HMRWS - Starring Michael Myers!

[Seil]

So I'm on a bit of a horror movie binge, and I've literally just come from watching the Halloween remake. The newer film was written by Rob Zombie based off of the original screenplay by John Carpenter. Rob also adds his own directing flare to the production as well. Now, in this review, I'm going to contrast with the two films - the original Halloween and the remade version - as well as add my opinion to the whole show.

In Halloween, you have Michael Myers. In the original, the introduction features a fantastic scene of looking through Michael's eyes, somewhat obstructed by his mask, as he walks up the stairs and murders his sister. He then walks downstairs and stands in the driveway with a bloody knife. His parents then come home and see him standing there, and the camera pans out, and the next shot comes from some of the best acting in the movie - Donald Pleasence as Samuel Loomis. Loomis is Michael Myers psychiatrist, and though the original flick never shows any of their sessions, Loomis states that "I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil."

A great introduction to a great character. You never understand Michael Myers. From John Carpenter's Halloween, you don't understand Michael. You don't know what drives him, why he does what he does. He's just what Loomis tells you he is: evil; and as you progress through the film, unstoppable. He's scary because you feel nothing that you can do can stop him from hurting you. You don't know why he's trying to hurt you. He's just coming, and coming and coming. He just stops being a character and starts becoming a... force - even being referred to in the credits as "The Shape."

In Rob Zombie's version, things begin a little differently; we get a view of Michael as a young boy. He comes from a troubled house, he's often verbally abused by his drunken father or his negligent older sister. His mother is the only person who really seems to care about him. Michael begins harboring hatred for nearly everything around him, torturing small animals, even seriously beating a bully from school with a tree branch. It comes to its crux on Halloween where Michael kills his father, his sister, and his sister's boyfriend.

Through a few sessions with Loomis - this time as Malcom McDowell - it's revealed that Michael uses masks in order to escape... reality, would be the best way to put it. They reveal a lot of information about Michael, which is where I think that they went wrong. In Carpenter's version, Myers is this... thing, this unstoppable shape.

In Zombie's version, it's played out. For lack of a better term, Rob Zombie's version of Halloween is worse than the original because it has a plot. Because we understand Michael, we know who he is, and what he comes from - even sympathizing to an extent, he ceases to be terrifying. Yes, he's big, yes he's powerful. But he's only human - and humans can be stopped. It doesn't matter that they show him as an unstoppable killing machine, because we know what he is and what's driving him, why he does what he does - because we understand him, he's immediately not as scary as he was in the original. Understanding the antagonist isn't all bad - it works for Freddy Krueger. But Freddy is scary for other reasons - and while his background is told in pieces from film to film, we're given Michael Myer's history all in one go.

The original John Carpenter's Halloween is dated, and thus loses some of its sheen. But it boasts some truly scary scenes, and it can still show why it was a staple horror movie back in the seventies. Both Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis' acting is great. Rob Zombie's Halloween is scary. It's not a terrible film - it does its job of making you scared, with good acting and great effects; it's just not as good as the original. It looks much better. It's a horror film for our generation - typical teenagers being modern day typical teenagers. It's pretty neat. But the fact that everything's spelled out from square one is a little bit of a let down.

Both are good films for a Halloween night. If you're a fan of the originals - Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Omen, get the original Halloween. But if you're looking for something sort of modern-day, something relatable, get Rob Zombie's version. Both are scary, so both get thumbs up.