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Halloween (2007) Starring: Daeg Faerch, Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell by Richard Leigh 
It is now 30 years since John Carpenter originally came out with his haunting 'Halloween' film, during which time there have been many sequels released (7 in total) and countless copycat films. The last film in the series was Rick Rosenthal's disappointing 2002 release 'Halloween Resurrection'. Michael Myers no longer seemed scary, and the 'Halloween' series seemed to be on its last legs. On the 4th of June 2006 it was announced that Rob Zombie would begin work on the next instalment in the series; a remake of the original 1978 film. Zombie would write, direct, produce, and serve as music supervisor also in order to reinvent the character of Michael Myers and once more inject a fear of the psychotic killer into the films audience.
Rob Zombie's previous two films 'House of 1000 Corpses' and 'The Devil's Rejects' had been brutally gory, and I for one failed to see how Zombie was ever going to do this classic horror film justice. I just couldn't see Zombie's cinematic style working with a mainstream horror success such as 'Halloween' and fully believed that this remake was destined to be a disaster. Despite my belief that this would be the case, when the film came to be released I just couldn't go without watching it. I was intrigued to see what Rob Zombie had made of my favourite horror film of all time, and was interested in discovering his take on the character of Michael Myers. On Halloween, in the quiet suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois; a ten year old boy named Michael Myers is committed to Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitarium having brutally murdered his mother's boyfriend, his own sister, and her boyfriend also. Young Michael is here placed under the supervision of Dr. Loomis, and for the next fifteen years spends his life in total silence. Plans are made for Michael to be transported to a maximum security prison, however he escapes from the institution and returns to Haddonfield in order to track down his youngest sister Laurie. When Dr. Loomis discovers that Myers has escaped, he knows exactly where he'll be heading and quickly makes tracks for Haddonfield himself. I went in to the cinema trying to keep an open mind about this film, and although I believed that Rob Zombie would not do a particularly good job of this remake I was more than prepared to give the film a chance. I'm actually really glad that I did as this 2007 remake of 'Halloween' is in fact an incredible piece of cinema. I must say however that when you watch this film, it's important that you realise it's going to be a lot different to Carpenter's 1978 original due to Zombie's distinctly different visual style. Whereas in the original film Michael Myers was a six year old boy, it's important to note here that this time round Myers is ten. This is an important difference I feel and is what allows Zombie to give such a different take on the characterisation of Myers. This Michael Myers is having a tough time of things at home with his mother's boyfriend, and is also subjected to great bullying whilst at school. Myers is also extremely uncomfortable with his image and from a young age develops a personal obsession with hiding behind a mask. Zombie here offers an explanation as to why Myers may have turned out the way he did and became such a murderous silent slasher. Increasing the age of Myers here has allowed Zombie to give depth to the character which perhaps could not have been given had he kept the age the same. I found this 2007 remake highly intriguing as a result of the explanation given as to why Myers turned out the way he did and found this to be a greatly appealing aspect about the film. A large proportion of this film is dedicated to this factor which was not apparent in the original film, and I found it utterly engaging to watch Myers character develop and to be given some understanding as to why he becomes such a psychopathic killer. We are given a whole new angle on the character of Michael Myers, and in a way feel sorry for him and the way in which he is treated as a child. This sympathy is short lived however as Michael Myers is an extremely cold being and as the film progresses it becomes increasingly more difficult to feel anything but contempt for this being of pure evil. Whereas in the original film the brutality of Michael's murders was implied and not always shown, his murderous rampage here is always depicted with a high level of realism. The way in which Michael murders his victims means that there is a lot of bleeding as a result, and Zombie has no qualms about showing this to us. Zombie does not feel the need to resort to big budget special effects and instead chooses to keep things simple. The deaths are cold and extremely realistic, however are simply shot and this I feel has worked extremely well here. The brutality of it all is not a pretty sight, however I definitely feel that it does increase the realism of the film and therefore in a way it also increases my enjoyment as you go away from the film with a harsh memory of the depiction of bloody deaths that you have just seen on screen, rather than just a distant memory of an emotionless masked murderer. Rob Zombie's aim of making Michael Myers a frightening killer again has certainly worked here I feel, and just like the original is a film full of scares. This is an extremely dark film, and the fear factor comes through extremely clearly here courtesy of Tyler Mane; the man behind the mask of Michael Myers. I feel however that special mention should definitely go to Daeg Faerch who plays the ten year old Myers. His performance is terrific here, and he is extremely convincing in his portrayal of a young boy who has clearly been driven to the edge through his bad treatment. Faerch I feel is a young actor with a massive future ahead of him as an actor. Played by Malcolm McDowell, it can't have been easy acting the part of Dr. Samuel Loomis which originally of course was the role of Donald Pleasence. Pleasence sadly passed away in 1995, however was simply stunning in his part and was an extremely well accomplished actor. McDowell definitely does his best in the film, however the scripting for the part it would seem has been changed significantly by Zombie for this film and in turn this part comes across a lot weaker than it had done in the original. I feel McDowell does all that he can with the script that he has been given, however the part does not allow for him to be sensational in his performance. Despite some of Dr. Loomis lines having been changed, I would say that for the most part the scripting is pretty much the same in this remake. Although the first 45 minutes of the film focus on what was not written into the first film, so of course the scripting here is all entirely new; a lot of the stand out lines from the original are still present in the second half of this remake and this is great to see. Given the disastrous consequences of some of the changes to Dr. Loomis lines, I'm eternally thankful that the majority of the best lines from the original are present here, and it really gives the film a great air of familiarity. It's nice to see that Zombie was trying to give the film his own individual touch with the changes to script he made, but in truth it is when he uses the original 1978 scripting that the second half of this film works best. The one problem that people may see with this film is that although the first half of the film gives us a whole new perspective of Michael Myers and offers an explanation as to why he turned out the way he did, in terms of plot progression the second half is entirely identical to the original and we get somewhat of a feeling of deja vu. As a viewer we feel slightly cheated in a sense, in that the first half has been so different and offered us so much, whereas the second half merely goes back to the original formula with a story that those who have seen the 1978 film will already know. In a sense it is good that the story structure has been kept the same though I feel as had Zombie altered the way in which the film progresses in the latter stages then there may have been extreme public outcry from fans of the original claiming that Zombie had spoilt a classic horror film. Although I feel that this Rob Zombie remake will not appeal to everyone, I found the film to be highly enjoyable and believe that Zombie has done 'Halloween' proud here. Whilst in the original, it was more about suspense than forefronting blood and gore; here Zombie manages to portray great suspense and also provides us with plenty of gore so really we get the best of both worlds. Carpenter's original music score has been kept here, and it is in my opinion used to great effect. This remake is entirely different to the original in terms of style and format, and I feel that this benefits the film massively as rather than rehashing the original and lacking in inspiration, 'Halloween' is entirely reinvented by Rob Zombie and is thus kept fresh and exciting. If you're worried about watching this film because of the factor of it being a remake then don't be; Rob Zombie's 'Halloween' is well worth a watch, and gives the film a whole new level of understanding through the characterisation of Michael Myers and the way in which this progresses the film. Zombie makes this film his own, and I would without a doubt recommend this film to anyone. If you're a fan of the original and are putting off seeing this film for whatever reason then I would advise that you stop avoiding this great remake and get to watching it as soon as possible. This is by far Rob Zombie's best film yet.  Rating: 5 out of 5 Details about the film: |
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