Before the release of Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of Halloween, the franchise was in a state of flux. The last film of the franchise, 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection, was rightfully destroyed by critics and fans alike and even though it was technically successful (the film grossed $30.3 million a $13 million budget), it was clear that the franchise was in an uncertain place.
I attended the “Halloween: 40 Years of Terror” convention last weekend and during the panel for the 2007 remake, Malek Akkad revealed that Halloween 9 was the next logical plan for the franchise. He stated that one of the obstacles was that a few people took a crack at a new installment but no one could really find a direction that particularly worked. The other obstacle was of a more personal nature. Moustapha Akkad, Malek’s father, and producer behind the Halloween franchise, was tragically killed, along with Malek’s sister, in the 2005 Amman bombings. Malek told the crowd that this tragic turn of events made him have to take a very understandable break from developing a new film in order to focus on his family.
When Malek was ready to get back into it, the decision was clear that a reset was needed to make the franchise fresh again. The remake horror craze hit a fever pitch in 2003 when The Texas Chainsaw Massacre found great success with audiences, so it only made sense that Halloween would eventually get the same treatment.
When I first heard that they were remaking Halloween, I became an instant naysayer. 1978’s Halloween is not only one of my favorite horror films but it’s one of my favorite movie periods and, in my eyes, it’s perfect just the way it is. Some classics you just don’t touch and I fell into the camp that believed that any kind of remake of Halloween would do it no justice.
My skepticism continued with the announcement of Rob Zombie as the film’s director. I wasn’t a fan of his 2003 film, House of 1000 Corpses but I did get a kick out of its follow up, The Devil’s Rejects. Even having enjoyed the latter film, Zombie’s style didn’t suggest he could offer up subtle suspense. He’s a very in your face director and clearly likes to revel in excess, gore, and violence. Needless to say, he doesn’t seem to go by the statement, less is more.
I’ve seen the 2007 remake countless times since its initial release but I hadn’t watched it in maybe 3 years before watching it again for this review. I really wondered if my disapproval of the film would lessen or would I still stand my ground and insist that this isn’t how a Halloween film should be made. Where I’ve come out of it as I write this review is that there are some solid moments, great visuals and an iota of suspense BUT his approach just isn’t my cup of tea. The remake is his film and he has every right to take ownership of it but Zombie’s brand of trailer trash drama and discord doesn’t seem to really mesh with the Halloween brand. I will say this movie feels like a Halloween film and that it’s not a misguided dumpster fire like its follow up. Zombie attempts to maintain some semblance of Halloween in this remake but the end result is disjointed and a film that is suffering from an identity crisis.
When we first meet Michael (Daeg Faerch), he is bullied at home and at school. His mother, Deborah (Sherri Moon Zombie), is not an ideal parent and her live-in boyfriend, Ronnie (William Forsythe), is no better. One Halloween day, Michael loses it. He puts on a clown mask and ambushes a school nemesis. Next, he uses a kitchen knife to eliminate Ronnie. Following that, he takes a baseball bat to his older sister’s boyfriend. Finally, it’s upstairs to sink a knife into her abdomen. The only ones to survive the massacre are his mother, who isn’t home at the time, and his infant sister, Laurie. Michael ends up confined for life in the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium under the care of Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Loomis at first tries to reach Michael but as the human boy retreats behind a curtain of darkness, he realizes there is no hope.
Fifteen years later, on Halloween, Michael (now Tyler Mane) escapes from Smith’s Grove and heads for Haddonfield. There, his sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), is scheming with her friends about all the naughty things they’ll do that night. Laurie and her best buddy, Annie (Danielle Harris), are both babysitting. Since virginal Laurie has no boyfriend, Annie decides to pawn her babysitting duties off on Laurie so she can have some alone time with her boyfriend. Things turn ugly when Michael shows up, with Loomis hot on his heels. Michael racks up an impressive body count before he finally comes face-to-face with his baby sister. The reunion obviously doesn’t go well.
Zombie’s film isn’t exactly a straight remake and this is where fans of the film and those who aren’t, tend to be divided. I believe that giving Michael Myers too much of a motivation for why he kills dilutes him of a lot of the fear he’s capable of inducing. In the first film, he’s the embodiment of evil and isn’t driven by conscience or reason. He is fear personified in flesh and that’s what makes him so scary. I’m also not a fan of the forced motivations that were given to him in Halloween II with the Laurie is his sister reveal. It’s not a glaring plot twist but it robs him of his mystique.
Zombie goes even further with giving Michael motivations for his eventual killing spree and it all goes back to his childhood and upbringing. Nearly 45 minutes is devoted to Michael as a child and that 45 minutes is mostly a miss for me. The characters are all unlikable, with maybe the exception of Michael’s mother Deborah. I think Rob Zombie attempted to dive into the psyche of this character and look into why his circumstances turn him into this silent killer but Zombie doesn’t approach the subject with much depth. Also serving as the writer on the project, Zombie doesn’t have a skill for enticing dialogue that digs deep and makes you think. A lot of the plot threads during the first 45 minutes feel like they should be taking place in one of his own films not one associated with the Halloween franchise.
The present-day action in Haddonfield has elements of the 1978 film you know and love but it has been condensed by a third to accommodate the introduction of young Michael and his transition into the killer who breaks out and heads back home. This area of the film is of the hit or miss variety. Visually, it’s much more arresting than the drab palette Zombie works with during the first 45 minutes. He does a good job making it look like smalltown USA and while the look isn’t an exact replica of the original film, it’s a nice homage. It helps that, even though he didn’t use the exact locations from the ’78 film, he did still choose spots in South Pasadena, California where most of the original were filmed.
There is also the sense of familiarity at times that makes the present day scenes intriguing. There are some callbacks to the original and shots that are replicated and it definitely engages the nostalgic factor that makes this half of the movie much easier to digest. By this point, you’re just happy that it kind of feels like a Halloween film finally.
The nostalgia for the first film also works against the remake as well. A few iconic lines and situations are recaptured by Zombie on a few occasions but a lot of them fall flat because it feels like a pale imitation. Often when Zombie is recreating material directly from John Carpenter, it feels obligatory. Many of the memorable scenes and lines are there: the “ghost” haunting Lynda, Laurie’s run from one house to another away from Michael to the locked door, Dr. Loomis’ warning that “death has come to your little town,” and Laurie’s question about whether Michael is the boogeyman. All of these serve only to remind us that Zombie’s vision is inferior to Carpenter’s.
Much of the problem with Zombie’s take on Halloween is the characters. It’s saying a lot when Michael Myers may be the more likable character in the film. Playing him as a child, Daeg Faerch doesn’t have the capable chops to convey what’s really going on with Michael but we feel bad for him because his situation is savage and unlivable. By the time Tyler Mane takes on “The Shape”, he doesn’t utter a word but given the backstory Zombie gives him, there are moments, particularly when he tries to share an old photo of Laurie as a baby with his frightened sister, that you might want to just reach out and give the guy a hug. I’m exaggerating a tad but our would be killer is surrounded by would be victims that aren’t worth rooting for. This is especially problematic with Laurie and Dr. Loomis. In the original film, Annie and Lynda were the naughty counterbalances to Laurie’s more innocent sensibilities. In the remake, while Laurie is still the virginal one of the group, she isn’t categorized any different from her friends. She’s just as shrill and insufferable and that’s not what you want from your final girl. You want to cheer for her survival and not shrug with indifference if she were to bite the dust.
Malcolm McDowell, an accomplished actor in his own right, is failed by the writing for Dr. Loomis. Donald Pleasence gave the character nuance that suggested he once thought he could help Michael but ultimately decides that there is no helping him. Pleasence was able to convey that without feeling like he had given up. McDowell on the other hand, at least how the character is written, makes Loomis feel like a grumpy old man who can’t seem to be bothered. He lacks the subtle likability that Pleasence was able to give Loomis with limited screen time. McDowell’s Loomis definitely gets more exposure but you really don’t want to spend the extra time with him.
To elaborate on Tyler Mane as Michael, while I’m not a fan of these hulking behemoth individuals take on the role, he does attack the role with the proper aggression. Nothing about what he does feels wrong and a lot of what works during the second half of the film is because of him. He’s not the best incarnation of The Shape, but he certainly holds his own.
Zombie makes liberal use of Carpenter’s Halloween music (both the main title and the secondary themes). However, one could argue that he doesn’t use it enough. The contributions by Tyler Bates are out-of-place. His work is generic action movie music and doesn’t belong in a horror film. Every time a Carpenter composition plays, it feels like Halloween. The rest of the time, this could be any run-of-the-mill slasher film. The Devil’s Rejects 2, perhaps? I will give credit to the Nan Vernon cover of “Mr. Sandman” that plays over the end credits which definitely sets the proper mood.
Seeing Danielle Harris back in the franchise is also a highlight. Harris, who played Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4 and 5, is a welcomed fan favorite and there is some delight getting to see her come in contact with Michael once again, albeit, as a different character. Malek Akkad stated during last week’s convention that Rob Zombie had no clue Harris was in Halloween 4 or 5 and that he was the one that wanted to get her back into the Halloween fold. Zombie happened to like her audition and when he found out about her Halloween connection after he cast her, he thought it was a fun little coincidence.
It’s been over 10 years since this film was released and while I’ve softened a tad on a few moments, the end result is still something that represents what Halloween isn’t. This is all brutality and no atmosphere. It’s relentless but in all the wrong ways. I do believe that Zombie had good intentions by taking this on the way he saw fit, but the dueling movies that exist don’t become cohesive. It’s 50% John Carpenter and 50% Rob Zombie and it’s a union that doesn’t mix well.
