Review: Halloween - directed by Rob Zombie
Rated R for sadistic violence, strong language, and nudity

With 2003's House of 1000 Corpses, macabre rocker Rob Zombie showed the world that he was a capable horror director. With his much superior follow up, The Devil's Rejects, two years later, Zombie solidified his position as one of horror cinema's most promising rising stars. It seemed rather fitting then that his third theatrical attempt be a remake of 1978's Halloween--the movie that launched the successful career of John Carpenter, a writer/director/composer Zombie has often been compared to.

Nevertheless, remakes are a risky business. So does 2007's Halloween hold a jack-o'-lantern to the original? I say no. Although Zombie is able to achieve a near equal sense of dread and foreboding, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this movie before. To put it another way, it seemed that Rob wanted to be so faithful to the source material that the bulk of his film's final act played out nearly verbatim to Carpenter's. When the remake is this close to the original, why even bother?

Halloween certainly starts strong, however. In the opening act, we are introduced to an awkward 10-year-old Michael Myers growing up in a rather dysfunctional family. His mother, played by Zombie's wife Sheri Moon, strip dances to make ends meet while his step-dad (William Forsythe) sits around drinking and swearing. In a scene in which Myers confronts two bullies in a school bathroom, we're given a small glimpse of the rage building in his little mind and perhaps a better understanding as to why he takes the path of the serial killer. Unfortunately, these scenes are short lived.

Rather quickly, Myers has already murdered his family and been institutionalized for his crimes. What follow are interesting but rather short meetings with his psychologist, Dr. Loomis (Malcom McDowell). Played by Donald Pleasence to great effect in the original, 2007's Loomis is the most frustratingly underutilized character. Because before he can get inside Michael's head and give us something worthwhile to watch, Myers has already escaped and begins killing teenagers.

Besides borrowing too heavily from the original, the massacre scenes also seemed out of place in regard to the tone of the film. Zombie went to great lengths building Michael up as a killer that, however soulless, was still very much human. I found it an odd choice then that the finale started to portray him as more the walking shadow of the 78 version--a creature of the paranormal, able to appear behind people whenever convenient and survive many a killing blow unscathed.

In it's defense, Zombie's Halloween will be a treat for fans of his Firefly Family saga. Pretty much the entire cast of The Devil's Rejects appears in some way or another, making for a few chuckles as they come on screen. Also, Brad Dourif of Child's Play fame makes a brief appearance as the local sheriff. From the looks of it, these guys must've at least had a good time making this film, and on some level, that enjoyment permeates the final product.

More fittingly referred to as a tribute than a remake, Rob Zombie's Halloween is easily the best iteration of the Michael Myers character in over two decades. Although, ultimately, it is a step down from the originality shown in The Devil's Rejects. In his first two films, Rob Zombie was risky enough to engage in interesting experimentation and unusual effects that just aren't present in Halloween. In being more conventional, the violence and sadism has also been toned down in comparison to Rejects...

...I'll leave that up to you if that's a good thing or not.

Go for the... prospect of checking out Rob Zombie's latest directorial effort.

Stay for the... fine job Scout Taylor-Compton does in Jamie Lee Curtis' old role.

Rating: 7 / 10