Customer Reviews

Halloween (Three-Disc Unrated Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(86)
3 star:		(55)
2 star:		(56)
1 star:		(72)

 

 

The original Halloween is a classic and will in my book always receive a five star rating. Recently there has been a great deal of remakes that were flops and catered to the teeny bopper crowd such as, The Fog, The Omen, Dark Water, etc. However there has been only two remakes that I thought were diserving of our attenion, one being the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, and Halloween.

What I liked about the remake was it gave us something fresh to work with. In the original Halloween we never really knew why Michael was bad, in this remake, the first thirty minutes or so expore the childhood of Michael Myers. People say that the dialog concerning Michael's family was wrong. Trust me, I have seen broken homes and Mr. Zombie gives us exactly what you would expect from a trashy family.

Besides satisfying my curiosity of Michael's childhood, I found this to be similar in many cases to the original, but at the same time the material was quite fresh with new chills and scares. Zombie took a masterpiece and reminded us why it is called a masterpiece. He accomplished a great job capturing a 70's look and theme, and did a great musical score as well. This is possibly the best horror remake that I've ever seen.

There is no reason this movie was remade other than money. It is horrible and pointless just as the many sequels were. What makes me the most sad is that some kid in the next 10 years will read a review of how Halloween is on the list of best horror movies ever made and will pick up this garbage instead of the original. Art is dying this is proof.

I don't know why everyone is bashing this film, but I am a die-hard fan of the Halloween movies and the horror genre, and I thought this movie was a nice remake to the best and original Carpenter film. It's certainly more entertaining than the crappy sequels that previously came out, and this film sets a more serious and modern harsh reality of what it could be like if this happened today. Carpenter's original film took place in 1978, so I found it to be a nice homage for Zombie to begin the origins of young Michael Myers in 1978. For the first time, we actually get to see what kind of family and childhood that Michael grew up in, which explains so much to his psychotic condition. As a child, Michael's facsination with torturing and killing innocent animals presents an accurate profile for such a future serial killer. This film actually has some explanations behind it, which is vacant in all other Halloween films. Zombie's direction is rough and gritty, but certainly adds to the atmosphere and chilling story -- my heart was pounding when young Michael was slaying his sister and her boyfriend. As for Zombie using the same cast as his other films, it's really no different than what Carpenter did either (How many Carpenter films was Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, Donald Pleasence, Nancy Loomis, and Adrienne Barbeau were in? I can count at least 3). I've seen the original film about a thousand times, and Zombie's remake can never replace Carpenter's classic, but this film is worth the effort and respect. I'm looking forward to the Unrated DVD version, which will have a lot of scenes restored that was cut from the theatrical release.

Director Rob Zombie shows us in his remake of the classic, Halloween, how to grab the money and run.

First of all, you don't want to create anything fresh or original--like the original "Halloween, "Alien," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," etc. You can always remake a third-rate Asian horror import because all the special effects you need are to slap white make-up on the faces of Asian kids, pile on black mascara and make them bulge their eyes and grit their teeth. Or, you can make the l5th or 20th sequel to a once brilliant original like "Saw". Or, you can just go back to the original classic--in this case "Halloween"--and know that you'll be guaranteed tons of free buzz on the internet. The younger movie buffs who never saw the original will be guaranteed to fill up the seats for this much ballyhooed remake.

In this remake, Zombie has trashed everything that made the original so treasured by its fans. Instead of likeable, suburban characters, who wore attractive clothes and seemed to be fond of each other, he gives us a world of sleazy, repulsive jerks who engender no sympathy from the audience. Michael Myers, terrifying and mysterious, in the original, is now a towering, seven foot gorilla. In fact, the first hour of this travesty is spent studying the evolution of Myers from moon-faced idiot to his adult monsterhood. His step-father is a human monster, disguised as red-neck nutjob, his sister is a skanky, hard-faced idiot and his mother, a stripper, is so weak-minded in her love for her little monster, that you care nothing about their fates.

Just as bad is the casting of the youngsters. Jaime Lee Curtis was completely likable and sympathetic, as the sweet, naive young girl. Although her two girlfriends were more frisky, you still liked them, too. Also, they all wore attractive clothes. In the remake, the girls live in their boring jeans and tennis shoes and sweatshirts. They look no different from the other colorless clones you see at a mall. Show them a skirt or a dress and they'd probably scratch their heads and go, "Duh, what's dat?"

There's a total lack of suspense as Michael Myers becomes the destroyer. You see him too much, for one thing, and his William Shatner white mask becomes boring. When he removes it, you see a good-looking young guy with stringy hair but with neatly manicured fingers. He trashes rooms and murders everyone in his path until finally, you're yawning and glancing at the clock and thinking: how much longer is going to continue. The original used a brilliant musical score, composed by the movie's director, John Carpenter. The music is an integral part to the original's greatness. It was used sparingly or brilliantly and greatly enhanced the sheer fear. In this remake, it's thrown in from the very beginning until you forget you're even listening to it.

The new Laurie spends the entire seond half of the movies shrieking non-stop, screaming and weeping and gibbering. If I was trying to escape from a killer, I think I'd be as quiet as possible and save my breath. In her boring jeans and tennis shoes and sweater and ugly glasses, she's as dull and forgettable as her mall buddies.

Equally irritating is the way the girls try to be playful and talk funny by swallowing their words and going nasal and gooching each other. They're always trying to act scary by fluttering their fingers and disguising their voices to sound scary.

Although the original featured some nudity, Zombie wallows in it--female, that is, although you never see any male nudity. The girls are hard, snarling, tough and repellant. It's not the fault of the performers. They all try hard. It's the way they're directed that drains them of any likablity or audience identification. Even the first scene where we see Laurie and her parents over the breakfast table is ruined when Laurie makes a sexual joke using a finger and a bagel. Why? You want to slap her because she seems to think she's the cutest and sharpest girl in the world.

I remember those old, golden times in a theater where movie-makers would occasionally thrill us with brilliant, original fantasy and horror--with movies like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Psycho," "The Thing," "Alien," "Nightmare on Elm Street." Now and then, we do get something original like "Jeepers Creepers".

But mostly, it's sequel after lousy sequel and worst of all, lousy remakes of golden classics. If you've never seen the original, "Halloween," watch it and see why it'll be watched for decades to come--and disasters like its endless sequels and terrible remakes like this one will be relegated to the garbage dumps.

If you're going to remake a classic horror movie such as Psycho, Friday the 13th, When a Stranger Calls, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, or Halloween you better be a masterful director, and you better have a new, unique, and interesting way of presenting the material. Unfortunately all of the Hollywood horror remakes of the past 10 or so years have failed miserably in all regards. Halloween is no different.

Rob Zombie tried to add a unique twist by delving into Michael's childhood and what might have contributed to creating the monster he became, but it's so cliched and trite as to not matter. Boy grows up with abusive step father and his mother is a stripper with a heart of gold. This abusive environment leads to a boy who kills animals for fun and then moves on to humans. Yawn... Give me a break. In the original we didn't need to know about Michael's upbringing because it's very clearly stated he was born evil. It's the whole nature vs nurture debate and Rob Zombie takes the nurture route to ill effect.

Rob Zombie also seems to have a fascination with white trash and excessive vulgarity. I don't know, maybe Zombie think dropping an F-bomb every few minutes adds authenticity to the script. Another fail!

This remake is boring, lacks suspense, does not illicit a single moment of fear, and does not have a single character you care about. The original had all of that. Add this to the long list of Hollywood horror remakes that had no business being remade and are as forgettable as a fart in the wind (and smell as bad).

We arrived at the theater early to get good seats. Rob Zombie's new rendition of the classic "Halloween" had been hyped for weeks on the Internet, television, and in magazines so it was all we could think about. My wife and I (being devoted fans of the 1978 classic) wanted to be first in line to see just how close the publicity was to the actual delivery. Is "re-imaging" the perfect modern horror film a good idea? We had mixed feelings on that but nonetheless remained unbiased and anxious to see what Rob Zombie had in store for us. Sure, his past films didn't exactly amount to anything worthwhile but maybe he worked that out of his system, and this was Halloween. He at least had a good storyline to draw from. We sat discussing the many avenues the film could take, watching the small group of other moviegoers take their seat for the matinee showing. The glow from the projection booth kicked on, the crowd fell silent, the lights dimmed.

Expecting something intriguing for the opening credits and remembering how stylistic John Carpenter had been with his slow tracking shot of the flickering jack-o`-lantern with credits rolling to the right, I couldn't wait to see how this new remake started. Excitement quickly gave way to disappointment. The film simply kicks off with a simple shot of the Myers house being thrown in the audience face complete with the onset of Rob Zombie's blaring, classic rock soundtrack. I couldn't help but sigh out loud with a sense of pessimistic foreshadowing ...would this opening scene set the pace for the rest of the film? I sincerely hoped not.

Next, and in typical Rob Zombie fashion, we are introduced to the loud, obnoxious, vulgar, screaming, white-trash characters in the film. It was about this point I abandoned all hope of this even coming close to the original and realized this was going to be just another typical Rob Zombie shoutfest, complete with excessive gore, shock value gimmicks, unsteady camera movements, endless close-ups and stereotypical characters including another shameless plug for his wife. The only difference is this time he had the Halloween name to deceive and lure an audience with.

Lacking any subtle sickness of the original film the movie chugs along as scattered as a shotgun blast. Rob Zombie attempts to add some backstory to the Michael Myers character but in doing so eliminates any mystery surrounding his presence, making him just another knife-wielding killer who pops up to slash and kill...slash and kill...slash and kill...

Even the veteran actor Malcolm McDowell, in his role of Dr. Loomis, can't save this run-of-the-mill Zombie zero. The character who was so powerfully played by Donald Pleasance in 1978 is now lacking in recklessness determination and intensity. He is reduced to a soft spoken, school psychiatrist who actually befriends Michael as a child and then just gets lost in the mix as another faceless character/victim.

Although this movie doesn't follow the same predictable suit as its countless sequels, it seems Mr. Zombie is almost incapable of creating suspense. Genuinely frightening moments are substituted for unnecessary (and comedic) amounts of carnage, blood, and gore. The movie feels rushed, paying no attention to mood or atmosphere. The camera continues to erratically bounce around as Michael Myers keeps popping up so fast I lost track of certain scene settings. Asking myself, "Wait...what house are we in now...wasn't he just down the street two seconds ago?" Characters continue to talk but speak their lines on top of each other and with such speed I actually started laughing at one point.

As the film concluded and the credits began to roll people began to exit the theatre. I couldn't help but notice the looks of disappointment on the audience faces as they were leaving.

In a nation of full of trendy PG-13 rated horror films I can respect what Rob Zombie is doing to make a no-I-won't-tone-it-down statement but his in-your-face style of directing doesn't (to say the least) transfer over to this genre very well. It seems he is just more interested in getting a reaction out of people then creating a good film, which is very sad considering the potential this project had.

Bottom line: If you are a fan of the original "Halloween" you will be insulted by this remake. Rob Zombie's self-important vision of a classic might play well with today's younger and more gullible teenage audience but for longtime Halloween addicts (and everyone else for that matter) this film is sure to disappoint.

Everyone is a critic and everyone can argue until the sun explodes about what's good and what's bad about this remake, or just remakes in general.
Just to start off, I am both a classic horror fan and a Rob Zombie fan, so I might be biased or not, whatever.
I generally don't like the idea of remakes because usually there is nothing that needs to be retold from the original story that could be done in a better way.
I hate when I hear there is a remake of (insert whatever title here) coming out.
Not because they are doing their own version of the story but because I already know whats going to happen to begin with.
However, a remake like this comes along and was a surprise to me.
It was actually better than I thought it would be, even though I had already enjoyed Rob's other gruesome films.
This was his first (and besides the sequel, maybe last?) stab at something he did not create himself.
But I am happy that Rob was chosen, simply because he is a fan of the original and had a clue as to what the fans might like or dislike.
If you want the original (which is an all-time classic in every sense of the word) then go watch that one, because this is different.
Rob knew that the only thing in the first two films that were left un-explored, was how/why Michael Myers ended up as a serial killer.
Some say it takes away from the mystery but not for me, because there is still mystery there to be found.
Why did he stop speaking?
How was he able to survive at the end, after being shot multiple times at point blank range?
What about the sequel and his psychic connection with his sister?
My view is that after he snapped, he kind of opened himself up to whatever dark forces wanted him.
There is no CGI mask, and no kung-fu hip-hop karate action in this one, which is a great relief.
Some complain that the murder scenes are too violent, but this is a film about a sadistic serial killer, so what do you expect?
Can we go back in time and ask Jack the Ripper to tone it down a bit?
This is fiction but it's very realistic and for some, unsettling.
It could have turned out much, much worse.
I can't make anyone love this and I can't make anyone hate it, that's all up to you.
I love the original with all my horror-fan heart and I think this is one of the best remakes ever done.
John Carpenter's version will never be replaced and I see this version as a companion to that.
But if you think this film is too bloody or gory, you should read the news more often because reality is far more brutal.
And if you do find that you enjoy this sort of thing, it doesn't mean you are sick in the head.
It just means you enjoy a good horror movie.
Also one last thing, I have to say that the characters were much more interesting in this version than the original.
Like I said, I love the original but the characters this time around seem to have more personality.
But don't take my word for it, see for yourself and be the judge.
Happy Halloween!

To call this movie garbage would be an insult to garbage. I was really hoping that this would turn out. There were some decent ideas that RZ infused into this project. There were just a lot of bad ideas as well. The way he turned Michael into a hillbilly was completely preposterous. Besides that if he would have removed the whole middle section of the film. Where he humanizes a character that is scary because of how inhuman he is, it would have helped the film. Michael is also poorly cast, he is way too huge. It looks humorous.

So in conclusion...all of the creepy moments from the original are gone as is all of the quality. Two thumbs way down.

I have to say, I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to films, especially horror films. I cannot say that I've ever sat through a film that literally made my head want to explode from severe pain. This is until I sat through Rob Zombie's Halloween.

I swear, I wanted to shut it off after the first ten minutes. What made me watch it all the way through.. I don't know. Chalk it up to too much curiosity, I guess. It was mind numbing! The dialog.. The acting.. The story.. I was shaking my head in disbelief. I couldn't believe how bad this movie was. Like some surreal nightmare. The worst pile of garbage ever to hit celluloid.

And this is coming from a big fan of Rob Zombie. I practically considered him my creative idol for a while. Man, what the hell was I thinking?! Mr. Zombie claimed he wanted to bring back Michael Myers to true form and make him terrifying again. He did the EXACT opposite. He made Michael into a JOKE! A walking, talking cliche. Laughable. Not scary or even remotely terrifying. Just one big joke!

And this all for a three picture deal. That was Zombie's only reason for remaking Halloween. To further his film making career, which should be laid to rest. I've lost so much respect for Rob, it's not even funny. As far as I'm concerned, he spit in John Carpenter's face with this failed attempt of a remake.

Bottom line.. You have to be completely brain dead to enjoy this movie. I'm sorry for be insulting but I can't for the life of me imagine how anyone could've possibly enjoyed this movie. It is utter trash. From beginning to end if you can make it that far without your brain completely shutting down.

Worst film ever made. PERIOD! Negative 5 stars.

-Joe

First of all, this film is so shallow, cliched, and tired I don't even know where to begin. Zombie somehow manages to take a beloved classic (which was so good to begin with that it didn't ned to be remade in the first place) and destroy just about everything great about it.

Where to begin? The dialogue is incredibly insipid, crass, and totally unbelievable. The characters are thinner and more one-dimensional than a piece of white paper, and the motivations are absolutely straight out of a "how to make a B-movie" manual. The Michael Myers backstory is so cliched that it's laughable; he comes from a seriously dysfunctional household with an abusive/alcoholic father, a stripper mother who is barely hanging on to life, and a cruel, whore sister. Therefore, poor Michael becomes a serial killer! Makes sense, right? Not really...but, Zombie would like to fool people into thinking it does.

The three heroines from the original are back in the form of Anie, Linda, and of course, beloved Laurie. Except these three girls are transformed from charming, wonderful, smart-alecky (in a cute way) girls into obnoxious, mean-spirited, vacuous, shallow twits who we can't even begin to care about. Even Laurie herself fails to elicit much sympathy or empathy from the audience due to her being just plain stupid and rather, as I said before, obnoxious.

Loomis is transformed from a venerable, noble, and sympathetic Doctor into an egocentric, clueless, simpleton. One can't feel any respect or identification with him either.

Finally, there's Michael himself. In this incarnation, Michael turns from a child into a hulking behemoth...a 6 foot 8 inch bulking monster of a man. Where's the suspense, horror, mystery, fright, or aura of terror in this idea? I won't delve deeply into the "what makes Michael work" argument...but, making him 8' 9" tall and built like a Hummer does NOT show basic comprehension for what made Michael such a legendary terror to begin with. If bigger = scarier...why not just turn him into a 12' 8" cyborg fashioned out of the remains of other serial killers and Nazi tanks? Turning Myers into the Hulk doesn't make him scarier per se. In fact, it has the opposite effect because it's too obvious, lazy and cliched. Everyone is expected to be scared of a HUGE man in a mask...but think of it this way. Real life serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy were "normal" guys. They appeared "normal" on the exterior and were also "normal" sized; but they were absolutely evil and some accounts also say they possessed inhuman strength. You wouldn't expect that from people who just look like they are the "guy next door". And THAT'S what makes them so scary. You would expect a 6'8" hulking monster to be superhumanly strong...but you would absolutely NOT expect a man who stands just above 6 feet to be a completely indestructible force of nature. Sure, Zombie's version is more obvious...but that's also why it's so much less scary to some people. There's no mystery and no subtlety to Zombie's Myers, we expect exactly what we get. And therein lies the problem. The original Myers had a quiet stealth and mystery to him that was truly disturbing; Nick Castle didn't simply walk while wearing the mask...he glided. He moved smoothly and efficiently, like a shark. And because of his "normal" stature, it made it even scarier when he performed superhuman feats of strength and stamina.

When I first saw the film, I wasn't sure whether or not to blame most of my dislikes on the actors...but then I realized, they were doing their best given the material they had to work with. The fault lies with the director/writer for even putting such trash to paper in the first place.

Naturally, when this film was announced and the director revealed, audiences shouldn't have expected a shot-for-shot remake of the original. But, audiences WERE expecting a film with intelligence, style, and a basic comprehension and respect for what made "Halloween" work in the first place. Zombie showed NONE of those things. Instead he caters to the average IQ level of the reality-TV-slurping cro-magnons who have the attention span and aesthetic sensibility of a pre-schooler. He took a great idea, a masterpiece of horror and dumbed it down...stripped it of it's mystery and subtlety, and thus its effectiveness...and layered it with white-trash characters, foul-mouthed and crass teens that are unlikeable, and poured buckets of blood on it; he made it more "today". That's NOT necessarily a good thing.