Film Review: Halloween (2007)
| Movie: | "Halloween" (2007) | Film Gecko Rating: | |
| Rating: | R | Running time: | 109 mins. |
| DVD Release Date: | 12/18/2007 | Cumulative Box Office: | $72,155,805 |
I watched "Halloween" on Wednesday night. I chose not to see it at the theater when it came out so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. I am a huge fan of John Carpenter’s original (1978) masterpiece and I was hoping that another of Carpenter’s great works would not be ruined again (the remake of "The Fog" was cringe-worthy).
Within 5 minutes, you can tell that director, Rob Zombie, had taken great liberties with the script, the characters, the camera use, etc… Honestly, I was disgusted. Remakes are supposed to introduce a different flavor - I get it - but this was ridiculous. Zombie approaches the film like it’s a case study of Michael Myers and he’s looks too big, the family seems… wrong and it’s basically just an over-the-top swearfest. I’m no prude but I just thought it was extremely excessive. This is a slasher flick - I don’t want to think about whether daddy’s insults are hurting Michael. If Zombie wanted to make that kind of movie, he should have called it "Michael Myers: The Untold Story." Before long, the foul-mouthed acting had me saying some pretty nasty things too - the best one? "Turn this sh*t off!" I couldn’t finish it. My husband took it a step further and made Blockbuster credit our account (my hero, lol).
The original "Halloween" is known for its cinematography. The very first scene is so bold - it’s a point-of-view camera angle (shot through the eye holes in young Michael’s clown mask). It’s done in one continuous shot from the film’s start, straight through to the opening credits (incredible!) and Michael’s actions are executed in near silence which just adds to the creepiness. It’s a stark contrast to the loud, vulgar introduction we get in Zombie’s remake.
There are some storyline inconsistencies also which will leave "Halloween" purists scratching their heads. The case study stuff mixed with the overly gory murder scenes is just a bad combination. It doesn’t flow well and I really hated it.
One last thing - there’s no stand out performance in this but it’s worth noting that the original "Halloween" launched Jamie Lee Curtis to stardom in the role of Laurie Strode (Michael Myers’ baby sister). That should tell you something.
Other reviewers said:
- New York Times (2.5/5 stars)
- Rotten Tomatoes (4.1/10)
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POSTED IN: Posters & Production Stills, DVD Talk, Now on DVD, Film Reviews
1 opinion for Film Review: Halloween (2007)
Liz
Dec 22, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I’ve heard almost nothing but bad stuff about Halloween. I really don’t like the idea of “explaining” Michael Myers, since he is really much scarier if he was a devil child born into a normal, well-adjusted family. (Not to mention more accurate - the world’s worst psychopaths often don’t have much trauma in their past.) Giving him an origin story is a terrible idea. For shame, Rob Zombie.
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