A major entry in the remake cycle of horror films from the mid to late aughts, Halloween represents Rob Zombie’s attempt to flesh out the original American slasher film.  Running at two hours, the first half of the film involves material that John Carpenter chose to ignore, namely the family context that created a monster.  Myers’ family is violent, profane, and poor.  After he slaughters an animal, a peer, and half his family, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital where he is cared for by the opportunistic Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, making us all long for Donald Pleasance) until he is 25 (not 21, as in the original).  Myers breaks out and returns to his hometown to find his baby sister, the last person he remembers with his human aspects.  After killing more people, he finds her and appears to ask her to help him.  She stabs him instead and he returns to his murderous ways.

Violent and disgusting, Zombie’s film features far more blood, torture, and nudity than the original did, but unfortunately it isn’t really any scarier.  The back story he develops that fleshes out Myers as a traumatized, bullied child who deserves the sympathy of the audience, is certainly interesting and well-developed.  Once the second half starts, though, the poor contrast with the original becomes clear and matters decline.  Jamie Lee Curtis is missed, but so is the music, photography, and atmosphere of the creepy original.  The psychosexual aspects of Myers’ character that Carpenter appeared to be interested in are largely absent here, replaced with a more conventional tale of trauma leading to violence.  It’s better than many of the sequels, yet this is still hard to recommend to anyone outside of the horror community.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.

MJM  05-25-2012