Zombie brings Halloween back from the dead
House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects are two of the gruesomely gory movies brought to us by Rob Zombie. It would be understandable to expect an overly grotesque version of the classic Halloween, however I was pleasantly surprised.
The new Halloween, which is written and directed by Rob Zombie and was in theatres this past August, follows the same story as the original, with a few additives. This movie really emphasizes how Michael Myers came to be a psychopathic killer, and therefore spends a lot more time on his childhood than the original. Michael's mother, Deborah Myers (Sheri Moon Zombie), is a stripper, so she is never at home during the night. He is left alone with his two sisters, Judith (Hanna Hall) and Baby Boo and his mother's abusive boyfriend, Ronnie White (William Forsyth).
Judith is very mean to Michael and Ronnie beats him. It really shows him living in a dark and unhealthy environment and the only person that Michael really cares for is Baby Boo. Like the original, on Halloween night, dressed as a clown, Michael kills Ronnie, Judith and her boyfriend. Michael is committed to a mental institution and receives counseling from Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). After escaping the institution, he sets out to find his little sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) and the plot follows the same as the original but modernized and more gruesome.
I really enjoyed this movie. I loved the original and I feel that Rob Zombie did an excellent job with the remake. He shows more of Michael's past and also explains why Michael would decide to track down his sister and his obsession with wearing masks. I also enjoyed the added gore. The filming was done well because you can't always see Michael, like the original, but they do show him more. As expected, Rob Zombie used a few of his regular actors, including his wife Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsyth and Sid Haig, all who stared in The Devil‘s Rejects. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and pulled off the concerned, dependent Doctor very well. Scout Taylor-Compton (Sleepover) did an excellent job reprising the role of Laurie Strode. Although she is not the next “Scream Queen,” I feel that we will see more of her in the future. All of these aspects mixed with an eerie soundtrack and sound effects make this remake a winner. I recommend this movie to anyone who liked the original Halloween and likes to be scarred.
Final Words: Saw it. Liked it. I am glad Michael Myers is just a character.
