Rocker turned writer-director Rob Zombie returns to the horror field with this visually ambitious and aggressively brutal follow-up to his 2007 reinvention of John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween. The 1981 sequel to the Carpenter film is completely ignored here (and for good reason) in favor of an extension of the central focus of Zombie’s Halloween, and all of his films, for that matter: the corruption at the heart of the nuclear family. Here, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor Compton) is attempting to heal the psychic wounds from her previous encounter with brother Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) by bonding with Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif, a pleasure to watch as always) and his daughter Anne (Danielle Harris, herself a vet from the original run of Halloween sequels). Her previous surrogate father, Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has forsaken his connection to Laurie by exploiting his connection to Michael with a tell-all book; meanwhile, Michael himself roams the lonely outskirts of Haddonfield, driven by visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a single-minded urge to bond with his sister at any cost.
Aesthetically, H2 is striking, thanks largely to the ashen color scheme by cinematographer Brandon Trost (Crank 2: High Voltage), which underscores the doom-laded spiral track each of the main characters seem to travel in the film. And Zombie is to be commended for venturing outside of his comfort zone–the grimy, pop-culture ironic, white trash environment his characters frequently inhabit–with the scenes between Michael and his mother. But again, his ambitions don’t meet with his abilities–Moon looks impressive, but her apocalyptic mutterings ring more silly than spectral, especially when she’s forced to play opposite an enormous pale horse (insert heavy-handed Biblical imagery here). Most fans will find these moments more tedious than inspired, and a distraction from the murders, which retain Zombie’s preference for mayhem. He succeeds in this department, but if the end result is a menu of ugly killings, the point of revamping the Halloween franchise is somewhat moot, since the threadbare follow-ups to the Carpenter original already achieved that goal. Zombie’s knack for offbeat casting remains his most inspired talent: Haddonfield is filled with cult icons like Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Margot Kidder, and Daniel Roebuck, who jostle for space with rough-hewn character players like Duane Whitaker, Mark Boone Junior, and Dayton Callie (Deadwood) and left-field cameos by Howard Hesseman and “Weird Al” Yankovic. –Paul Gaita
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January 29, 2006
#1
man i gt da first movie of halloween dat came out in 2008 or was it 2007 bt diz one gon be really gud cant wait to c it god yes i wanna c it cool
January 29, 2006
#2
Yes this movie sucked. What did you expect? It’s all been done before to death.
Zombie didn’t seem into it and who could blame him? It’s tired. Reading all the reviews of the whining and crying about particulars is great! Who would possibly get
upset at H2? Lives needed.
January 30, 2006
#3
Though I have yet seen Halloween II, but as an owner of Rob Zombie’s Halloween (Standard DVD) it amazes me ALL the negative comments an amateur of motion pictures one has to say. Have you even taken, in your life, a film course? Or actually just sat back and watched the film for more than just entertainment purposes? Hell, film critics who make money watching a film even watch the movie NOT for entertainment. And half of them don’t even comprehend what they are watching! So, next time you’re watching a movie, whether or not it is in the privacy of your own home or in a crowded theatre, even if it includes the horror genre, look beyond the film. The French were the FIRST to consider film a form of art! Try to understand what the director is saying in his film. Every motion picture has some message. And now, my friends, and now even some of my enemies, that is the FIRST RULE that they WILL teach you in any FILM SCHOOL!
January 30, 2006
#4
OK I have always thought that the most over rated and useless profession that ever existed is that of a movie critic. However after having just watched this movie I feel compelled to throw in my own opinion even though by my standards it makes me the fool.
First let me say I love the work of Rob Zombie. His movies have always stood out because of the outstanding cinematography excellent writing and most of all (for me anyway) is the fact that even the most twisted characters were genuinely likeable.
So this movie did not surprise me in that the cinematography and writing are up to his usual standards, however the most important ingredient in any movie is missing. In my own opinion this movie does not have one single likeable character or even one to sympathize with. I don’t know if RZ was trying to make Michael Myers into the sympathetic character by making every on else in the film so un likeable. If this was his intention he picked the wrong character to do this with as MM is by nature a mindless unfeeling killing machine, and who can sympathize with that ? Maybe its just me and I was supposed to like and feel for the female lead, but it wasn’t that I felt ambiguous toward her, I actually disliked her. If we were supposed to actually like any of these characters then this was the worst job of casting ever.
Anyway this is why I think movies critics are worthless pieces of s**t, because we all like different things and for someone to think that their opinion is that of the rest of us should tell you something about their inflated sense of self worth. After all back in the day many critics said “Gone with the wind” was a terrible movie. The only reason I wrote this is I’m pissed I spent $19 on the DVD. So thanks for reading this but if you did and you put any stock in what I say you are a mindless sheep.
January 30, 2006
#5
It’s not the movie that’s terrible it’s the people posting poor reviews that’s terrible maybe they should be killed as brutal as michael meyers killings were in this masterpiece!