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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
More of a supercharged revamp than a remake, Rob Zombie's take on John Carpenter's Halloween expands the back story of masked killer Michael Myers in an attempt to examine the motivation for his first deadly attack, as well as some reasons for his longevity as a horror icon. Zombie's Myers is a blank-eyed teen (played by Daeg Faerch) whose burgeoning mental problems are left unchecked in a horrific home environment; harassed by schoolmates, a randy sister, and his mother's deadbeat boyfriend (William Forsythe, terrific as usual), Myers' homicidal explosion seems inevitable, and intervention by Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, who offers a fast-talking, hippiefied version of the Donald Pleasance character) does little to impede his development into a mute, unstoppable killing machine (Tyler Mane) bent on finishing off the only survivor of his family's massacre--his sister, now grown into teenaged Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). Opening up the psychological motivation of a cipher like Michael Myers is an interesting approach, but Zombie's script possesses neither a depth of character nor dialogue to offer more than a clichéd thumbnail character sketch, and devoting over a hour of the unrated cut's 120-minute-plus running time to this history feels bloated and self-indulgent (especially when compared to the lean efficiency of the Carpenter original). Zombie's Halloween isn't terribly suspenseful, either; he has a keen eye for visuals and the details of chaotic environments, but his scares are nothing more than brutal showcases for his special effects team. The end result barely surpasses the original film's numerous sequels, though the Who's Who of cult and character actors in the cast (including Zombie regulars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Ken Foree, as well as Brad Dourif, Udo Kier, Clint Howard, Richard Lynch, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, and Danielle Harris) adds a touch of late-night monster movie charm. However, the film's best performance belongs to the director's spouse, Sheri Moon Zombie, who brings unexpected pathos to the role of Myers' downtrodden mother.
The two-disc Unrated Director's Cut offers a full disc's worth of extras that should please Zombie fans; chief among the supplemental features is his commentary, which details the film's shooting history and the numerous edits required to deliver the theatrical version. A making-of featurette offers further details of Zombie's vision for the film, and there are featurettes on his cast choices and the many masks that Myers makes while incarcerated. Seventeen deleted scenes (two of which feature Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Towles) and an alternate ending (all with Zombie's commentary) are also provided, as well as footage from the casting sessions. A blooper reel, which is highlighted by unchecked mischief by McDowell and Dourif, offers the set's sole moment of levity. -- Paul Gaita
Product Description
The original slasher film about Michael Myers, the psychotic killer who dons a mask and terrorizes his hometown, is re-imagined by edgy director Rob Zombie.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 95 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
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.
27 of 35 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a remake but a biopic. Which version to buy (Theatrical does have widescreen). Alike another horror concept.
April 5, 2008
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ridley Scott's American Gangster about real life bad guy and drug lord, Frank Lucas, in American Gangster receives two Oscar noms. Forrest Whitaker won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. Who says you can't do a biopic film of a fictional character? Rob Zombie does just that in this biography, not remake, of horror icon Michael Myers. I would also guess that more Americans have probably heard of the fictional, Michael Myers, than Amin, or Lucas.
Zombie's Halloween goes into detail of Michael as a child, while there is still something of a child left, and the hell on earth that exists in many households. Michael Myers will become the manifestation of evil in society. Halloween was reminiscent of David Cronenberg's The Brood and how the mother's anger physically manifested itself as she spawned deformed children to seek out what angered her. Unlike the mother in The Brood Michael doesn't lash out at society but becomes the evil in society and eventually will no longer be human. True evil cannot be stopped with a gun or a knife and neither can Michael Myers.
My point is Zombie's film can be looked at as poetic and a message for non violence (you think I'm crazy). Michael Myers is a metaphor for the evil in our society, specifically the evil that hides in the suburbs behind closed doors. Myers uses a mask to hide this evil as suburbs could mask this with white picket fence as a happy front. If you can't use violence to stop this evil as we do in our society then you have to go to the roots, the family and family values. Similarly the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time which uses education to fight terror where it starts and not bombs.
There are two moments in the film where, Michael Myers, the boy fights that evil. The first, after Michael has murdered his family and is locked away in an institution he has an emotional breakdown with Dr. Loomis at Christmas time. Michael for an instant realizes the situation and is terrified this reminded me of Regan in The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition) as the demon left her. Flash to the next scene and Michael is gone and the evil has taken him. The second moment after Michael has kidnapped Laurie he once again becomes human for a moment, drops his knife, and shows his face to his sister, once Laurie stabs him and he puts the mask back on Michael is now dead and there is only evil.
Zombie has a stellar cast of horror veterans that there are too many to list. Zombie does not use this as a gimmick or to wink at horror fans the film is taken seriously from beginning to end and their are solid performances all around. Rob Zombie seems to get better with each film as does his wife Sheri Moon Zombie who gave a solid performance as Michael's mother. The photograph that is shown at the end was very effective and tragic.
DVD FEATURES
On Amazon it says the theatrical version is presented in Full Screen only but Disc I contains both Full Screen and Wide Screen versions. - Feature commentary by Writer/Director Rob Zombie as well.
Disc II
Alternate Ending - Deleted Scenes with optional Directory's commentary - Bloopers- The Many Masks of Michael Myers - Re Imagining Halloween - Meet the cast - Casting Sessions - Laurie Strode Scree Test - Theatrical Trailer.
I have seen both the unrated and theatrical versions and theatrical version is the one to go with by a mile. The unrated just throws in to many over the top incidents that really aren't needed.
Zombie's Halloween goes into detail of Michael as a child, while there is still something of a child left, and the hell on earth that exists in many households. Michael Myers will become the manifestation of evil in society. Halloween was reminiscent of David Cronenberg's The Brood and how the mother's anger physically manifested itself as she spawned deformed children to seek out what angered her. Unlike the mother in The Brood Michael doesn't lash out at society but becomes the evil in society and eventually will no longer be human. True evil cannot be stopped with a gun or a knife and neither can Michael Myers.
My point is Zombie's film can be looked at as poetic and a message for non violence (you think I'm crazy). Michael Myers is a metaphor for the evil in our society, specifically the evil that hides in the suburbs behind closed doors. Myers uses a mask to hide this evil as suburbs could mask this with white picket fence as a happy front. If you can't use violence to stop this evil as we do in our society then you have to go to the roots, the family and family values. Similarly the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time which uses education to fight terror where it starts and not bombs.
There are two moments in the film where, Michael Myers, the boy fights that evil. The first, after Michael has murdered his family and is locked away in an institution he has an emotional breakdown with Dr. Loomis at Christmas time. Michael for an instant realizes the situation and is terrified this reminded me of Regan in The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition) as the demon left her. Flash to the next scene and Michael is gone and the evil has taken him. The second moment after Michael has kidnapped Laurie he once again becomes human for a moment, drops his knife, and shows his face to his sister, once Laurie stabs him and he puts the mask back on Michael is now dead and there is only evil.
Zombie has a stellar cast of horror veterans that there are too many to list. Zombie does not use this as a gimmick or to wink at horror fans the film is taken seriously from beginning to end and their are solid performances all around. Rob Zombie seems to get better with each film as does his wife Sheri Moon Zombie who gave a solid performance as Michael's mother. The photograph that is shown at the end was very effective and tragic.
DVD FEATURES
On Amazon it says the theatrical version is presented in Full Screen only but Disc I contains both Full Screen and Wide Screen versions. - Feature commentary by Writer/Director Rob Zombie as well.
Disc II
Alternate Ending - Deleted Scenes with optional Directory's commentary - Bloopers- The Many Masks of Michael Myers - Re Imagining Halloween - Meet the cast - Casting Sessions - Laurie Strode Scree Test - Theatrical Trailer.
I have seen both the unrated and theatrical versions and theatrical version is the one to go with by a mile. The unrated just throws in to many over the top incidents that really aren't needed.
38 of 51 people found the following review helpful
By Cubist
Format:DVD
Remaking a classic horror film is almost never a good idea. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) and The Hitcher (Widescreen Edition) are examples of recent remakes that are inferior shadows of their original selves. And so it came with great disappointment when it was announced that John Carpenter's Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition) was going to be remade and Rob Zombie would direct. Known mostly for his music with White Zombie and a successful solo career, he's branched out into making films, including The Devil's Rejects (Unrated Widescreen Edition), a down `n' dirty homage to outlaw cinema of the 1970s. Why would a self-professed horror film buff like Zombie even try to remake a revered classic like Halloween? Hubris? Fanboy wish fulfillment? Or, did he figure that this film was going to be made one way or another and rather than let some hack do a crappy job; he could at least bring his stylistic touches and point-of-view to the table.
Zombie's remake works because he takes the Halloween mythos and expands it in all kinds of fascinating ways. He makes some really intriguing choices like not making Michael supernaturally strong but rather a big guy who is naturally tough and strong. Zombie also opts for gritty realism like he did with The Devil's Rejects and it is a smart choice that works. Whether you love or hate his take on the material, you have to admit that it doesn't resemble Carpenter's film in any way. It is easily the best Halloween film since Part III, although that isn't really saying much when you consider the quality of the subsequent sequels.
The first disc features an audio commentary by writer/director Rob Zombie. He points out the various locations they shot in while also drawing our attention to where he took footage out and why. Zombie spends a lot of time talking about the challenges he faced on certain scenes. He also points out the new footage in this cut and why he put it back. The filmmaker delivers another solid commentary that is well worth a listen if you're a fan of this film.
The second disc starts of with 17 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Zombie. Unlike some auteurs, he is refreshingly ruthless with his footage and so we have a lot of scenes that were cut, including more of the strip club where Michael's mom works. There's also more of Loomis talking to a young Michael. Michael also attends a parole hearing that features a character played Tom Towles. Adrienne Barbeau even shows up briefly in a scene with Loomis. Zombie does a good job explaining why these scenes were cut.
Also included is an "Alternate Ending" with optional commentary by Zombie. This one is more sympathetic to Michael but wasn't satisfying enough for the director and he went with the other ending which is much more visceral.
"Bloopers" features footage of McDowell cracking up with Sheri Moon Zombie take after take. It turns out that the veteran actor is a real goofball and looks like he's having a blast making his fellow actors laugh.
"The Many Masks of Michael Myers" takes a look at how they constructed the iconic Michael Myers mask. They created several versions, including clean ones and then gradually grungy ones to symbolize the passage of time. We also see how the put together the various ones that Michael makes in the sanitarium.
"Re-Imagining Halloween" is a three-part look at various aspects of the making of the film. Zombie wanted to shoot it in the style of 21 Grams and The Constant Gardener. He wanted the three acts to have their own distinctive looks: the first part was all hand-held cameras, the second was very static, and the third act used lots of steadicam work. The film's production design is examined. They take a look at the various sets and briefly talk about the specific look Zombie was after. The makeup effects are also featured. This involved a lot of work as Michael kills a lot of people. Zombie wanted them to look realistic and we see how some of the kills were done.
"Meet the Cast." Zombie says that the casting process is the most exciting part of the filmmaking process for him because it is the first time the film feels real. He talks about why he cast the actors that he did and, in turn, they talk about their approach to the characters and a bit about working on the film.
"Casting Sessions" is a collection of excerpts of audition footage of the cast members. It gives us a chance to see what convinced Zombie to hire them.
"Scout Taylor-Compton Screen Test" features more footage of this young actress testing for the role of Laurie Strode. It is easy to see why she was cast as she nails the role.
Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.
Zombie's remake works because he takes the Halloween mythos and expands it in all kinds of fascinating ways. He makes some really intriguing choices like not making Michael supernaturally strong but rather a big guy who is naturally tough and strong. Zombie also opts for gritty realism like he did with The Devil's Rejects and it is a smart choice that works. Whether you love or hate his take on the material, you have to admit that it doesn't resemble Carpenter's film in any way. It is easily the best Halloween film since Part III, although that isn't really saying much when you consider the quality of the subsequent sequels.
The first disc features an audio commentary by writer/director Rob Zombie. He points out the various locations they shot in while also drawing our attention to where he took footage out and why. Zombie spends a lot of time talking about the challenges he faced on certain scenes. He also points out the new footage in this cut and why he put it back. The filmmaker delivers another solid commentary that is well worth a listen if you're a fan of this film.
The second disc starts of with 17 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Zombie. Unlike some auteurs, he is refreshingly ruthless with his footage and so we have a lot of scenes that were cut, including more of the strip club where Michael's mom works. There's also more of Loomis talking to a young Michael. Michael also attends a parole hearing that features a character played Tom Towles. Adrienne Barbeau even shows up briefly in a scene with Loomis. Zombie does a good job explaining why these scenes were cut.
Also included is an "Alternate Ending" with optional commentary by Zombie. This one is more sympathetic to Michael but wasn't satisfying enough for the director and he went with the other ending which is much more visceral.
"Bloopers" features footage of McDowell cracking up with Sheri Moon Zombie take after take. It turns out that the veteran actor is a real goofball and looks like he's having a blast making his fellow actors laugh.
"The Many Masks of Michael Myers" takes a look at how they constructed the iconic Michael Myers mask. They created several versions, including clean ones and then gradually grungy ones to symbolize the passage of time. We also see how the put together the various ones that Michael makes in the sanitarium.
"Re-Imagining Halloween" is a three-part look at various aspects of the making of the film. Zombie wanted to shoot it in the style of 21 Grams and The Constant Gardener. He wanted the three acts to have their own distinctive looks: the first part was all hand-held cameras, the second was very static, and the third act used lots of steadicam work. The film's production design is examined. They take a look at the various sets and briefly talk about the specific look Zombie was after. The makeup effects are also featured. This involved a lot of work as Michael kills a lot of people. Zombie wanted them to look realistic and we see how some of the kills were done.
"Meet the Cast." Zombie says that the casting process is the most exciting part of the filmmaking process for him because it is the first time the film feels real. He talks about why he cast the actors that he did and, in turn, they talk about their approach to the characters and a bit about working on the film.
"Casting Sessions" is a collection of excerpts of audition footage of the cast members. It gives us a chance to see what convinced Zombie to hire them.
"Scout Taylor-Compton Screen Test" features more footage of this young actress testing for the role of Laurie Strode. It is easy to see why she was cast as she nails the role.
Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
remakes can be a good thing
for the most part i find that remakes just aren't as good as the originals, but in this case i'm proven wrong. love what was done with it.
Published 2 days ago by lisa larsen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant fillmaking from one of the best horror directors today
All you haters should just shut up or make your own movie and prove that you can make something better. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Calczilla
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trick or Treat Mr. Zombie
John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN is one of the best horror films ever made, a true classic in every sense. Read more
Published 21 days ago by winehound89
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
This movie wasn't bad for a remake. They do get a little out of hand with the language. All in all good
Published 26 days ago by John
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than The Unrated Version
This is the same Rob Zombie Halloween take only this theatrical versin has a much different break-out scene with a higher body count that I thought was much better. Read more
Published 1 month ago by DC Frosch
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Decent Remake
I am a Hardcore Halloween fan. I've seen all of them. This obviously pales in comparison to the original Halloween but we shouldn't compare.Scout Taylor Compton was awful in this. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cagneyfan67
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome....
Rob zombies remake was very cool yeah never better than the original but it was an awesome movie. He brings you in side of Michael Myers and shows why he went mad and was... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tommy D
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVED IT...
I would order again and I loved the movie. It was fast service and good movie quality to watch .
Published 2 months ago by Vickie
4.0 out of 5 stars
A retelling of the story
There generally are two camps for this movie. People who hate it and think it should never have been made and people who love it. I am actually somewhat in between. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mike S.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Halloween
I've been looking for awhile for a good deal on this movie, and I found it. Thank you I had the unrated version but I wanted the theatrical release thanks
Published 3 months ago by Brian turner
