Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif
Have I Seen it Before: Yes. After my initial reactions to Halloween (2007), I’m not entirely sure why I would subject myself to it, and I even remember having a good laugh at the fact that the first time I tried to watch it on disc, my PS3 refused to recognize the disc.
Almost as if it were trying to protect me.
Did I Like It: I think one of the big problems I had with Zombie’s original film was that for all of the hype of his “unique vision,” the film couldn’t help but just be a tinny, discordant retread of the really original Halloween (1978).
Can’t really say that about this one, now, can we?
If we really must deal with a Michael Myers (Mane) stripped of any of the artifice of previous films (indeed, he lurches through large portions of the film unmasked, an he even talks) then maybe, just maybe this is the best possible version of that interpretation? I’m tempted to say it is. I’m confident that this is a much better film than Zombie’s first attempt. I’m even pleased to say that Zombie’s largely kept his worst impulses under control, aside from a few moments.
The visual flourishes show a greater deal of imagination on Zombie’s part, and the violence is once again unflinching.
That might be the one problem I continue to have with Zombie’s attempts. The violence is unsettling, which is certainly a choice. It keeps us from being desensitized in our passive observation, but despite all of this, I can’t help but think Zombie still view Myers as the hero of the piece. He’s ready to tear apart every other character (sometimes literally) and make them angry, hateful version of their predecessors. Is there no hope—if even for catharsis—in a Rob Zombie movie? Is that the whole point?