On my sixth birthday I decided to watch a movie that would change my life forever, “Halloween” by John Carpenter. I stole the movie from my parents’ VHS collection and smuggled it downstairs to our creepy old basement. As the end credits rolled, I wiped off my tears, settled the shiver in my spine and realized I absolutely loved horror movies. Nearly 30 years after the original’s release, Rob Zombie decided to remake “Halloween” and put his own unique spin on it. Zombie’s glimpse into the past of Michael Myers as an adolescent psychopath with a dysfunctional family made the film feel new, instead of it feeling like reused nonsense like most remakes. Now, two years later Rob Zombie has unleashed his sequel, but in a summer filled with great films like “Halloween II” seemed bound to get lost in mediocrity.
Based less than one year after the ghastly murders of her family and friends, Laurie Strode (Taylor-Compton) is haunted by horrific nightmares of her impending doom at the hands of “recently deceased” Michael Myers. As you may have guessed, Michael Myers is alive and well and is now taking orders from his deceased mother through hallucinations. As Halloween approaches,
the nightmares haunt Laurie to the brink of insanity and Michael is told to make his return to Haddonfield and finish what he started a year before.
Taylor-Compton does a sub-par job screaming and looking like an extremely depressed teenager. Dr. Loomis (McDowell) a survivor
from the first film, as well as Michael’s ex- psychiatrist, is now consumed with greed after writing a book on the tragic event from Zombie’s first film. The character of Dr. Loomis is meaningless this time until the climax of the film, but is still enjoyable to watch because of McDowell’s solid acting. The dialogue holds true to Zombie’s usual southern/white trash motif that highlights its most appalling characters through hilarious morbid discussions that range from necrophilia to politics.
The plot of “Halloween II” was the film’s weakest aspect, due to incoherent story elements that seemed to go nowhere. The story shows signs of life in the beginning
with a violent reimagining of the original 1981 “Halloween II” hospital sequence, which showcases one of the film’s more intense
scenes. After that, the story begins to feel sloppy by having too many unnecessary dream sequences, and not enough emphasis
on the main protagonist. The movie fails in its attempt to be artistic and unusual, and really just relies on Michael Myers killing everyone he encounters. This may sound like something you would come to expect from a “Halloween” movie, but it really dampers the whole film with way too many pointless scenes that just seem like filler.
This movie may be a let down, but watching and listening to Rob Zombie unleash his own brand of carnage on the screen was well worth the price of admission. The camera is dark and grainy and whips violently as extreme acts of violence let you know what this movie is truly all about. Zombie’s grindhouse style makes you feel dirty and disgusted through the entire 101 minute runtime. The score by Rob Zombie and Tyler Bates (“Watchmen”) tears through the speakers with a relentless pounding soundtrack that builds suspense until the very last bone chilling scream.
This movie is definitely not for everyone, especially dog lovers. With scenes of violence so intense, it shocks me that this was not rated NC-17. Those who just want to watch a violent slasher flick will get what they paid for. All others may be disappointed by the story’s attempt to bring a strange psychological approach which fails terribly and makes for moments that are pointless and uninteresting.
