Title: "Halloween II"
Released: 2009
Some people love remakes, some people hate them, and some people really don't care much one way or the other. These people's opinions don't apply here because THIS IS NOT A REMAKE. No, again, this is not a remake. This is not a test. This is the real fucking thing!
Laurie Strode is one seriously fucked-up girl. Immediately following the events of Zombie's 2007 remake, she is found by Sheriff Brackett wandering down the road, still clutching the gun she used to shoot Michael Myers, and taken away to the hospital in an hysterical state. As Laurie is hustled down the sterile hallway while strapped to a gurney and screaming bloody murder, we first realize that this is not your father's "Halloween" movie. Not that there was anything wrong with your father's "Halloween" movie, but this one cranks up the terror notch and rips it off the fucking control. This is how you would expect a real person to respond to the physical and psychological damage she endured encountering Michael Myers in the finale of the 2007 film. Zombie manages to inject a gritty sense of reality into the film that is lacking in so many flicks, and he doesn't stop with Laurie. Nearly everyone in this one manages to convey the actual horror that is being confronted, and that horror is the new and improved Michael Myers.
A word about Michael. Gone is the expressionless, emotionless, near-catatonic Michael of 1978--this Michael Myers is sheer brutality and evil incarnate. Whether he's viciously and repeatedly hammering a butcher knife into someone's face while making animalistic grunts, dismembering and devouring a dead dog, or sawing a paramedic's head off with a piece of broken glass, Myers has clearly taken his game to the next level. Before, he was relentless in his pursuit of victims. Now he seems determined to obliterate and annihilate them beyond recognition. Michael's level of ferocity here is unmatched in any of the previous "Halloween" films.
One year after the events of "Halloween" (2007), Laurie has healed physically but is deeply damaged psychologically. After the death of her parents, she has moved in with Sheriff Brackett and his daughter Annie (Laurie's friend who also bears scars on her face from her run-in with Michael). Laurie has vivid nightmares and sees a therapist regularly to help her obtain closure, something that is nearly impossible as Michael's body went missing and has not yet been found. Dr. Samuel Loomis, portrayed again by Malcolm McDowell, has attempted to cash in on his brief celebrity by writing a book about Myers and is currently busy doing press for its October 31st release. Zombie takes Loomis to a place we've never seen his character go in previous "Halloween" films--one of a man motivated by greed for financial profit and celebrity. Donald Pleasence's Loomis always radiated an intense, if strange, sense of responsibility, altruism, and urgency when dealing with the subject of Michael Myers. Here Dr. Loomis takes a severe beating on the publicity circuit as he is pretty much resoundly blamed for the events of last Halloween. Subject matter and certain revelations in Loomis' book, coupled with the return of Michael from a year of hiding in a barn, collide on that magic date in Haddonfield, IL and mayhem ensues.
What strikes me most about Zombie's story is the emphasis he has placed on Michael's motivation for stalking and brutally murdering everything and everyone in an attempt to find his sister. This is done in majestic fashion as we actually see through the killer's eyes, away from the evil and towards his mother and the child he once was himself. Zombie manages to provide eerie visualization to Michael's mission and sense of purpose. This is not simply a dead-eyed killing machine--it is a little boy that wants his family back. Michael wants to put the pieces back together and regain the only things for which he cared. Thus we see the most vicious, yet most human villain of any of the "Halloween" installments.
Bottom Line: While some purists will no doubt trash this since it was not made in 1978, "Halloween II" (2009) is a unique addition to one of the greatest horror franchises ever created. This film manages to convey the utter sense of terror and impotence of fighting a losing battle with pure evil. It is absolutely unapologetic and devoid of any hope. And it's really fucking good. Not to be missed by those wondering where all the good horror movies are nowadays.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Bloody Masks.
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5 weeks ago
I can hardly wait to see it. I have to admit that Zombie's "Halloween" had me unsettled at first. I'm a die-hard "cut my teeth on Halloween by Carpenter" kind of gal, but the casting of that kid in the part was so brilliant--I just think of that kid and I shiver, and it answered much of the "why is he that way?" that folks can't help but ask when a kid kills his sister. So, I'm excitedly waiting to see his take on his continuation of the first one. I feel a connection to Michael and his motivations and his internal workings that I never got from the first set of movies. What I must admit, though, is that in the late 70s the concept of a killer with no heart was really terrifying--is he the boogeyman? That was the thing that got people all worked up. Now, we're actually numb to that concept when people like Scott Peterson and others walk amongst us without the mask, but with the same psyche. Thanks for the super review!
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point. Part of the true creepiness of "Halloween" (1978) was in the way Michael Myers would tilt his head and kind of examine what he had just done after butchering someone, almost like he was trying to understand it himself.
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