Last night I was invited to the sneak preview of Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and before the film had even started, I was nervous as hell. I had heard both good and bad things about this film, and I was so worried that it wasn’t going to meet my expectations. I think Rob Zombie has a growing talent when it comes to directing and if he failed with this project, it could be damaging to his budding film career. After watching the film, I had a sigh…..of RELIEF! Rob Zombie did us Halloween fans right! Yes!
THE GOOD:
My biggest reservation about the film before going to see it was Zombie’s decision to delve into the infamous Michael Myers’ childhood and how he became to be the legendary boogeyman that terrorizes Haddonfield. I always thought this was going to be a bad idea, because I always thought Myers should stay an enigma and I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. As I was watching the beginning, I realized that wasn’t Zombie’s intentions at all. True, Myers comes from a broken home. His mother is a stripper, (played by Sheri Moon Zombie) her abusive and crippled boyfriend (played by the great William Forsythe) lives with them, and his sister is a slut. Although, he doesn’t come from the best home, it’s apparent that his family is not responsible for creating the monster that lives inside him. It’s still a mystery as to why a young Myers (played brilliantly by newcomer Deag Faerch) snaps and becomes the unstoppable killing machine. You can’t relate to this character, nor do you feel sorry for him, and the unspeakable things he does to his family at the beginning are quite disturbing and gripping.
Fans will also like the fact that this movie is filled with genre favorites. We get cameo appearances from Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, and even a dude from The Monkees!
But the best part about this film was Zombie’s ability to effectively fool the audience. After the origin of Michael Myers, the story follows the young Laurie Strode and her friends like it did in the original Halloween. The audience gets hit with a pang of nostalgia as Zombie takes us on similar paths and lets us witness similar death scenes. However, just when you think the film is going the same way as the original film, Zombie pulls the rug from right under the audience, and takes you on a completely different and terrifying path that made most Halloween fans in the theatre jump, scream and cheer.
Even though he changed quite a few things with his re-imagining of Halloween, Rob Zombie was smart enough to keep certain things the same. The score is dead on with John Carpenter’s legendary and unforgettable score from earlier Halloween films. Fans will appreciate the fantastic look of Michael Myers’ mask (It’s nothing like the horrible mask we saw in H20) and they will also appreciate the shots of the boogeyman lurking in the shadows. (These scenes had the audience applauding!)
THE BAD:
I can’t believe I’m going to write this, but the weakest parts in the film (which I thought would have been the strongest parts) were surprising the leads. Now don’t get me wrong, Malcolm McDowell did an awesome job onscreen. He was likable; he even got a few laughs, and was very sincere as Dr. Samuel Loomis. I just didn’t feel like he had put the same life and energy that the late Donald Pleasance once had. I know that McDowell had some pretty big shoes to fill, but I just didn’t believe him to be the true counterpart to Michael Myers.
Newcomer Scout-Taylor Compton as Laurie Strode was great when it came to her showdown with her killer brother, but before that, she was way too annoying for words. She had me PRAYING that Zombie would speed the film up and just get to the horror already. (Thankfully he did.)
Although, I had no problem with Tyler Mane’s portrayal as Michael Myers, a lot of fans will not like the fact that he looks superhuman and that he moves at a quick pace. The main reason why Michael Myers was so scary in the first place, was because he looked like an ordinary man and that he moved like one. Although, he’s super scary in this film, the creepiness factor is not there anymore.
Last but not least, Michael Myers’ origin scenes did run a tad too long for my liking, but considering the kickass second half of the film, all was forgiven.
OVERALL:
Finally, a horror remake done right! Rob Zombie created a chilling and disturbing companion piece to the original Halloween that fans will not want to miss. I personally want to thank the man for re-creating an unforgettable theatrical experience for people like myself who were too young to watch the original film in theatres years ago. I now have a memorable theatre experience I will be able to brag about to my children, (when I have them that is) just like my parents had bragged to me about their experience of first watching the original Halloween on the big screen. Well done Mr. Zombie! I am eagerly looking forward to your next project! I give this film a rating of 8 out of 10.
This movie is way better than the older versions, it totally makes more sense of how Michael Myers became disturbed. It was very good review. Well put.
While not its not a great film, Halloween was still a very enjoyable horror remake. I also couldn’t think of a more appropriate usage of Dont Fear The Reaper.
this movie is garbage GOOD DAY SIR
ROTTEN TOMATO’S
Original Halloween: 89%. Only 4 bad reviews
H20 : 49%
Friday the 13th: 76% only 6 bad reviews
Nightmare on elm street: 90%. only 2 bad reviews out of 20.
You also made a list of your own Alfie. If most of these critics wernt to kind of horror films, I don’t think NOES would have gotten 90 %, no matter how classic it is. I don’t think hostel would have gotten 58%, which it did.
I’m not trying go on and on, I’m just saying. If you want to say critics arn’t fond of horror movies, fine. That’s your opinion, and everyone is entitled to it, which is why I didn’t call you out.
But when you say something is FACT, you need to bring proof with you to back up those claims, which you havn’t done.
I’m not even saying your right or wrong. I don’t know for sure. But I don’t think you do either.
I’m with you on this Serena..actually, I think I enjoyed it more. To me, Michael hasn’t moved and felt like this since the original. I can understand why people hate it though. But you know its at least worth watching when it pisses off the studio’s general audience, which in my theater, appeared to be a bunch of dimwitted flat-hat wearing “i’m black” even though their white punks. I was laughing at some of their comments. “This is nothing compared to the last one with Busta Rhymes”, in their own words..
Hey Serena, it’s late and I’m too lazy AND tired to read all of the comments. I read your review and I have say I’m happy!!!!! Honestnly, its what I expected. You appear to see his vision. I’m on vacation so I have limited time to be informed; however from the brief reading here it seems all is good. My brother called me to endorse the film and honestly I trust his opinion beccause he is more the horror film lover than I will be.
i havent seen the movie but i saw some dog shit in the yard this morning does that count.
Hey Pissed Halloween fan, at least you’ve seen the movie.Kudos to you! :) The people who haven’t…should stop posting already..24/7. lol
trust me “pissed halloween fan” 99% of halloween fans are totally pissed off right now and will never probably see another zombie movie again.
as a true halloween fan i was pissed off at all that fucking druid shit in the first series….and then busta rhymes using karate to kick michaels myers ass…..those stories were far worse then anything this film did…..
give me this version any day.
and halloween 3 is fucking awesome..
7 days till halloween…SILVER SHAMROCK.
I don’t see how any true Halloween fan could but anything but pissed after seeing this movie. He changed so many things about the original it made me sick. He made Michael more human like and put reasons behind his behaviour. That’s what made hime so scary, he did not have a reason, he was simply evil. And a running, 7 foot Michael myers? Come the hell on! His movie sucked and shouldn’t be counted as an official Halloween series movie. It was worse than Halloween 3!.
ya after he goes back to directing school and gets a freaking haircut.
Serena, I cannot understand the personal hate that has developed for Rob Zombie over this film either.
Look guys, I hated Devil’s Rejects to the point that I walked out 1/2 way thru the movie.
I also think that he dropped the ball on Halloween as well.
However, most of my problems are content related. Technically I respect Zombie as a director and I understand what he has been trying to do in Hollywood, I just don’t think he has gotten there yet.
I don’t think Halloween’s problems were incompetence so much as confusion.
Remember, Halloween is NOT a Zombie original, he was ASKED to take over a project from other source material. This is new ground for him.
Truthfully I think Zombie is a huge Carpenter fan and was torn between paying homage and remaking his own vision.
He tried both and I don’t think it worked. The first hour or so of this film is original Zombie, but the last 30 minutes or so is about 3/4’s of Carpenter’s Halloween condensed and boiled down to half its time.
I don’t hate Zombie for this. Sometimes you try new things and they don’t work. It happens to everyone in Hollywood.
They can’t all be hits!
Life will go on for Rob Zombie and his career will be just fine!
“time devoted???” i only wrote one line, while u typed a whole essay responding.if my opinion is harsh that dosent mean it’s infringing on others opinions. please quote me on were i infringe on anothers opinion!
Buh,
Honestly, did this man spit on you? Did he piss in your cereal? Because I just can’t understand why someone would devote so much time posting comments about a celebrity they don’t like or about a movie they have no intentions watching unless the person had wronged them somehow. You don’t like him. Cool. I think we all got that here. You THINK the movie looks like shit….again, cool. You’re entitled to your opinion…..but guess what? So is everybody ELSE! So stop insulting people about their opinions on a movie that you won’t even take the time to see. There are better things you could be doing with your time.
maybe it only has 5 reviews because cream of the crop reviewers aren’t about to waste any time viewing this steaming pile of $H1T!
i never said “all critics hate horror films” darren…..
I said for the most part critics are not to kind to horror films. and that is a fact….no myth at all. are you really trying to say that because 28% of critics have liked halloween that proves my statement wrong? because I would definitely say that in the case of halloween for the most part the 72% of critics who have not been very kind my statment is correct.
it is a rare occasion that a horror film receives wide critical praise if you are to weigh up how many are made and released and how many receive critical acclaim you will see a very one sided list.
thats a fact…..no myth darren…just facts.
lol…i guess I was right BUH. Your first comment was deleted it seems. Think you verbally attacked the reviewer…probably why.
BUH…you post a lot of stupid comments…
cream of the crop is at 0% right now because it only has like 5 reviews in it.
cream of the crop on rotten tomatoes = 0%
WOW!!!! thats really saying something, probably close to the top of the list of worst horror films ever.
Fuck the reviews This was a good movie. I’m a huge fan of all the previous Halloween movies. This wasnt a complete remake. It wasnt meant to be exactly alike the original. He wanted to make it his own, which he did. And I loved what he did with Young Michael. We got to see him grow into what he become. Very good review Serena. I approve :P.
Alfie, it should be noted that Ebert (and other major critics at the time) gave Zombie’s ‘Devil’s Rejects” a fairly decent (=good) review.
But I want to respond to the charge that all critics ‘hate’ horror films in general. That is a myth that sadly, many of the int’net community buy too often, hook, line and sinker. It is an unfair charge…and okay, Serena saw the film, loved it. The “other” critics saw it it, and at least 28% liked/loved it. Does that mean that 28% should be included in the ‘all critics hate horror films’ too? They should. They are critics, aren’t they?
Having seen this movie and the original I must say that there are structural differences between the two that make Zombie’s movie COMPLETELY different than Carpenter’s. Not worse, but different.
Here is the main difference:
In Carpenter’s Halloween Laurie Strode(and supporting cast)is the main character in the film and the “Hero”. Myers is hardly in the film until the end.
In Zombie’s version Michael Myers is the main character and “protagonist”. Laurie Strode is little more than a footnote to be honest.
I think Zombie grew up loving monster movies and the creatures in them and identifies more with them than the “hero” characters.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this at all, it just makes his Halloween an entirely different film from the original.
This is the reason the original Friday the 13th was so much better than any of the sequels. You only saw the killer during the kill scenes and the rest of the film was about the other characters.
One of the problems I had with Zombie’s Halloween is that Laurie Strode is NOT the main character and is quite annoying so it is hard for me to root for her in the end.
I also agree with many reviews that say his Halloween is almost TWO different films. I do believe that Zombie had some difficulty in deciding between making his own version and making a remake/homage to the original.
Half of the the new movie is complete original Rob Zombie and the other half is Homage/remake of Carpenters. At some points in the film this blending works, and at other points it fails miserably.
No Offense…
but what kind of limp-wristed, panty-waist lets another person decide what they will or will not like.
Do you let other people make all your decisions or is it just film related?
(I’m not talking to anyone in particular, I’m just posing a question)
To me personally… reviews mean nothing.
Not the reviewers themselves, just their review.
It’s just their opinion, people. Nothing more, nothing less.
It’s just like Serena said, “reviews are subjective”. I could put 10 people in a room and let them watch a movie, and afterwards I could get 10 differing accounts, impressions and reactions.
As they say… opinions vary, and that’s why reviews should be treated and looked upon as exactly what they are… just some random dude’s (or dudette’s) opinion meaning no more or no less than yours or anyone else’s.
And if your the easily impressionable type, then you should never read reviews. Manifest Destiny, and all that psuedo-metaphysical mumbo jumbo.
It goes like this…
Bob, being the personality type that he is, lets other people decide what he likes.
Bob reads a negative review and decides that the movie is going to suck.
Bob sees the movie and… surprise, surprise… doesnt like it.
Take Quint’s review at AICN.
He decided he was going to hate this movie months before a single frame of film was ever shot. Quint is a prime example of manifest destiny.
I’m not saying this idea accounts for all the negative reviews.
Some people just arent going to like it, and that’s fair… but hey, guess what? Some people are going to love it as well. You might be one of those people, but if you let another person decide for you… you never really know.
As for how I decide whether or not I like a film… stay with me now, because I know this is going to sound bat-shit crazy to some of you guys… I actually see the movie and make up my own mind.
I know, I know… it sounds completely preposterous, but trust me… it works.
well i don’t know what sites you have been reading krewo but messageboards and forums all over the place are going over the top with hyperbole and bullshit….
personally i don’t give a fuck if it had 0% on rotten tomatoes I still enjoyed it…my main reason for bringing up RT is I saw someone posts say that they were going to give it a miss now due to the bad reviews and I personally think that is a shame as the film just is nowhere near as bad as is being made out in this over the top mass hysteria of predetermined hatred being directed at this film. I can’t wait to hear what john thought as I am sure he will hate this movie….
oh and signs is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a horror film. it is a horrible film but it is not a horror film. at all. and since you like to decide things based upon general consensus I think you will find most people would agree…..
Forget rotten tomatoes.
Bloody disguisting.com gave this thing a 1 and a half out of 5.
And brutallly critisized it.
Fangoria gave it 2 1/2 out of 5, and also gave it a bad review. These are 2 of the biggest names in horror.
Concerning rottentomatoes, there are probably some “critics” that don’t deserve to be there. However, I find myself agreeing most of the time with the _general_ rating, so I usually check it before deciding if I’ll go see a movie or not. For horror movies, the ratings are usually lower, so my rule is: what’s below 40% is bad, what’s above is worth seeing. I use the 40% limit because that’s what Wrong Turn, Jeepers Creepers and other horror movies got, and I really liked those movies. That’s a rule that worked for me over time.
Also, it’s really really rare that I enjoy any movie which gets less than 20% from critics; they are usually crap.
Concerning Halloween, it stands at 20% at the moment, and going down as more reviews are received. The reviews I’ve read on Cinematical, AICN and so on were mainly negative. About 60% of the reviews posted on IMDB seem to be negative – I’m curious to see the final rating. I also completely disliked Rob Zombie’s previous movies. So based on all these, I’ll avoid this movie.
In the end, it’s all subjective. If you liked Zombie’s previous efforts, you’ll probably like Halloween. Myself, I tend to agree with critics’ opinions – maybe you don’t. Also, if you dislike some of the reviewers on RottenTomatoes, maybe you should only check the Cream of the Crop, which has reviews only from the major film reviewers.
@alfie
Signs is more horror than drama/mystery/sci-fi or anything else.
Also, nobody says the Halloween remake is “worst film ever”; just that it’s a mediocre movie. Most of the reviews I’ve read had the same negative things to say about the movie and I don’t think those people haven’t actually seen the movie.
signs is not a horror film.
Critics aren’t usually very kind to horror films but they do give positive reviews to films that usually deserve it. I mean Signs did get some pretty solid reviews and Roger Ebert even gave that movie 4 stars.
The recent film The Descent got some great reviews critics but unfortunately it bombed at the box office. I thought the movie was great and I do wish they didn’t change the ending for the American audience but the movie was still top notch.
Maybe the next Horror film they give great praise to will The Mist…OH I hope that movie is awesome.
This movie was fun, and the sound quality just made it that more enjoyable. I don’t see myself buying the DVD because the theatrical experience with the heart pounding sound won’t be there. And this was a bad film, unique and fun, but generally just a poor film.
I found Myers’ origin story to be lackluster and an unnecessary waste of time, which could have been spent killing, what a shame. And beyond that I guess I was hoping for too much out of this.
Look mom, it’s raining red.
I’m not going to give anything away here, but Zombie did a good job with the end, I loved the ending. FUCKING LOVED IT!
Alfred Hitchcock style baby!
Count me in as someone who loved the original and was MORE than pleasantly surprised with Zombie’s film. The fact that he used the exact same score in many parts was awesome, definitely not something you’d expect to see (or shall I say hear) in a modern film.
Thumbs up!
one more thing…..i strongly feel the hate for this film is another one of these internet mass hysteria things that takes place where everyone goes wayyyyy overboard and just refuses to give a film a chance.
all these “worst film ever” claims…it really does eem like an internet mass hysteria breakout of over the top and unfair hatred..
hostel part 2 and roth himself got it…..and now this film is getting it…..
and remember no sequel or a remake has ever ruined an original as the original is always there as it is…..
i really think a lot of the hate is coming from people who had written their reviews before they had even seen it. these people had made up their minds going in what they thought of it.
considering juts how bad the sequels had become I am really surprised to see all this hat on the net for this film which in my opinion is the third best halloween film.
and I know what you mean darren about it being hard not to compare it to the original and of course people are going to compare and rightly so but i think it is unfair to criticise this film for not being the original if that makes any sense???because obviosuly it isn’t the original….
I guess I am one of the few that have actually SEEN this movie and will make a comment about it. Im with Serena on this one. Its probably the only time in a movie theatre that I have stood up and yelled “JEESSUSSS CHRIST” at the screen out of sheer fear. I suppose because I am not a true Micheal Myers fan,just a fan of the series in general, the idea of a remark or “reinterpretation” of the original did not offend me in the least. It was enjoyable and scared the poo out of me. I loved it. I recommend it…shut your face.
Wow, this is the first positive review I’ve read. Everyone is ripping this thing a new one, but I have a sneaking suspicion that people are so apt to hate it because the first one is so beloved. I’m not saying this movie will be good, I personally think it looks like shit, but I also think that a lot of people decided to hate it before they saw it because they love the original and hate Rob zombie.
I have to say that I agree with most of the review. I didn’t think it was the best Halloween I’d ever seen (obviously reserved for the original) but I think it’s better than anythign we’ve sen in years
Hey Darren,
No…surprisingly P.J. Soles does not make a cameo!
It is nearly impossible to not compare Zombie’s work an John Carpenter’s groundbreaking film. By the way, Serena. Two things:
1. I loved H20. LOVED it. Mask, Adam Arkin, LL, everyone and every thing. Jamie with an axe too. [hated HalloRes though…]
2. I might see Zombie’s film, but I just got to knw: does PJ Soles make a cameo [she had one in DevilsRejects]
Hey guys,
Thanks for the comments! This movie is getting horrible reviews I know, but I wrote my review last night without reading a single review on the net. I know for a fact Rotten Tomatoes tempts other writers to change their minds before posting their review, because a lot of them are nervous about liking a movie with a huge green splat beside it. The theatre I went to loved the flick…so all these negative reviews I see, somewhat surprise me. I think people have to understand is that reviews are subjective. So although, I don’t mind comments about debating about this movie. If, you’ve seen it, and don’t like it and disagree with my opinion, that’s cool. But, if you haven’t seen the movie, and you feel like you have to tear me a new one just because everyone else says it’s bad…well no offense, that’s just stupid.
vacancy – rated rotten %54
hostel – rotten 58%
hostel part 2 – rotten 47%
saw 1-3 – 46%, 36%, 28%
zombies halloween 24%
haute tension 40%
hills have eyes 50%
wrong turn 41%
wolf creek 53%
now i am not saying all of the above films don’t deserve their ratings. most of them do but not all of them. All I am trying to point out is for the most part critics are not too kind to horror films and that is why so many studios don’t hold advance screenings for their horror releases. when it comes to horror films I wouldn’t rely on what critics think …in fact I wouldn;t rely on what critics think for any type fo film but especially horror.
Great review. I’m looking forward to it!!! I’m glad the origin story was done well, I’m looking forward to that most.
dermis most hardcore myers fans biggest problem seems to be wioth the fact that this isn’t the original. most ofthe reviews or messageboard post I read attacking it just write down a list of things that are different between this film and the original.
if you are ging to enjoy this film you have to totally forget about the original or you will just tear it to shreds. of course it is not as good as the original…the original is possibly the greatest horror film ever made so it was never going ro surpass that but i will take this over the celtic druid nonsense and definitely over the busta rhymes kung fuing shit the later sequels gave us.
as for rotten tomatoes well critics, for the most part, give horror film bad reviews so ignore rotten tomatoes….
i loved this film as well and I am a huge fan of carpenters film.
its weird as I actually prefer the first half over the second and the second half is the part of the movie that more closely resembles the original.i really felt for the first 45 minutes that zombie was totally throwing out the original halloween bluprint but then the last act kicks in and he just condenses 80% of the original into 40 minutes….the film is not perfect…the last act definitely feels rushed and a little disjointed and i do feel that zombie may have chickened out a little as up until myers returns to haddonfield the film really had been all zombies and then it really becomes a beat for beat remake of the original.
To BUH –
Her review is actually a lot better and more informed than many reviews I read on Rotten Tomatoes. I still go to RT to check out the percentage but some of the critics they post are just absolutely terrible. For instance, go check out all the reviews done by Victoria Alexander. Shes the worst critic I’ve ever seen. For instance, she gave movies such as The Condemned and Norbit good reviews. Then she gives good movies bad reviews. While I personally didn’t like Transformers…pretty much everyone else did…but she gave it a bad review because she “didn’t like the robot voices”.
I am really torn on this issue the reviews are terrible and the fact that they make his family completely horrible makes me want to see this movie even less. The movie around the internet is getting bashed lol so Serena is certainly in the minoritey in people who actually liked this movie.
I want to see this movie because of Rob Zombie I think he is actually becomming a good director but the reviews for this movie are terrible.
I think a majority of people is going to hate this movie, not because it is a bad movie(it ain’t great though) but because it is a remake
Serena, I was gonna apologize to you for giving you the pass to this sneak in the first place, but it looks like we’re butting heads on this flick!
*groan* I says.
OMG serena you nailed it I saw Halloween two days ago and thats exactly what I thought I was dreading the origin story but as it turns out thats the part I enjoyed the most However I thought that The actress who played laurie Strode was so bad part of the simple bueaty of the original was the inocance of the charictor none of that was convayed with the new Laurie when we first meet her all presepts of innocance are cast away (what she says when we first see her with the beagal) overall though a good time at the movies
Haven’t seen the movie but it seems that most people hated it while only a few liked it. At the moment it has a 23% rating on rottentomatoes => BAD. To me, this isn’t actually surprising; I thought Rob Zombie’s previous movies were really bad and as much as I like his music he seems to be a terrible director.
I gotta say, I’ve heard nothing but bad things about this movie. From friends of the horror genre, to basically everywhere you look on the internet. The general word, especially from hardcore Mike myer fans is that the film is a disgrace. I know your a horror fan serena, so I don’t know what you saw that no one else did, but you are definatly in the minority. I might check it out anyway, don’t know.