Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)
For all the bitching, I did about this remake of one of my 50 favorite films of all time. Yes, My inevitable review of Rob Zombie’s Halloween is here. This is Rob Zombie’s revision of John Carpenter’s classic film. The film focuses on a young kid named Michael Myers, who murdered three people including his sister and his mother’s boyfriend (William Forsythe).
Sixteen years later, he is institutionalized in a mental hospital where he escapes. He (Tyler Mane) then, returns to the town of Haddonfield to stalk a shy teenager who is his younger sister (Scout Taylor-Compton) and her friends (Danielle Harris, Kristina Klebe). Soon his doctor (Malcolm McDowell) tracks him down and must stop his killing spree before he kills the only living family member left. Sherri Moon Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects), Brad Dourif (Child’s Play, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) and Danny Trejo (Grindhouse, From Dusk to Dawn) co-star in the film. There are a lot of horror icons that make either make cameos in the film including Dee Wallace Stone (The Howling), Richard Lynch (Bad Dreams), Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man), Udo Kier (Shadow of the Vampire) and Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects).
For whining that I made about this film, before I’ve seen it. I sadly take back everything I said about this film pre-release because it surprised me that I really liked this film. Rob Zombie, a director that I vowed to never to see any of his films again after seeing the first fifteen minutes of his first film House of 1,000 Corpses, I also take that statement back. I’m surprised that he did a very good job with this film, especially the first part of the film, where it was mostly a psychological horror film. I thought his screenplay did deliver on the scares and suspense, while adding grindhouse elements to the film. He made Michael Myers more human like unlike the original film, which helped the film be different, in my opinion. Also I liked how the movie ended abruptly, as there is probably no room for sequel to this reincarnation, which is good.
I thought the acting in this was very good. I thought both Malcolm McDowell and Scout Taylor-Compton bought different things to the roles compared to the original. I thought McDowell brought a more sinister look to the Dr. Loomis while Taylor-Compton brought more of an innocent and scared look to Laurie Strode. Another person who surprised me in this project was Sherri Moon Zombie. Besides being the wife of Rob Zombie, who knew that she could act. She really nailed her role down, as Deborah Myers. Her scenes with young Michael were great.
While this was different from the original version from John Carpenter’s Halloween (which I still think it’s better than this), Rob Zombie does deliver on the frighten aspects of Michael Myers. Rob Zombie’s Halloween will not be a disappointment to those fans that love the original.
4 Stars
Unrated
121 Mins
Hatchet
Hatchet is a film that has been gaining a lot of buzz online and support from various horror publications. The film is about a two friends (Deon Richards who are in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They deicide to go on a haunted swamp tour for night of fun, but a mysterious man named Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder) is going to turn their trip into a gruesome nightmare. Horror legends, Robert England (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon) Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination) also co-stars in this film.
Hatchet was a very frightening film. The film lives up to one of its taglines “Old School American Horror”. The film’s director Adam Green does a great job in setting up the characters, by building up the characters in the first half-hour. He also puts in a little humor during that time which helped set up the characters. The acting was good, along with the production value, as it didn’t feel like your typical low-budget horror film.
I’m looking very forward to Adam Green’s next film Spiral, in which he co-directs with Joel Moore. I highly urge you to check out Hatchet this weekend, at your local video store, so were not subject to needless remakes and dreaded PG-13 horror films.
5 Stars
Rated R
83 Mins
No comments:
Post a Comment