Halloween Rejuvenated!

I am going to come right out and admit that I was extremely impressed with Rob Zombie's "Halloween."

His film has clearly already become the stuff of mass controversy. Most of that seemingly stems from the staunch defenders of John Carpenter's landmark original, who all curiously believe that Mr. Zombie has somehow committed a cardinal sin and defaced a highly revered genre classic. It was therefore understandable that I harbored some considerable degree of reluctance in voicing my own personal opinion. What, after all, could I possibly say in direct praise of Zombie's stellar achievement that would not automatically be meticulously scrutinized or dismissed? How many people would instantly and unfairly discredit my claim as a "tried and true" fan of horror simply because I dared to embrace a fresh angle on an already well established slasher?

To be quite honest, I no longer cling to such minor concerns. We, as people, can nitpick all we want. The fact is, Rob Zombie is an obvious fan of Carpenter's work and boasts a great deal of respect for the material. He has perfectly captured the brooding atmosphere and bone-chilling dread that was sorely lacking from the last several threadbare sequels. How this is such a bad thing in the eyes of certain fans, I will more than likely never fathom. This movie, in as much the same vein as Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead," merely takes the premise of Carpenter's initial vision and steers it in a completely different direction. Michael Myers has finally once again become the same blood-curdling boogeyman he was nearly thirty years ago. This realization is mostly fueled by the refreshing backstory Zombie has provided us within his film's opening act. Some viewers I have noticed seem to take issue with the whole "white trash" approach Zombie applies to Michael's family. But, from where I stand, it works. I base that conclusion around two supporting factors, the first of which concerns Michael's subdued portrayal in Carpenter's film. While he certainly was a very formidable and sinister presence, I always still found him altogether empty and one dimensional. There was no meat on his bones, no real motive behind his heinous crimes aside from what Dr. Loomis presumed was just "pure evil." That represented the one key element I have always maintained that Carpenter's vision required, and it was also something I was more than delighted to see Rob Zombie address here so many years later. My second point deals more specifically with the fleshing out of Michael's family. I found this incredibly effective and had absolutely no problem with the bold liberties Zombie took by making Ronnie White, Michael's overly abusive and potty-mouthed stepfather, so utterly and ferociously loathsome. We may not want to admit it, but people of this wretched caliber do exist within our society. Whether such horrific conduct can ultimately drive somebody to mass murder can certainly be contested. Although, for the purpose of this totally fictional horror movie, I seriously believe it was a plot device that worked sheer wonders.

As the movie segues back to Haddonfield in its second half, as most anyone already knows, Zombie shifts gears with a wonderfully nostalgic updating of "Mr. Sandman" and revisits more familiar territory with scenes lifted almost letter perfectly from the 1978 original. He takes us back to the same West Hollywood streets Carpenter utilized for his shoot and gives us a Haddonfield that, in many of the same ways, actually feels like an average everyday midwest american neighborhood. The set dressings and overall attention to detail is absolutely amazing!

I also rather quite liked the casting. Malcolm McDowell, the new Dr. Loomis, openly admitted that he never actually viewed any of the prior films. He was apparently discouraged from doing so by Zombie, himself, who did not wish to see a carbon copy of the Donald Pleasance portrayal. Donald's contribution to the original series, it goes without saying, will always remain legendary. But, I do have to say that I found much to enjoy with Malcolm's spin on the character, as well. The same can also easily be said for Daeg Faerch and Tyler Mane, the actors behind Michael's two respective personas. I was especially taken by the emotional range young Faerch brought to Michael's childhood. He displayed great depth in a role that, as I have already outlined, did not previously offer it. And Tyler Mane is plain and simply awe-inspiring! I won't say anything outside the simple fact that I feel he is the single greatest actor to don the Michael Myers mask since Nick Castle. He really is that good and gives Michael a raw savagery he hasn't had in years!

I have long since read up on all the many bonus features supplied within the forthcoming "unrated" DVD release. You can rest assured that I will most definitely be adding it to my collection.

Okay, so, having voiced all of this, I must now unfortunately and very briefly touch upon a matter that I personally would rather not. That would entail most of the highly unnecessary and heated backlash I've seen dished out in recent months against the varying slasher fans who favored this particular production. The Carpenter purists can spout all the negativity they want about Rob Zombie. I have never seen his prior films, so I have nothing further to judge him by. People mostly tend to forget that he never claimed to be "remaking" John Carpenter's "Halloween." Zombie specifically stated, from day one, that he was putting his own unique stamp on this time-honored film and that is precisely what he has done. That is predominantly why this movie is called Rob Zombie's "Halloween." The fact that any one person enjoys this new film does not make them any less a true fan of John Carpenter's original. I find the idea that so many others vehemently disagree with that sentiment as laughable as it is pathetic. But, hey, so is the world we live in at times.

Go figure.

It's a slasher movie, not a political statement. Watch it, have fun with it, and appreciate it for what it is....a well-crafted and worthy companion piece to John Carpenter's classic.

Considering

The original Halloween is a classic and will in my book always receive a five star rating. Recently there has been a great deal of remakes that were flops and catered to the teeny bopper crowd such as, The Fog, The Omen, Dark Water, etc. However there has been only two remakes that I thought were diserving of our attenion, one being the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, and Halloween.

What I liked about the remake was it gave us something fresh to work with. In the original Halloween we never really knew why Michael was bad, in this remake, the first thirty minutes or so expore the childhood of Michael Myers. People say that the dialog concerning Michael's family was wrong. Trust me, I have seen broken homes and Mr. Zombie gives us exactly what you would expect from a trashy family.

Besides satisfying my curiosity of Michael's childhood, I found this to be simular in many cases to the original, but at the same time the material was quite fresh with new chills and scares. Zombie took a masterpiece and reminded us why it is called a masterpiece. He accomplished a great job capturing a 70's look and theme, and did a great musical score as well. This is possibly the best horror remake that I've ever seen.

WHAT THE HE** GUYS

people who put this movie down need to go set down and think about it I love Carpenters Halloween and those of you who think this was a remake of that need to think about it because this wasnt a remake it was a reimagining not a remake this movie was made the was Zombie would have made it if Carpenter didnt, I didnt want a remake I wanted this and it was awesome Zombie deffinately deserves alot more respect for this movie than he has gotten, if this was a remake it would have sucked but its not a remake it was a revision of the whole thing and as for the dude who played Myers I think he made Myer better made it seem like it could have happened anywhere in any town instead of him not being able to be stopped and thus we wont have a stupid sequel remakes or revisions are ok in my book but I hate sequels and this revision is awesome I will buy this when it comes out.