"Halloween" Retrospective: HALLOWEEN II (2009)

HALLOWEEN II (2009)
Director: Rob Zombie
Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Danielle Harris, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif

Much like the original Halloween II, the story picks up the same night as the first film. Michael Myers’ (Mane) reign of terror was unleashed onto Haddonfield on Halloween night. Laurie Strode (Taylor-Compton), Annie Brackett (Harris), and Dr. Loomis (McDowell) have all survived and are being taken to the hospital. Michael escapes the ambulance escorting him and has a vision of his mother dressed in all white with a white horse standing next to her. It is not long before he makes his way to the hospital to find Laurie.

One year passes and Laurie continues having nightmares about Michael and the events of that night. She currently lives with Annie and her dad Sheriff Brackett (Dourif). Dr. Loomis is now a best-selling author leading talks, discussions, and book signings all on the tragic life and effects of Michael Myers. He has become a cocky arrogant prick. It is very evident that he is now using the Laurie Strode tragedy as a way to boost book sales and not as a lesson on psychology and mental illness. Laurie finally learns the truth about her past after reading a passage in his new book.

One of the biggest problems with this sequel comes down to the character development. Zombie has stated his wanted this characters to go through change after the events of the first one. Why did Zombie’s “change” have to make them so awful? The audience should feel and care about the two leading characters of Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis. How is that possible when they both have become such despicable characters? I did not like Scout Taylor-Compton’s portrayal as Laurie in the first movie, and it gets even worse in this one. I think it was wise to have Laurie severely disturbed and mentally unstable as that seems quite normal for someone in this position, but I just do not care about Compton’s Laurie. McDowell’s Loomis is now left as an awful human being who does not seem to care about how exploitative he is being. There is no redeeming quality about him anymore. I personally think that Donald Pleasence would be appalled at the direction they’ve taken this character in. Who is to blame? Zombie? McDowell? Danielle Harris and Brad Dourif are both back again this time as Annie and Sheriff Brackett. You may notice pre-Oscar Octavia Spencer as one of the nurses in the opening sequence. Margo Kidder makes an all too brief appearance stars as Laurie’s therapist Dr. Barbara Collier. Chase Wright Vanek now plays Young Michael Myers in the flashback moments. Apparently original actor Daeg Faerch grew too much in between each movie and it was too noticeable for the scenes they needed for the flashbacks.

I saw the film when it first came out in theaters and hated it. I thought with some time and a better appreciation of the Zombie remake, I may come to an understanding with this sequel remake. I still stand by all of my original thoughts and views. The whole movie is an all-around mess. I am not even sure where it wants to go or what story it is trying to tell. What was the point in making this sequel outside of the Zombie fan base wanting another? Many of the kills are random and pointless. I felt like Zombie did not know what to do with Michael most of the time, so he is just killing these random people that no one really even cares about. I suppose you could say that about the majority of the films in the franchise. At one point, Michael slowly saws off a guy’s neck with his knife. It just felt gratuitous and unnecessary. We also hear Michael for the first time as he is grunting and moaning during each of his kills. I prefer the silent killer Michael used to be. We also have the bizarre Young Michael/Michael’s mother/white horse aspect to the mythology. Was this Zombie’s way of giving his wife more to do in the sequel?

I grew to have an understanding and appreciation of Zombie's remake of the first Halloween. I understood more of his choices, concepts, and ideas behind it. I wish I could say the same about this one. It received a terrible response from the critics as well as the audience base. Halloween: Resurrection sure killed off the series the first time around. Unfortunatley, Rob Zombie's Halloween II has killed it off again. There were talks of a Halloween 3D that was completely different and without the involvement of Zombie, but it never went into production. Part of me wants another film in the franchise just to end it on a high note, but that could also lead to more sequels and more unnecessary films in this franchise.

RATING: 1/2* ( .5 out of 5 stars)

My Ranking of the Franchise
1. HALLOWEEN (1978)
2. HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)
3. HALLOWEEN II (1981)
4. HALLOWEEN (2007)
5. HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1989)
6. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988)
7. HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
8. HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (2002)
9. HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995)
10. HALLOWEEN II (2009)

"Halloween" Retrospective: HALLOWEEN (2007)

HALLOWEEN (2007)
Director: Rob Zombie
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daeg Faerch, Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace

Boy, the Myers family sure is dysfunctional. Ten year old Michael (Faerch) kills his pet mouse while his mom Deborah (Zombie) and her boyfriend Ronnie are having a massive fight in the kitchen. At school that day, Michael gets bullied in the bathroom and later gets his revenge by killing the boy in the park. The day doesn’t get any better for Michael. It is Halloween night and he has no one to go trick-or-treating with. His mother is at work at the strip club, the boyfriend is passed out on his chair, and his sister Judith is upstairs with her boyfriend. The body count for the day does not stop at the bully as he brutally kills Ronnie, Judith, and Judith’s boyfriend. His mother arrives home to find the massacre and that he spared the life of his baby sister “Boo.” Dr. Sam Loomis (McDowell) is appointed to his care as he spends time at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. He spends many years working with Michael who does not seem to be progressing. He remains silent and spends his time making masks.

Fifteen years pass and it is Halloween night in Haddonfield, and Laurie Strode is sent to drop something off at the old haunted Myers house for her father who is the realtor. What she doesn’t know is that Michael (Mane) has escaped after all these years and has returned home. Later that day after school, she and friends Annie (Harris) and Lynda discuss their plans for the evening which involve babysitting and screwing around. What they don’t know is that a bloodbath of epic proportions will change their lives forever.

What you will notice pretty quickly is that Zombie takes a VERY different approach to this story. For a horror remake, it takes what we know from the original contemporizes it, adds more back story, and retains the original story. The first hour is more of a prequel as we go back to see the psychological aspect behind Michael and how he became evil. The second half is the Laurie Strode story we all know and love. It is shocking, gruesome, edgy, and frightening in a very different way than the original. Zombie wanted each act to have very different camera shots, filmed with different styles and levels. When you watch it closely, you can watch the shifts in tone and feel the change between the acts.

Zombie tries to humanize Michael more than what we received in the original. His family life and time at Smith's Grove delve deeper into his psyche and his fascination with masks is explored. The secret behind why Michael is after Laurie is revealed in this one. Zombie probably didn’t anticipate he would go on to make a sequel so he probably felt the need to tell the whole story in this one movie. Zombie is smart enough to know he needs to keep certain lines of dialogue, actions, and camera shots the same as the original to appease the fans. Some of it is a bit more subtle and may only be noticed by people that know the original backwards and forwards like I do. Much of the original John Carpenter score is kept as well with some additional music by composer Tyler Bates. I would have been livid if Zombie ignored that masterful score for a brand new track.

The casting and take on these iconic characters is important. Danielle Harris and Kristina Klebe excel at taking the characters of Annie and Lynda in a different direction to fit the teenage girls of this setting and time period. I do not appreciate Scout Taylor-Compton’s take on Laurie. She is not wholesome and innocent enough. She could have still kept those qualities while fitting her into a modern day Laurie. I have also overheard her in interviews talk about her approach to the character and try to claim her Laurie Strode is better than Jamie Lee Curtis'. Tisk Tisk Tisk. How dare she try to upstage the original Scream Queen. The overall casting of the supporting characters is pretty great with Malcolm McDowell, Dee Wallace, and Brad Dourif who are all legends in the genre. Mane and Zombie attempt to bring back who Michael is as a person and as a villain to make him scary again. Throughout the series, Michael lost the humanity and frightening aspect of himself. Most of the time he has just been an actor in a mask walking around with a butcher knife.

Can a die-hard fan of the original like this new take with a Rob Zombie twist? Possibly. I must admit that the first time I watched it, I was appalled. I thought Zombie was ruining what was so special and haunting about the original. One of the scary elements was that you had no context for why a six-year-old would kill his sister. The filmmaking was done on a very low budget, so there were no gory special effects or unrealistic kills. The camera work and lighting were executed precisely, oftentimes done minimally, adding to the suspense. Zombie basically throws all of that out the window. The majority of the movie is very rough, graphic, vulgar, and in your face. I have seen it a few times now and with each time I try to view it on its own merit without trying to compare it to the original. Shockingly enough, I have come to appreciate it. I do not love it, nor is it perfect. The film is way too long with some unneeded scenes and an ending that goes on for far too long. It has received some very harsh criticism which I completely understand. It is not a movie that will appeal to the masses nor will it appeal to everyone who loves the horror genre.

In regards to the concept of horror remakes, I really do not think there is ever a need. Many of these horror films are classics for a reason, so why bother remaking them? So many of them are horrible retreads where they just feel like a paint by numbers approach. I give Zombie some credit for actually doing something different with the story, while honoring the original by keeping some vital moments, lines, and camera work in tact. After watching the whole franchise, I actually think this Halloween is better than some of the other sequels and entries in the franchise.

RATING: *** (3 out of 5 stars)

My Ranking of the Franchise
1. HALLOWEEN (1978)
2. HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)
3. HALLOWEEN II (1981)
4. HALLOWEEN (2007)
5. HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1989)
6. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988)
7. HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
8. HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (2002)
9. HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995)