Halloween

[SmallBlueThing]

Saw this at the weekend, and was absolutely blown away. It's not perfect by any means- the pacing is all over the shop, it's two disparate movies tacked together, one about the young Michael and his problems, the other a semi-remake of Carpenter's original, and at no time does it allow you to feel the build up to Halloween night, as the original does. In fact, this could easily take place at any time of the year, Halloween is so inconsequential to the plot.

But.

My Christ, it's good. There is a genuine sense of dread throughout the first half, deepened by the backstory that Zombie has created for Michael. All so much more convincing than what we'd had before. Michael as "nice kid who went bad for no reason whatsoever" is a fine idea- it's got that Unknowable Evil vibe that sets up all that Celtic mythology nonsense from the sequels- but, psychologically, it's pish. He may as well have been bitten by a vampire, it's that far removed from reality. Zombie's Halloween benefits greatly by grounding Michael in truth from the off. There's no bullshit here, Zombie never tries to mythologise Michael- he's not unstoppable, the iconography of Halloween is missing, even the titles play, not over a looming slow zoom into a flaming pumpkin, but over a seriously disturbed kid running along a school corridor. This is the original, remade for grown-ups.

Perhaps the most pertinent bit comes when he, eventually, murders his sister. I won't spoil it, but if that isn't an almost-flawless representation of parental nightmare, post Slasher Movies, I don't know what is. Look at what he's wearing and think of the tabloid headlines.

When the remake bit gets underway, the movie goes a bit awry. Laurie Strode is good, but never really holds up to Jamie Lee. However, the presence and determination of Michael is far in excess of anything seen in the franchise since part one. The murders are shot, edited and scored in such a deeply shocking way that I think most other films will be borrowing heavily from this from now on. In fact, the sound design alone is enough to guarantee this a place in history. It's absolutely fantastic, and the little changes made to the cues from Carpenter's original score will delight fans and scare the piss out of everyone else.

In short, this is easily the best horror film of the year so far. All the bits that concerned me beforehand- a recast Loomis, a lunky gert hippy as Michael, the massive shift in tone from the first film- in retrospect are the shot in the arm it needed. If this spawns a whole new run of sequels that get shit+
tier and shittier as they go along, well then fine. Like the original series, we'll always have this utterly maginificent opener.

Steev

[Mikey]

Sounds interesting - I must admit I was sceptical as the origianl is a drop dead classic.

As it happens,the original never scared me.Really.I had already seen an American Werewolf...which scared the bejesis out of me.

For years I didn't rate Halloween at all,then an eventual rewatch revealed the genius.Good to hear the remake is worth it.

M.

[dweezil2]

The Jury's still out on Rob Zombie as a director. I really enjoyed The Devil's Rejects-though it did make me want to go home and rub my self with wire wool, such was it's corrupting influence.
Still be interesting to see what he does with the source material.

[Keef Monkey]

Wasn't keen on the idea of remaking it but I've enjoyed Rob Zombie's stuff so far immensely, think he's a far better director and writer than he's given credit for, and his obvious love of the original gave me hope he would do a good job. Will most certainly be seeing this asap!

[Satanist]

Well I've hated Zombies other films so was dreading this as I've always loved the original.

I'll give it a go though.

[SmallBlueThing]

Just to let you know, I loved Zombie's previous films- so if you hate Halloween, chalk it up to a different aesthetic!

Steev

[Byron Virgo]

"This is the original, remade for grown-ups."

Or, to put it another way, yet another case of turd polishing.

Sorry, but Rob Zombie is a hack, pure and simple. The original Halloween works precisely because the protagonist was so unreal, that he seemed to exude some sort of discorporeal presence - but only when we couldn't see his face, mind (when the audience can, he is arguably robbed of the powerful anonimity of his 'boogeyman' persona). Trying to doll the story up in some sort of psychological McGuffin in order to make it more 'real' is both pointless and slightly offensive, since in the real world, abused children do not don masks and become superscary badass homicidal psychos. The real chain of abuse and abuser is more complicated, and not really to be debated within the limited confines of a 109 minute explitation film.

The point of the original was, much like Hitchcock's Psycho, an example of a director having fun playing with cinematic technique and the audiences reactions. The whole point of Halloween is not Michael's murders (all bloodless in the original, note), but the stalking of his victims, and the slow-burn buildup of the sense that the characters are inescapably trapped within the killer's web. Ultimately, the film is an editor's wet dream.

To be fair, the new film is no worse than any of the utterly appalling sequels (save for the entirely unconnected Halloween III: Season of the Witch), but then I really can't see how it could honestly be worse than those towering symbols of cinematic shite.

[Satanist]

3 more days to Halloween,
Halloween,
Halloween,
3 more days to Halloween,
Sil-ver Shamrock!

:-D

[Byron Virgo]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azCDOwXh3Z4" target="_blank">They're fun, they're frightening, and they GLOW in

[Pete Wells]

My parents let me watch the original Halloween when I was about five and it absolutely terrified me. I remember putting on the nonchallant brave act during the first two thirds of the film and then running out of the room screaming and crying when the dude flies out of the cupboard. I still get butterflies when I hear the music even now.

I can watch any film now but I haven't dared to watch Halloween. I might watch the remake but only if the music is different!

[SmallBlueThing]

"Sorry, but Rob Zombie is a hack, pure and simple."

You cannot be allowed to get away with that! I want, no demand, a written dissertation on Hack Theory, with several pages of backup references that explicitely concentrate upon Mr. R. Zombie and his body of work.

"Trying to doll the story up in some sort of psychological McGuffin in order to make it more 'real' is both pointless and slightly offensive, since in the real world, abused children do not don masks and become superscary badass homicidal psychos. The real chain of abuse and abuser is more complicated, and not really to be debated within the limited confines of a 109 minute explitation film."

I find that last sentence pointless and slightly offensive! Why should it not be addressed in a movie? Why is Halloween, original or remake, less able to address such a topic than any other kind of movie? Hmph! You have little respect for the genre, it seems. As for the glibness, or not, of Zombie's version- well, read my original post. Carpenter's film deliberately stayed away from any reasonable explanation of Michael's challenging behaviour- and even went to some lengths to mythologise him. Zombie takes a different approach. It's neither pointless, offensive or a McGuffin- it's the heart of the movie- which is why he spends so long on it.

And no, abused kids don't usually become Michael Myers (has there EVER been a masked serial killer of the Michael/ Jason ilk? I don't think so). But "the shape" is a metaphor anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Remember when I said Zombie's Halloween felt like two disparate movies- that's what I meant. Zombie fails to bring the two parts together- psychological drama/ stalker horror- but then, could anyone? And it's a very, very close call. It really is THAT good.

"To be fair, the new film is no worse than any of the utterly appalling sequels (save for the entirely unconnected Halloween III: Season of the Witch), but then I really can't see how it could honestly be worse than those towering symbols of cinematic shite."

I saw Halloween for the first time back in '84, at the age of 14. I've seen it countless times since and it sits upon my special John Carpenter shelf at home- in multiple versions- along with every other film Carp has made. I'm a Carpenter obsessive and will defend each and every film the man has ever made, and that includes 'Ghosts of Mars'. But even *I* am reading your response like the desperate protestations of someone terrified at the temerity of someone daring to remake an acknowledged classic. Calm down. Zombie's no Carpenter yet, but he's getting there. The new movie is interesting, fiendishly clever and astonishingly well put together. If you honestly cannot see the difference in intent and execution between it and, say, Halloween 5, or god-forbid, 6, then I strongly suggest you stop watching films altogether!

Steev

[Art]

It sounds fucking awful. I wouldn't touch it with a very long stick.

[satchmo]

Maybe Eli Roth should remake Citizen Kane.
I won't be bothering with this.
It's funny, I've seen all of the rubbish sequels* and don't really mind them, but a remake appalls me. I didn't bother watching the last King Kong either, I just couldn't face it.
I'm no anti-Zombie reactionary, it's just a pointless exercise.


* I love Halloween 3.

[Byron Virgo]

"I'm a Carpenter obsessive and will defend each and every film the man has ever made, and that includes 'Ghosts of Mars'."

And you said *I* have no respect for the genre...

:-P

"Zombie fails to bring the two parts together- psychological drama/ stalker horror- but then, could anyone?"

Micheal Powell's Peeping Tom? Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (or indeed Richard Franklin's 'actually-better-than-you-remember' Psycho II)?

[Funt Solo]

Review of "House of 1000 Corpses":

"it feels like a pod movie - a perfect imitation of an existing being but without a heart or a mind of its own"

Review of "The Devil's Rejects"

"uncomfortably the work of someone who thinks mass murder is cool and has no feeling for regular humans"

---


I'm finding it difficult to give Mr. Zombie any credence.  At all.