Credit Rob Zombie for at least this much - he opted to offer a different perspective on John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic Halloween rather than to simply update it. The problem is not that his new take fails to improve upon the original story, but that it detracts from it in crucial ways. While this was perhaps predictable, it is nonetheless disappointing.
Zombie's biggest miscalculation is in providing a more detailed look at Michael Myers' early life in an abusive and low-class household. Not only does this demystify the character - for part of what made the original so great was that Myers was seemingly as blank as his iconic spray-painted William Shatner mask - but it reduces him to a clichéd white trash psychopath. He is picked on at school, tortures animals, and lives with a dysfunctional family right out of Central Casting (mom is a pole dancer with a heart of gold; older sister Judith is predictably mean and slutty; live-in boyfriend Ronnie is abusive and alcoholic).
After spending entirely too much time focusing on the buildup to Myers' brutal rampage, the middle of the film shows Michael under the care of child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis (the venerable Malcolm McDowell, inheriting the role from the late Donald Pleasence). While this portion sags considerably, it is made somewhat interesting in that Michael seems to be vaguely aware of the ugliness and evil lurking at his core but is either unable or unwilling to stop it from completely engulfing him.
The adult Myers' escape from Smith's Grove Sanitarium, as with all of the murder scenes in this movie, is considerably more graphic than in the original. And it is at this point that the film loses its last vestiges of originality and becomes nothing but a pale imitation.
Article comments
1 - boo
This movie was great.Thats all i can say