Halloween Review Country : USA Year: 2007 Genre: Horror Format: Cinema Running Time: 109 minutes Distributor: Dimension The origin of psychopathic killer Michael Myers is reimagined in an all-new interpretation of John Carpenter's 1978 classic, helmed by celebrated rocker and horror auteur Rob Zombie.... Credits Directed by Rob Zombie. Screenplay by Rob Zombie. Based upon characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor Compton, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daeg Faerch, Danny Trejo and Brad Dourif. There is always complaining and discussing when a film gets remade. Especially films like Dawn Of The Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and now Halloween. This film has been ALL the buzz on the internet for the good part of a year now, and everyone has been asking themselves, "Can it compare to the original?" Well, the simple answer to that is no, but why compare it to the original? It breaks down for me like this: Halloween (1978) is the story of Michael Myers, the little boy who killed his sister on Halloween night and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield to wreak more terror and death on the sleepy small town. Laurie Strode happens to become the focus of Michael’s murderous machinations and she and her friends must try to survive “the night he came home.” One of Laurie’s only hopes is Dr. Loomis, Michael’s psychiatrist who knows that Michael is evil and must be put down. Halloween (2007) focuses on the Halloween holiday when abused young Mikey went from killing animals to taking bloody revenge on school bullies, his mother's awful boyfriend (William Forsythe exploring the outer limits of sleaze), a sibling and her lover. Sheri Moon Zombie, plays Michael's frazzled but supportive stripper mom, and Malcolm McDowell brings a new dimension to Dr. Loomis, the grandstanding shrink who really does seem to care about Michael as much as he does about making a buck. See, the comparisons here are drastic, but still feel comfy. It's not such a dramatic change (i.e. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake/prequel) that it doesn't work... it simply adds to the original story, and certainly breathes much needed life into an all but dead franchise. Halloween '78 is to horror as The Godfather is to gangster movies and Star Wars is to sci-fi. It was much more than just a horror flick; it created an entirely new kind of movie. In the new Halloween, Rob Zombie brings back the modern slasher, amps it up to a new level, and (in his own right) has created a new classic. The film in itself is very well paced (and scary as hell). The transition from backstory to Haddonfield is seamless and it didn't seem rushed or forced--it flowed as it should. The nods to the original were excellent (The Thing on TV had to be done) as were the incredible cameos. I mean, you just have to smile when you see Richard Lynch on the screen in DLP, with a theater full of people on a Friday night in 2007. Daeg Faerch does an excellent job bringing on the super creep factor, Sheri Moon Zombie plays the sympathetic stripper mom quite well, and of course William Forsythe, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, Danny Trejo, and Brad Dourif all stand out....but that is to be expected. And as far as Tyler Mane goes, that man can continue to play Michael because he is simply a awesome. He makes Michael scary again. What did bug me about the film was Scout Taylor Compton as Laurie. I guess she might grow into the role, but she should have been a little more reserved and not so damn annoying. I actually didn't care for any of the girls... Danielle Harris was good as always, but Kristina Klebe was just kinda there. I was actually cheering on Mikey when he was brutalizing them. But I can totally identify with enjoying lots of good violence... and speaking of good violence, the grue is a plenty for you gorehounds. The direction was slick, and I especially dug the scene where young Michael dispatches a nurse with a fork to the neck. That scene made the movie for me; totally disturbing and shot so well. You can tell that Rob Zombie is growing into one hell of a director as his films just keep getting better. I would say this is his best film to date, so I'd love to see him come back for Round Two. (although he has claimed he will not). So, for all of you die hard horror fans that hated this movie (or watched the fucking unfinished workprint first), try watching it again and take the original completely out of your mind. If you try doing that, you may just find out this is a wonderfully intense horror flick, an unabashed crowd-pleaser, and one of the true horror elite. OFFICIAL SITE PETCH LUCAS' 'HALLOWEEN' REVIEW DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com