Rob Zombie's Halloween: A Thoughtless, Dull, Slasher Flick
The focus of the new Halloween is an emotionless and featureless psychopath (Michael Myers) who goes around killing anyone he runs across. There's very little suspense and what there is takes place in short bursts during the last 15 minutes of the movie. The killer has no intriguing philosophical reasons for wanting to see so many people dead. He has no signature killing method (unless you call stabbing his victims when he happens to find a knife his signature). There are no investigators trying to track him down, discover his identity, or even get to his next victim before he does. Basically, there's nothing at all to think about while you watch the movie.
The little bit of credit I can give Rob Zombie's Halloween in terms of plot is that he spends the first 15 to 20 minutes of the movie demonstrating the twisted family and psychological dysfunction that has created such a deranged killer. The child-version of Michael Myers demonstrates believable acting and his family background is disturbingly realistic enough that you can't imagine anything good coming out of it. But that's the most I can say. When Michael Myers becomes an adult in the first third of the movie, he never says another word, nor does he have any emotional or psychological characteristics whatsoever. He's simply a dirty, hulking killer with an ugly mask.
And that sums up Halloween. If you want to watch blood pouring out of people or heads getting smashed in for no reason at all, then this is your movie. But that's all there is to it. There is nothing original, no suspense, no fleshed-out character conflicts, or anything else to redeem such a movie.
The acting in Halloween is sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good, but never horrible enough to make the movie enjoyably cheesy. The effects and camera work are basically the same. The one area in which the movie might shine is the very believable and authentic dialogue that takes place in about the first half of the movie, especially the teenage characters. I could pretty well imagine those characters in those situations saying those words, and it's better done than a lot of other movies which portray teenagers. Unfortunately, it's all for naught among the completely unredeemable qualities of the movie as a whole.
You may not want to take my opinion for it because slasher films are definitely not my favorite genre. But from any standards I can imagine, Halloween is utterly pointless and unenjoyable. It definitely deserves a thumb's down.
Published by Adam Willard
I'm 28, happily married with our first baby boy. I'm a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in South Africa from 2008-2010 and now I'm living with my family in Madagascar, serving as Christian missiona... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a Commenti am from greece and i still haven't seen the ROB ZOMPIE movie,not yet on release.i hope it would be better than the first one.the only thing that i could see was screeming throughout it with no suspense.who is deeply recommented?
I thought that of this film as well, and that is why I have not seen it yet, I saw the original Halloween, and believe me when I say that nothing beats the original.
i´ve been a true Halloween and MM fan since i first saw the original 2 movies part 1 & 2, i bought my MM mask at a hallmark store on the early 90's and i still use it almost every halloween to scare trick or treater's off my front door ..... the rob zombie version SUCKS....im stickyng with the classics.....
I don't think anyone is going to say this Halloween, or any of the sequels, can match the original. However, let me play Devil's Advocate.
Anyone who has seen the original and R. Zombie's version knows this Michael Myers could kick the crap out of the original MM. I mean this Mr. Myers is bigger, faster, more brazen, and way more dangeroous than the older MM. Rob Zombie at times almost makes one identify with/feel sorry for MM, which is weird as MM is a psychopathic killer. Without giving the movie away, the last 30 seconds were very well done.
If I were remaking Halloween . . . I would focus more on the descent of Dr. Loomis. In Halloween 1-7 he grows more dark and obsessed. This version and the older one showed that a bit. I mean what Dr. shoots his patient, or what psych uses the word "evil"?
I think alot of people expect WAY too much out of a slasher film - including Halloween. It simply is a movie that showcases slashings; part of the fun is seeing the cool ways people
As a horror movie lover, I would like to thank you for seeing the film. Not a lot of people would do that. I agree that the film was sub-par and well below what I hoped it would be. I expected more out of Rob Zombie. However, allow me to tell you the aspects that I thought were smart and well-done. Rob Zombie used Danielle Harris to play Laurie's friend, Annie. Danielle starred in Halloween 4 as Michael's neice who he hunted throughout the film. I remember seeing her and knowing exactly who she was right away. Also, I enjoyed seeing a modern day reinactment of the abuse that Michael went through as a child. The portrayal was so much more graphic and real than the picture painted by John Carpenter, simply because of a change in the times. The abuse was probably the same but we were actually able to hear the language and see all of the graphic images that Michael lived with as a child. Also, I enjoy learning as much as I can about why villains do what they do. One of the thin
agreed. i love the original. the new one was TERRIBLE. Rob Zombie needs to quit now!
I remember seeing an interview w/ Rob Zombie and he was attempting to do a sort of backdrop of the whole Michael Myers history which was supposed to bring us closer to understanding the person of MM. What can I say, give a guy a camera and a budget and no one knows how it will come out in the end.
Rob Zombie was not the right person to take this on. Being a horror movie fan doesn't make you a good director. He should have stuck with music.
I thought the movie explained a lot, as well as Dr. Loomis and the town sheriff did attempt to track Laurie and her adoptive parents before they could be killed by Michael. This movie was more of an explanational thriller than just a thriller. I actually was pleased to learn of the childhood of Michael as it helped to reveal his later actions. Good job at writing your beliefs, but I must say that I disagree with them.
My kids and I have always loved the original Halloween movie and my daughters wanted to see this new flick. They were really dissapointed. Thanks for the review.