By David Valdes
As are most horror films, the 2007 adaptation of HALLOWEEN is critic-proof. The type of person who enjoys director Rob Zombie knows what he is in store for: gratuitous violence, rampant sexuality and a general layer of filth smeared over the entire thing. Seriously readers, save time after this one for a long shower because this movie is dirty. But if you are a Rob Zombie fan, you already knew that.
What makes HALLOWEEN interesting is watching how Zombie works in the famous Michael Myers mythology while staying true to his trademark exploitation. The differences between Carpenter’s slasher/thriller and Zombie’s depraved romp are apparent from the get-go.
Where Carpenter's version began with a quick run-through of young Michael's massacre of his family, Zombie dedicates the entire first hour of his film to exploring the little boy's psyche. We get to know his family. His sorry excuse for a father figure is, as expected, an abusive drunk who regularly calls Michael a "faggot." Michael's mother (played by Zombie’s wife, Sheri Moon Zombie) is a weathered-looking stripper who works a lot but is at least a loving parent when she is with her son. Michael's oldest sister, we learn, is little more than a bratty sex-fiend.
We watch Michael get teased at school. We see him coddle animals but then torture and kill them. Never good signs. All of this build-up and back-story is engrossing because we know where it leads. But though it is no secret that young Michael will eventually slaughter his family, nothing can really prepare you for just how brutal those twenty minutes of this movie really are. Once the first hour or so of Michael back-story transitions into the Laurie Strode story, the film turns on the auto-pilot. Michael in the mask is scary but not as frightening as the unhinged little boy he used to be.
Zombie has a knack for going there and pushing the limits with violence and gore in his films but he outdoes himself here. His HALLOWEEN has very little of the unbearable suspense that made Carpenter's version so exhilarating to watch. Rather, Zombie relies on straight-forward storytelling peppered by extremely gory moments. You won’t find yourself covering your eyes in anticipation of something frightening to come so much as you’ll find yourself looking into your popcorn bucket to avoid the onscreen gore.
The so-to-speak money shots in Zombie’s HALLOWEEN are the ones that either explain or pay homage to classic elements of the original. For example, viewers are offered insight to why Myers wears his famous mask and where he got it. And listen for the very strategically used score made famous by Carpenter’s original. Moments like these are what make Zombie’s HALLOWEEN a good companion piece to the 1978 version.
On its own merit, HALOWEEN adds little to the horror genre, which has churned out plenty of better movies about disturbed children and serial killers. But this is a worth-seeing – if grimy – romp through familiar and remixed territory for fans of the Michael Myers franchise. Just save time for a shower afterward. You’ll need one.