With Michael Myers about to return to our screens yet again next week, now would be a good time to look back at the rest of the Halloween films... Only, I already did that last year, so instead I thought I'd look back at the last time Michael Myers made a dramatic return to our screens. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm revisiting Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween. Released in 2007, 5 years after Halloween: Resurrection seemingly killed the franchise, Zombie's iteration of the film sought to explore Michael Myers' backstory while simultaneously re-telling the story of the original. The film was different to say the least, and Zombie certainly made it his own, overall however it's often considered a lackluster remake to say the least. But recently I revisited Zombies version of Halloween, and while it's definitely a very flawed film, I feel as though it's not without its merits either.
Before Zombie made the film, John Carpenter gave him permission to do his own thing instead of retreading everything Carpenter did in the original. With this in mind, Zombie set out to delve into the childhood of Michael Myers, exploring the events that shaped him into the killer he is, before picking up with Laurie Strode and co. in modern day Haddonfield. Now Rob Zombie is a filmmaker that you either love or you hate, his style is unique to say the least, and he never really holds back when it comes to explicit content. Halloween is no different, and Zombie applies all of the greasy, white-trash aesthetic and hardcore violence of his previous efforts to this slasher remake.
Now a lot of people take issue with how Zombie chooses to explore so much of Michael's backstory, essentially bringing too much humanity to the stone-cold killer. I actually enjoy the flashback sequences, and I'll explain why in a minute, but for me the problem is that they lead to some serious pacing issues. The whole first half of the film is all young Michael, before abruptly plunging us into the present day and rushing into the events of Laurie's arc. It feels very uneven and the transition between the two can be quite jarring. However, what I do like about this new origin story is how it keeps Michael grounded once again. A lot of the Halloween sequels made such a mess of Michael's backstory, in an overly-convoluted origin involving pagan rituals and an enigmatic cult. Zombie retconned all of that and instead went for a much more grounded approach to the killers origin. This time around, Michael is simply a troubled young boy who is frequently bullied by his peers, his sister, and his stepfather (hilariously played by Michael Forsythe). While he has a close relationship with his mother (Sheri-Moon Zombie) and infant sister, he is a fairly lonely child who already displays the early signs of a serial killer.
This new origin brings Myers back down to Earth, and in a way feels somewhat refreshing after the sequels over-complicated his backstory. But this isn't the only change Zombie makes as he ensures to inject his own style into this remake as well, and the results are actually hilarious at times, whether it was intentional or not. Zombie relishes in vulgar dialogue and doesn't hold back here, William Forsythe gets to deliver some of the most memorable of these lines ("I will crawl over there and skull-fuck you!") in a bizarre role as Michael's stepdad Ronnie. The dialogue and script in general is laughable at times, but a lot of it is so bizarre and so unusual that you can't help but go along with it. As well as that, like any Rob Zombie film most of the characters look like they're rednecks and have long, greasy hair, for whatever reason that is. At times it feels as though he would rather be remaking Texas Chainsaw Massacre than Halloween. Regardless, it's a unique take on the Myers mythos to say the least, and if you're willing to sit back and have a laugh then trust me, you'll have a great time.
The best thing about Zombie's film however, is by far the casting. While Scout Taylor-Compton is okay as Laurie and some of the supporting cast fall a little flat, Malcolm McDowell was without a doubt the perfect choice to play Dr. Loomis. Just as persistent as Donald Pleasance, with a little hint of arrogance, McDowell's version of Loomis is the MVP of this remake and it's much more his story than it is Laurie's. He has a genuine connection to Michael and the moments where he blames himself for failing the killer as a child are actually quite compelling. As well as McDowell, Brad Dourif makes for a very likeable Sheriff Brackett and the two play off eachother nicely, while Sheri-Moon Zombie gives quite an emotional performance as Michael's mother. People criticise Zombie for constantly casting his wife in his films, but in Halloween she really justifies this choice and gives one of the best performances of her career. The supporting cast is full of B-movie legends as well, from Udo Kier, to Ken Foree, and of course the great Dee Wallace to name a few. As well as that, the casting of Halloween alum Danielle Harris as Annie Brackett feels very inspired in my opinion.
Then of course there's Michael himself, played by Canadian actor and stuntman Tyler Mane. Many of you will recognise Mane as Sabretooth from the first X-Men film, and here he dons the iconic boiler suit and Shatner mask to step into the role of Myers. Mane is the tallest actor to have ever played Myers, and his large frame already gives him a very imposing onscreen presence. However, he goes beyond this and gives us a terrifying physical performance, stalking and chasing his way through the quiet streets of Haddonfield. The film drew criticism for its heavy reliance on violence as opposed to suspense, but I feel like Mane is terrifying enough even when he's not slashing throats or disemboweling. Sure there is a lot of raw violence, which wasn't a problem for me, but had a less capable actor stepped into the role of Myers then it may not have worked so well. But Mane really does feel like a true force to be reckoned with.
Rob Zombie's Halloween is far from perfect, the script is bad, the pacing is all off, and overall the whole narrative feels very muddled in terms of who our protagonist is. However, it's not without its merits, and where Zombie succeeds he really succeeds. The casting is close to perfect, Michael is pure terrifying, and the franchise feels much more grounded again, in a weird, greasy sort of way. It's very much Rob Zombie's Halloween, and the fact that he did his own thing instead of copying Carpenter shot-for-shot is admirable. The original film is a sleek, suburban slasher, while this is a grungy grindhouse homage, where Carpenter's whispers, Zombie's version roars like a chainsaw. It's a fun companion piece to Carpenter's film I think, an updated reimagining that turns the violence and white-trash levels up to eleven. It's far from perfect, but as far as remakes go I'd say it's definitely one of the better ones from the past two decades. And sure look, even if you can't enjoy any of those things, you can at least laugh at some of the dialogue or have a nice game of B-movie star bingo.
After a momentous box-office success, Rob Zombie returned to the franchise two years later with Halloween II, but that's another story altogether...
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