Halloween DVD Review

Leave it to Rob Zombie to provide a sympathetic back story for Michael Myers. In fact, there’s so much back story to this remake that it could almost be considered a prequel.

The original Halloween, John Carpenter’s masterpiece of horror that spawned a slew of sequels, also made Michael Myers one of the most recognizable bad guys ever to slash victims.

Zombie, who has already proven he’s a fan of the horror genre, although he does tend to push the boundaries (watch House Of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects if you don’t know what I’m talking about), provides a lighter touch in Halloween, and it works.

In fact, there are very few remakes that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the originals, among them The Hills Have Eyes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween can now be added to that list.

You know the story—or you think you do. But this time, Zombie spends almost half the film filling in the sordid details of Michael Myers’ (played brilliantly by Daeg Faerch) childhood. Going back to when the boy is 10 years old, Zombie shows us his unhappy home life, with his stripper/mother Deborah (played by Zombie’s wife Sheri Moon Zombie) and her live-in drunk boyfriend Ronni (played with perfect creepiness by William Forsyth). Promiscuous older sister Judith (played by Hanna Hall) and a newborn sister are also there.

Because Michael is exhibiting strange behavior (wearing masks all the time–explaining the mask years later, killing small animals, etc.), in steps Dr. Sam Loomis (played by Malcolm McDowell), who tries to warn Ms. Myers of the potential storm brewing under her roof. Without giving away any surprises, Myers eventually gets locked up and is under the care of Loomis.

Fast forward years later and he is a grown man (played by former professional wrestler Tyler Mane). Just like in the original film, he gets out and goes back to Haddonfield, on Halloween, where he tracks down his sister Laurie Strode (played by Scout Taylor-Compton).

Zombie casts a lot of familiar faces in the film, such as scary Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1,000 Corpses), as well as happier faces along the lines of Dee Wallace (E.T., Cujo, “My Name Is Earl”), Mickey Dolenz (best known as the drummer of The Monkees), and Clint Howard (“My Name Is Earl”, “Arrested Development”).

Sticking close to the original script, Zombie continues the theme that sex is bad and being virginal/virtuous is good, as he ensures that the promiscuous teens get caught in the worst way possible, while the virtuous/virginal Laurie remains unscathed (no surprise here, as she also survived in the original slasher).

The unrated/extended version I saw includes a rape scene, done as tastefully as a rape scene in a horror film can be done.

The film itself is presented in 2.35.1 aspect, with audio in English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, optional subtitles available in Spanish and closed captioning provided in English.

As far as scary goes, this remake doesn’t add much to the story that viewers already know. I like that the remake is given a contemporary quality–it’s not trying to be 70s, because the kids here have cell phones, and the clothing is up to date. What’s most interesting in this remake is the addition of what we did not know—what Zombie shows us of Michael’s life as a young boy, and how he came to be the killer he is now.