Halloween

(2007)

directed by Rob Zombie

reviewed by Jonathan Rocks

12.5.07

Remaking any movie, especially one as revered as John Carpenter's "Halloween" is risky business and if you stay too true to the original people will fault you for not adding anything new to the story. However, if you stray too far from the original, you'll be crucified for ruining a classic film. What all of this boils down to is; you're better off not remaking such a classic film, regardless of how you go about it.

Rob Zombie's two previous films (“House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil's Rejects”) were very polarizing for audiences. They're dirty, gory, in your face terror films that revolve around a family of lunatic mass murderers. That may sound like the milieu of a director who would do "Halloween" justice, but Zombie's particular brand of filmmaking doesn't do much to distinguish his films from one another. In short: all of his movies are kind of the same schtick. Here is the formula...

Poor white trash + Lots of cursing - subtlety - a good script = A Rob Zombie Film

Now, I freely admit that his first two films have grown on me, though only after several viewings of each. But this one has tread upon some hallowed ground. We're talking Michael Myers, here. I simply cannot go along with his vision for this film. To me, and legions of horror fans, Michael Myers is not 7 feet tall... he just isn't. And the acting was just plain bad, most notably Young Michael Myers (Daeg Farch) and his mother (Zombie's wife Sheri). I think that this one should have been left alone as the greatest horror film of all time for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Zombie's movie holds not one, solitary scary moment.

Will I see another Rob Zombie film? Yes. Do I have expectations that he will ever make a truly great film? No. His reputation and Rock Star frame of mind taints his filmmaking to such a degree that by its very nature his work is tantamount to a rock video. Given his inclination toward fucked up families and gore, a more fitting remake for Zombie would have been “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, or better yet “The Hills have Eyes”. It's also worth mentioning that his constant use of horror icons in cameo roles has grown tired and distracting. Maybe if he would focus on getting better actors and not paying so much homage to older films, the quality of his own films would go up. Here's hoping.

Rating: 2 out of 5

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