August 31, 2007 Halloween Rating: R for strong bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
It's always a risk when classic movies are remade but writer/director Rob Zombie didn't let that stop him from putting a new spin on a famous horror flick.
And the end result is a little bit of a trick and a treat.
So, here's the problem Zombie had when he decided to tackle "Halloween." If he remakes John Carpenter's classic with the original's plot and story fans would tear the movie apart because it would be too familiar.
But, if he goes in a radically different direction then fans would tear the movie apart because it would be too unfamiliar.
He really couldn't win with this movie, but with that in mind Zombie's "Halloween" succeeds on at least a couple of levels.
Of course, Michael Myers is the bad guy. Institutionalized as a child because of a brutal spree of violence Myers has spent most of his life in an asylum. But years after his attacks Michael decides Halloween night is the perfect time to commit more mayhem.
So he busts out the asylum and heads back to the old neighborhood to look up a few "friends."
There are certain things you can't mess with in a "Halloween" movie and one of them is the famous mask. Yes, we get a good look at the "William Shatner-esque" white mask Myers dons as he embarks on his killing spree.
There is plenty of blood and murder in this edition of "Halloween." Horror fans who enjoy their movies with more than a touch of violence will be pleased.
But Zombie falls short when he tries to explain why Michael Myers is the way he is. We get the origin story we really don't need or want. To me, Myers is much more scary when he's just an unstoppable killing machine. Once we see the reasons behind his murderous rampages they lose a little of their impact.
In this movie Myers become just another psychotic killer, instead of the mysterious faceless force of evil he is in the original.
Tyler Mane portrays Myers as an adult and certainly has the physical presence to make you believe the guy would be very dangerous. Malcolm McDowell is Dr. Samuel Loomis, the psychiatrist who spends years trying to help Michael. McDowell does a nice job in a role in which his character is destined to fail.
Zombie turns up the intensity and delivers a brutal film for today's hardened movie audience. But he loses what the essence of Michael Myers is. Call this movie anything but "Halloween" and I would have liked it a lot more. But since it's a remake of such a great film it has a lot to live up to, and unfortunately falls a bit short.
On my rating scale, "Halloween" earns a Double.
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