Halloween II: Tragedy, success and the reimagined movie
"Halloween II" opened August 28 and came out third in the weekend box office rankings (Competitor, "The Final Destination" finished first).
Any fan of old (meaning 1970s and not 1930s) Hollywood horror would be extremely familiar with the 1978 classic, “Halloween.” This slasher flick began a new era of chills and thrills that would later culminate in eight total movies and a re-imagining by Rob Zombie in 2007. It’s obvious “Halloween’s” intense success played off of the natural fear and desires of teenagers. When Roger Ebert reviewed Halloween in 1979, he called it “an absolutely merciless thriller, a movie so violent and scary that, yes, I would compare it to ‘Psycho.’ It’s a terrifying and creepy film about what one of the characters calls Evil Personified.” If Roger Ebert gave a horror movie a prestigious four stars, it must mean something special.
Then you have Zombie (“The Devil’s Rejects,” “House of 1000 Corpses”). A director and writer notorious for gore, profanity and sex. His style is almost bipolar to John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” If you compared the two movies, you’d be right. Zombie even acknowledged this in an interview with IconsOfFright.com.
Zombie said, “I made the first half of the movie my thing, and the second half I felt well I should bring in more John Carpenter beats because that’s what people are going to be expecting.”
With many tweaks and changes to Carpenter’s version, Zombie created his re-imagining of “Halloween,” leaving characters like Annie, Laurie and Dr. Loomis fair game for a sequel.
In Zombie’s “Halloween II,” you would think it was taken right from Carpenter’s second edition. The film opens up in a massacre in the Haddonfield Hospital, but in true Zombie fashion, it was all a dream. The rest of the movie would venture far from the original “Halloween 2.” Zombie’s wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, credits “Halloween II” ashis [Zombie] movie in the same interview with Icons of Fright.
“I think he had some limitations with the first one because he was playing off of John Carpenter’s original. Rob loved shooting the first third of the first movie. He felt that was his own and he got to establish a lot of the characters and for this one he feels it’s his own,” said Moon Zombie.
Do I agree that this “Halloween” has Zombie’s mark? Definitely. Do I think it will be a classic? Probably not. While the film’s intensity kept you on the edge of your seat, the over-use of blood will detract most viewers. This sequel definitely is bloodier and more violent than the Zombie’s first “Halloween.” On the bright side, the storyline focuses a lot on main character Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), which is something no Halloween movie has really done before. Zombie even announced that the DVD release of “Halloween II” will prove that there is more to Laurie than meets the eye; so much that he had to change a lot of the movie for theater release, fearing Laurie’s struggle was too dark for moviegoers.
The movie progresses into a very dark state. Laurie continues to fall into an aggressive fight for sanity, Annie finally fights for her life (sorry to spoil, but any fan of Carpenter’s “Halloween” should be disappointed Annie even made it to the sequel, but Danielle Harris played the role so well I’m glad she did make it) and Michael pulls a Jason Voorhees and his mother appears to him throughout the whole film. “Halloween II” ends in a shocker, leaving moviegoers for a loop and the option of a potential sequel. Zombie did say that he is not intending to be a “Halloween 3,” but directors say things like that all the time.
Note: True “Halloween” fans should know that this is Danielle Harris’ fourth “Halloween” film. She played Laurie’s daughter Jamie LLoyd in “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” and “Halloween 5,” and played Annie Brackett in both of Zombie’s installments of the film. She has been in as many “Halloween” films as Jamie Lee Curtis, the original Laurie Strode.
Something else to keep in mind: if you are a horror fan and are used to the “supernatural” and “immortal” aspects of it, you’ll be in for a surprise. Zombie abandons all of it. The movie is more real, more dark and more horrifying. Get ready for a jump here and there.
Ultimately, I would say that “Halloween II” will be loved by the horror movie buffs in the world but will not be well-received by most. Then again, it is just my opinion, but it is the popular one.
Loading ...