Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. I have no doubt that this reviewer is sincere. After talking back and forth with him in e-mail, it's obvious he's a guy who really does love what he saw in this film. I also have no doubt that his reaction will not be the same reaction that many people have. I spent some time last night talking to a trusted friend who’s seen this one and who absolutely loathed every second of it, and based on what I’m hearing, even the hardcore horror press online had a tough time swallowing what Zombie’s cooked up. Will there be an audience for this one? I’m sure. Will it work for everyone? Well, I guess it depends how close you are to this guy’s POV:
First of all, the movie. Rob Zombie, yet again, has created another horror film that pays constant homage to the original film while still making it his own. Before I continue, I have to get this out of the way: Halloween is not as "great a film" as The Devil's Rejects; nor is it as "fun" as House of 1000 Corpses. With that said and done, Halloween is probably the greatest "slasher" movie ever made and without a doubt the best horror remake ever. Rob Zombie has really matured through his brief filmmaker career and Halloween only continues that. Zombie is able to lose some of the over-the-top ridiculous dialogue to bring more natural comedic lines to the screen. He also decides to just stick (mostly) to one film stock and one "look" for the entire movie. None of the Oliver Stone-like cuts with 6 film types like Zombie used in Corpses. Just like Rejects, Halloween features solid performances throughout by all the main stars, including young Daeg Faerch (young Michael Myers), Sherri Moon Zombie (as always), Scout Taylor-Compton (playing Laurie Strode) and of course Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Loomis). While I enjoyed all the frequent cameos by Zombie regulars, they did start to get a little "kitschy" after awhile, but that just might have been because I recognized them all. Okay, it's time to talk about Michael. Here's the thing, I've seen a lot of horror movies in my young life, but I have never seen a "monster" come to life in the way that Michael Myers does in this movie. The only way I can describe him is that Rob Zombie gives a two-dimension onscreen object real "weight" through incredible camera work and some of the best sound effects I've ever heard. Zombie keeps Michael Myers (and the entire movie) grounded very solidly in reality without taking away the size, strength and presence of the main character. This probably goes without saying, but Halloween definitely squeezed by with an 'R' rating and is not for women who are pregnant or nursing, those with high blood plessure or the faint of heart. The kills might not be the most creative murders in the Shatner-masked killer's film history, but I guarantee that they are the most brutal. Like I mentioned, I don't consider Halloween to be quite the movie that Rejects is, but I'm completely fine with that. Zombie's remake is funny, intense and really, at times, quite scary, which seems to be a rare commodity in horror films these days. He's remade a classic without either ripping off or abandoning the source material, yet still managed to stay honest to the original while making it his own. Sincerely, teh.horrorgeek
