Horror remakes are so common nowadays and the majority of them are terrible and don't match up to the movie they're remaking. But, Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween is actually pretty good. We follow 10-year-old Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch), a troubled boy who murders his father-in-law, his sister and his sister's boyfriend on Halloween night. He is sent to a mental institution where he escapes 17 years later and goes back home to Haddonfield, starting a killing spree.
About a year before this was released, I was on the internet when I heard about a rumour that slasher movie Halloween was going to be remade by Rob Zombie. Two things went through my mind: "Oh God. A remake of Halloween? This is gonna be horrible" and "Oh God. Rob Zombie's doing it? This is gonna be horrible." In fact, the only reason I watched it was because I was curious and I've got to admit I was surprised at how good it was.
Daeg Faerch gives an excellently chilling performance as the young Michael Myers and is a promising start to his acting career. Malcolm McDowell was perfectly cast as Myer's psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis and he also adds star quality to the film. Director Rob Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie makes an appearance as Myer's mother (hmm.....I wonder why she got the role.) Seriously though, she does do a good job of it.
Any remake will be compared to the movie it's remaking and Zombie's Halloween doesn't let down. Although John Carpenter's original Halloween surpasses Zombie's remake, the remake still lives up to the original. It works as both a prequel and a remake of Carpenter's original due to it being done in two halves. The first half shows Michael Myer's first murders and effectively delves into the character's motivation for this and the second half shows his escape from the mental institution and his killing spree which pretty much made up the 1978 version. I was surprised to find that I preferred the first half and found it more interesting than the slightly too clichéd second half.
My only problem with Halloween is that it isn't really very scary. The thing that made the original version legendary was that it was genuinely creepy and its supernatural element helped with that. Zombie's Halloween has its moments but as a horror film it doesn't really work, although it's still one of the best remakes out there.
It might not be as good as the original but it's still a great movie. I give it 8/10.
About a year before this was released, I was on the internet when I heard about a rumour that slasher movie Halloween was going to be remade by Rob Zombie. Two things went through my mind: "Oh God. A remake of Halloween? This is gonna be horrible" and "Oh God. Rob Zombie's doing it? This is gonna be horrible." In fact, the only reason I watched it was because I was curious and I've got to admit I was surprised at how good it was.
Daeg Faerch gives an excellently chilling performance as the young Michael Myers and is a promising start to his acting career. Malcolm McDowell was perfectly cast as Myer's psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis and he also adds star quality to the film. Director Rob Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie makes an appearance as Myer's mother (hmm.....I wonder why she got the role.) Seriously though, she does do a good job of it.
Any remake will be compared to the movie it's remaking and Zombie's Halloween doesn't let down. Although John Carpenter's original Halloween surpasses Zombie's remake, the remake still lives up to the original. It works as both a prequel and a remake of Carpenter's original due to it being done in two halves. The first half shows Michael Myer's first murders and effectively delves into the character's motivation for this and the second half shows his escape from the mental institution and his killing spree which pretty much made up the 1978 version. I was surprised to find that I preferred the first half and found it more interesting than the slightly too clichéd second half.
My only problem with Halloween is that it isn't really very scary. The thing that made the original version legendary was that it was genuinely creepy and its supernatural element helped with that. Zombie's Halloween has its moments but as a horror film it doesn't really work, although it's still one of the best remakes out there.
It might not be as good as the original but it's still a great movie. I give it 8/10.