4 Stars:
I was a casual White Zombie fan growing up. By casual I mean I knew the songs on the radio. It wasn’t until I saw “The Devil’s Rejects” that I became an all out Rob Zombie fan. In my mind “The Devil’s Rejects” is a masterpiece. It’s not really a horror movie, it’s more of a western, but it’s as disturbing as any movie I’ve seen. He followed “The Devil’s Rejects” with a remake of John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” This was a very under appreciated re-imaging.
Did “Halloween” really need to be remade? Probably not. Zombie tried to anyway and he definitely reinvented the series. I really enjoyed the first movie. In fact, most of the negative reviews that I had read spent too much time comparing Zombie’s version to Carpenter’s, which is unfair. Prior to seeing Zombie’s “Halloween 2” I had read three negative reviews, all of which mentioning that “Halloween 2” would have been a good movie if it wasn’t called “Halloween.” How ridiculous is that? It’s either a good movie or it’s not, but what do I know, I’m just a fan.
“Halloween 2” kicks off right where the last one ended. Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) had just shot and presumably killed Michael Myers (Tyler Mane). The authorities are transporting Myers’ body when the driver hits a cow in the middle of the road. Both authorities are injured. It turns out that Myers wasn’t dead after all. Myers finishes off the two guys that are transporting him to the morgue and goes and heads off into the wilderness.
We fast forward a year to Laurie having a nightmare about Myers. This is a regular occurrence. Since Laurie’s family died in the first one, she moves in with Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and her father Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif). All three characters are changed from the tragedies of the last movie. Laurie went from conservative babysitter to grungy party girl while Annie went from the slutty party girl to conservative mother figure. Sheriff Brackett has become way too over protective. He’s hiding a secret from Laurie.
Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has written a book about the events from the first movie and is cashing in big time, even appearing on a Jimmy Kimmel-type program with Weird Al as the other guest. In his book, Loomis reveals that Laurie Strode is actually the sister of Michael Myers, which turns Laurie’s world upside down.
While all this is going on Michael Myers is living in the wilderness. He’s grown a beard that would make ZZ Top proud - yes we get to see Michael without the mask on. Michael is being haunted with dreams of his dead mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a younger version of himself. In the dreams his mother keeps telling him to bring Angel home (Angel is Laurie Strode’s real name). Laurie is having the exact same dreams as Michael. Michael makes his way back to Haddonfield, IL on Halloween night to capture Laurie while killing everyone he meets in a brutal fashion.
What I really like about “The Devil’s Rejects” and even the first “Halloween” is the realism. Zombie manages to humanize Myers which makes him scarier than a monster. The same holds true for the sequel. Zombie’s Myers is so much more brutal than from the original series. The kills aren’t overly creative, they’re just intense. Myers grunts with each stab which would have been off limits in any of the other “Halloween” movies.
When I say that Zombie’s version of Michael Myers is more real than the other versions, I’m saying that he’s not just a monster like Jason or Freddy. He’s more like Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson, however Michael Myers is still an iconic character so Zombie’s hands are somewhat tied which makes certain things about his movie unrealistic. That inconsistency is really the only real complaint I have with the movie.
What’s good? Zombie had free reign with this movie. The first movie was a little bit his and a little bit Carpenter’s. The sequel is all his. This is nothing like any of the other “Halloween” movies. The kills are very realistic so much so that I wouldn’t even really classify this as a typical slasher movie. A slasher movie is all about the creative kill, but this was more about people being damaged after a tragedy and how they handle themselves.
I thought Zombie wrote the tweenage girls well. I’ve read a few reviews that bad mouthed his dialogue saying the girls were annoying. My response is that tweenage girls are annoying. I thought he nailed them. I didn’t really care for them and I’m not sure I was supposed to care for them. Brad Dourif as Sheriff Brackett was phenomenal. I also really enjoyed the ending. There are really two endings, the first ending I will actually elaborate more on in my “what’s bad” section, but the second ending was really creepy and brought all the crazy dream sequences full circle.
What’s bad? The movie feels somewhat rushed. Zombie crammed a lot into this movie and sometimes it just jumps. Like the scene where Laurie finds out she’s Myers’ sister. At first she’s balling uncontrollably and then the very next scene she’s ready to go party. I have no doubt that her emotions could make that switch, but it just switched so fast it kind of threw me off. The ending with Dr. Loomis just really came out of nowhere as well. I like what happens but he just kind of shows up. I would have liked it a lot more if Zombie had taken his time developing how Loomis would make his way there. Sorry for being vague but I don’t want to give away the ending.
I like this movie. It’s definitely lingering around in my head. I am having a hard time deciding if this is a great movie or just an ok movie. “The Devil’s Rejects” is still his best, but I don’t know how he could ever top that. Rob Zombie has just signed on to direct a remake of “The Blob.” I’m sure he’ll have an interesting take on that.
BYLINE:
Bob Zerull is a frequent movie and concert goer who talks about his ventures to arenas and theaters more than any person should be allowed to do. Now, he puts them down on paper. Email Bob at bob@zoiksonline.com. Visit: www.cadaverchristmas.com.
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