Grade (B)
The origins of Michael Myers through the haunting mind of Rob Zombie, that resulted in a better than average reboot of a famous horror franchise.
Synopsis
At ten-years old Michael Myers was committed after killing his older sister, her boyfriend and his step-father. Seventeen-years later Myers escapes and returns to Haddonfield in search for his baby sister.
My Thoughts
Some may disagree but I found this remake of the famous horror icon to be a very entertaining one. Most of the films brush on the past in mere flashbacks but I really enjoyed how Zombie created a solid origin story for the mask wearing character. The source material is clearly taken in to account and holds a feel of solid inspiration for this script.
I have seen all the Halloween films and after a handful of the more recent ones have clearly failed to result in enjoyable tales, the character of Michael Myers has felt stale. Much like the other notable horror characters from the time-period, “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th” have both suffered from less than stellar remakes in recent years and it was nice to see this reboot do the original films some justice and not follow suit with the rest.
Taking the story of Michael Myers back to his childhood was a compelling move in my opinion and director/writer Rob Zombie was able to create an imaginative foundation to character and it could even tie in with the other entries. For me, I felt this film was able to fill in the blanks on some of the history of Myers and casting Daeg Faerch was an excellent move. He pulled off the role of a young Myers in convincing fashion and despite the horrific acts he takes part in you can feel bad for his position in a highly abusive family.
Malcolm McDowell was also very good, he brought a more grounded performance to this film that was basically filled with many traditional genre characters that lack substance. Also for a horror film I felt McDowell gave this film some legitimacy with his portrayal of Dr. Loomis, as the rest of the cast worked extremely well with him, in particular Faerch.
This was not an amazing horror film but it was a very good one in my opinion. Some of the recent Halloween films have come across as extremely campy and simply filling seats off name and character recognition alone. I can appreciate the creative effort taken into building a good story and I think for the most part it passed. I liked how the first-act felt like and extended introduction to who Myers was, then in the second-act the focal plot of the script begins similar to where the other films often started. In a way it felt like two movies in one and as a fan of the character I could appreciate the writing in this script.
The film also returned Myers to a more dangerous and violent tone with darker lighting and nice camerawork. For the first time in years I was watching a Halloween film and actually finding my interest pulled into the plot, the characters and the recreation of Michael Myers. I think Rob Zombie delivered a well shot remake of the famous horror icon and he did the source material justice. Some may not like it but even if you don’t enjoy it so much you can at least feel Zombie tried.