty enjoyable. Much like he did with the first film, Zombie once again tries to give us something new with this sequel, and boy did he succeed.
I can see why purists hated this so much, mostly because the Michael Myers in this bare little to no resemblance to the Michael Myers we all know and love. Gone is the silent killer that patiently waits for his moment to kill you and then slink back into the shadows, instead Myers will simply stomped your head into jelly and then smash a strippers face into a mirror all the while grunting like an animal. The iconic mask is in this one but he spends more time mask-less and looking like a homicidal Santa Claus, hell Myers even talks! (one word but it was still quite a moment).
This film follows Laurie Strode after the events of the first film, now posing as an angry emo child to cover up the nightmares and delusions she's been having ever since the fateful attack two years prior. Meanwhile Doctor Loomis is cashing in on Myers, writing yet another book about him and letting the fame get to his head. And Michael is off doing whatever Michael does when he isn't killing people, but soon the ghost of his mother spurs him back into action. Hilarity ensues.
This sequel really should have been called Rob Zombies Halloween because as stated above he really just takes the character of Michael Myers and takes him into a whole new world. The killings in this are fast and brutal and like past Rob Zombie movies there is plenty of boobs, blood, and rednecks to go around. But despite the massive changes made to one of the true icons of horror... I kinda liked it.
Horror films have been one of the most popular genres since the beginning of film simply because they're fun, and I had fun during this movie. Zombie knows how to film brutality but not go over the top, never is the film hard to watch but you do cringe at some of the killings. Zombie also knows how to get you behind his characters, especially the self destructing Laurie, the slimy Dr. Loomis, and strangely sympathetic Michael.
Michael is probably the most fascinating part of this movie and the one character I wanted more of. The first film was very much Michael's story and Zombie tries to make this one Laurie's story, but she really isn't that interesting. We get early on that she's fucked up after the first film and her descent into madness is interesting but its really a peek into Michael's head we want. Now Michael does get plenty of moments in this but I wanted more but because I was really digging the fucked up abused child Michael Myers, but for the most part he kinda just follows his mother's ghost around. Doctor Loomis is another character completely different from the original films and while I did enjoy the fame seeking Loomis, his subplot is the least fascinating one and also has the least to do with the story.
So yeah, its not a perfect movie, in fact far from it. There's still the ever present horror movie cliches like the doomed couple having sex and the stock characters whose only purpose is to die. Laurie's descent into insanity needed some more developement, I bought it but at the same time it seemed rushed, and I think Malcolm McDowell's Doctor Loomis was just there to add credibility. But I respected it because in an age when remakes simply just take a classic and get hacks to redo it with little or no imagination, Rob Zombie tried to give us something new. I really didn't know what was going to happen next because this Michael Myers is so different, and I found that fun. The intensity is high in several scenes and I found myself caring for a lot of the characters, so I was invested.
So it wasn't ground breaking or anything and I can understand why purists hated it, but if you just look at it as a fresh look at a classic character than you gotta respect it. Zombie won't be winning any awards as a director anytime soon but you can tell he's improving with every film and I'm definitely curious to see what he has up his sleeve for the future.
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