This truly isn't a remake of Halloween, it's almost a different perspective of what is pretty much the same story. Instead of Laurie Strode as the main character, we get Michael. This aspect of the film is both intriguing and disappointing. Instead of spending most of it's time on Halloween night, Zombie's film spends about half the time building up to Halloween. The additional material isn't bad, it's actually pretty good, but it pushes out some of the original material that probably should have been kept in. The film almost plays as a companion to the original, just bloodier, more shocking, but missing some of the mood.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes are spent with Michael as a child, we see the events leading up to his first Halloween night. This is interesting, but some of it feels like it could have been shortened to make time for other things. Daeg Faerch does a very good job of portraying young Michael, and steals some of the scariest moments of the film. Loomis's role is expanded and humanized; Malcolm McDowell makes the role his own and in turn creates something that doesn't feel like a rip off of the Pleasence character. We're treated to his break out from the asylum, which is actually done better than the original, the mental hospital scene always felt like the weakest in the original. Rob Zombie's Michael Myers is huge, Tyler Mane stands 6'8" and gives the character a much more human, angry feel.
The biggest fault is that we don't see Laurie Strode until close to 40 minutes into the movie. Halloween night is tragically compacted and therefore loses a great deal of it's pacing. The movie, in an attempt to keep the running time down feels rushed. The characters of Annie and Linda are shrunk down to fifteen minute rolls, most of which is spent naked. There is one scene that exploits the Michael is there, and then he isn't gag that the original used so effectively. Scout Taylor-Compton does a good job playing Laurie, unfortunately most of her screen time is spent screaming, what would have been her character development, apparently happens off screen. In the end, she isn't the main character, Michael is. Zombie, attempting to cover all the ground he had to and keep the movie under two hours cut out a lot of the long, eerie shots that kept the mood of the original in such a profound place.
Zombie makes up for this by doing what he does best. Killing people. It might sound sick, but the death scenes in this movie are spectacular. It is very much a Rob Zombie film, that means it's very bloody. That also means, that no one just dies. They get stabbed, they crawl a little bit and then they get stabbed again. Michael kills much more physically in this movie, the original Michael seemed to have impossible super human strength, in this one you can almost see the struggle. The death sequences in the movie are fairly well spread out, they happen in three big chunks, young Michael, Asylum, Halloween night, giving you just enough time to breathe before the next set begins. Just like all Zombie films, the movie ends powerfully, but not necessarily effectively.
Overall, Rob Zombie's Halloween is an uneven, but not at all bad attempt at "reimagining" the series. Unlike most horror films, this one could have afforded to be a bit longer and leave more room for mood. The first forty five minutes are very good, the last fifty of them are spent trying to cram a ninety minute movie in the alloted time. In the end, does it hold a candle to the original, no. But it does hold it's own and does a very good job at creating a very different but still frightening Michael Myers. It's leaps and bounds better than the sequels, but definitely falls short of the original. This is a must for Halloween, and Rob Zombie fans. The film is intense, fast pace, and fiercely entertaining. It's not cinematic masterpiece, but it's absolutely a worthy addition to the series, and might just start up a new one.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes are spent with Michael as a child, we see the events leading up to his first Halloween night. This is interesting, but some of it feels like it could have been shortened to make time for other things. Daeg Faerch does a very good job of portraying young Michael, and steals some of the scariest moments of the film. Loomis's role is expanded and humanized; Malcolm McDowell makes the role his own and in turn creates something that doesn't feel like a rip off of the Pleasence character. We're treated to his break out from the asylum, which is actually done better than the original, the mental hospital scene always felt like the weakest in the original. Rob Zombie's Michael Myers is huge, Tyler Mane stands 6'8" and gives the character a much more human, angry feel.
The biggest fault is that we don't see Laurie Strode until close to 40 minutes into the movie. Halloween night is tragically compacted and therefore loses a great deal of it's pacing. The movie, in an attempt to keep the running time down feels rushed. The characters of Annie and Linda are shrunk down to fifteen minute rolls, most of which is spent naked. There is one scene that exploits the Michael is there, and then he isn't gag that the original used so effectively. Scout Taylor-Compton does a good job playing Laurie, unfortunately most of her screen time is spent screaming, what would have been her character development, apparently happens off screen. In the end, she isn't the main character, Michael is. Zombie, attempting to cover all the ground he had to and keep the movie under two hours cut out a lot of the long, eerie shots that kept the mood of the original in such a profound place.
Zombie makes up for this by doing what he does best. Killing people. It might sound sick, but the death scenes in this movie are spectacular. It is very much a Rob Zombie film, that means it's very bloody. That also means, that no one just dies. They get stabbed, they crawl a little bit and then they get stabbed again. Michael kills much more physically in this movie, the original Michael seemed to have impossible super human strength, in this one you can almost see the struggle. The death sequences in the movie are fairly well spread out, they happen in three big chunks, young Michael, Asylum, Halloween night, giving you just enough time to breathe before the next set begins. Just like all Zombie films, the movie ends powerfully, but not necessarily effectively.
Overall, Rob Zombie's Halloween is an uneven, but not at all bad attempt at "reimagining" the series. Unlike most horror films, this one could have afforded to be a bit longer and leave more room for mood. The first forty five minutes are very good, the last fifty of them are spent trying to cram a ninety minute movie in the alloted time. In the end, does it hold a candle to the original, no. But it does hold it's own and does a very good job at creating a very different but still frightening Michael Myers. It's leaps and bounds better than the sequels, but definitely falls short of the original. This is a must for Halloween, and Rob Zombie fans. The film is intense, fast pace, and fiercely entertaining. It's not cinematic masterpiece, but it's absolutely a worthy addition to the series, and might just start up a new one.