2008 Woodie Awards
Zombie digs deeper with latest rendition of Halloween classic
Joseph Froemming
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Intermission
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Movie Review
The continuing thread of remaking horror movies can often become more frightening for fans than the actual films. Yet, when done by the right director, a remake can become a whole new experience.
Rob Zombie has achieved this with his new spin on the "Halloween" horror flicks. He takes the original 1979 John Carpenter script and film, and goes much deeper into the story of the maniacal murderer Michael Myers.
The film starts with a glimpse into the broken home and dysfunctional family that is the Myers. The viewer sees young Michael Myers bullied at home by a raging alcoholic stepfather, pampered by an overprotective mother who is also a stripper and picked on by his older sister.
His only loving affection is toward his innocent baby sister, whom he refers to as "Boo."
His home life is bad, but school is also a poison pit of more bullying and nagging. His calm surface hides an inner rage that is soon discovered by his school's principle after finding dead cats and photos of many other animals he has brutally murdered in his locker.
Unlike the original Carpenter version, we see the general layout of what causes the beast inside to come out of the young boy on Halloween night when he butchers his family except for his mother and baby sister.
The second act follows Myers' 15 years in prison being psychoanalyzed by Dr. Samuel Loomis.
Loomis comes to the realization that Michael Myers is beyond help. In essence, the young boy he first met is now a towering monster who sees nothing but black in the world.
The third act is Myers' escape from prison and his blood soaked trail in search of his kid sister, now 18 years old and living with a new family without any knowledge of her grizzly past.
Dr. Loomis is on the trail, enraged by the prison official's and police's refusal to warn Myers' hometown that the escaped lunatic is more than likely coming back for his own kind of reunion.
Of course what follows is the terror filled spectacle which made the original "Halloween" film a horror classic.
Rob Zombie does make this film his own, more than just another Hollywood remake. He uses much of the same cast from his 2005 film "The Devil's Rejects" and has attained his own style of film making.
Zombie uses music incredibly well. He picks the right songs to fit the scenes, almost like small music videos. The sound track is a mix bag ranging from Blue Oyster Cult to Rush to horror punk legends The Misfits.
The "Halloween" series has been beat to death in the 20 plus years since the original. Fortunately, Zombie salvaged the memory of the original with the approval of Mr. Carpenter himself.
Fans of "Halloween" will more than likely love this. Fans of Zombie's films will also love it as well. The faint of heart and those who are too squeamish of horror films will probably pay to cover their eyes for two hours.
The continuing thread of remaking horror movies can often become more frightening for fans than the actual films. Yet, when done by the right director, a remake can become a whole new experience.
Rob Zombie has achieved this with his new spin on the "Halloween" horror flicks. He takes the original 1979 John Carpenter script and film, and goes much deeper into the story of the maniacal murderer Michael Myers.
The film starts with a glimpse into the broken home and dysfunctional family that is the Myers. The viewer sees young Michael Myers bullied at home by a raging alcoholic stepfather, pampered by an overprotective mother who is also a stripper and picked on by his older sister.
His only loving affection is toward his innocent baby sister, whom he refers to as "Boo."
His home life is bad, but school is also a poison pit of more bullying and nagging. His calm surface hides an inner rage that is soon discovered by his school's principle after finding dead cats and photos of many other animals he has brutally murdered in his locker.
Unlike the original Carpenter version, we see the general layout of what causes the beast inside to come out of the young boy on Halloween night when he butchers his family except for his mother and baby sister.
The second act follows Myers' 15 years in prison being psychoanalyzed by Dr. Samuel Loomis.
Loomis comes to the realization that Michael Myers is beyond help. In essence, the young boy he first met is now a towering monster who sees nothing but black in the world.
The third act is Myers' escape from prison and his blood soaked trail in search of his kid sister, now 18 years old and living with a new family without any knowledge of her grizzly past.
Dr. Loomis is on the trail, enraged by the prison official's and police's refusal to warn Myers' hometown that the escaped lunatic is more than likely coming back for his own kind of reunion.
Of course what follows is the terror filled spectacle which made the original "Halloween" film a horror classic.
Rob Zombie does make this film his own, more than just another Hollywood remake. He uses much of the same cast from his 2005 film "The Devil's Rejects" and has attained his own style of film making.
Zombie uses music incredibly well. He picks the right songs to fit the scenes, almost like small music videos. The sound track is a mix bag ranging from Blue Oyster Cult to Rush to horror punk legends The Misfits.
The "Halloween" series has been beat to death in the 20 plus years since the original. Fortunately, Zombie salvaged the memory of the original with the approval of Mr. Carpenter himself.
Fans of "Halloween" will more than likely love this. Fans of Zombie's films will also love it as well. The faint of heart and those who are too squeamish of horror films will probably pay to cover their eyes for two hours.