HALLOWEEN

The 'boogieman' has been subjected to a rigorous dissection in recent years. No longer content in keeping their gruesome presence shrouded in eerie mystique, cinema has delved into the notorious pasts of some of the most iconic antagonists ever to grace the silver screen. In the past five years alone everyone from Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Hannibal Lecter to the Dark Lord of the Sith have had their notorious histories unearthed to such a degree that we end up almost sympathising with these 'misunderstood' psychopathic monsters. Therefore it would only be a matter of time until Hollywood would eventually dig up the dirt on that infamous William Shatner masked babysitter killer Michael Myers. And so after 8 films over almost 30 years of relentless slicing and dicing, its up to the director of THE DEVIL'S REJECTS and the remake of HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES Rob Zombie, to unmask the unmaskable, with his 'reinterpretation' of John Carpenter's classic slasher flick HALLOWEEN. But, as the director has proclaimed in numerous interviews, this is no mere rehash but a semi-remake/prequel that attempts to tap into the exact motivation behind why that future knife-wielding psychopath will go on a stalk n' slashing spree on that titular night in 1978. And indeed what becomes blatantly apparent while watching Zombie's version of HALLOWEEN is that it succeeds in doing just that. It taps inside the troubled mind of a killer, unearthing his unsavory family background and troubled school life to give some reasoning behind his actions. But instead of fearing the fiend I now feel I want to appoint him as my personal bodyguard! For a good 30 minutes we are subjected to a probing, insightful prologue of young Michael - filling in all the gaps that lead up to Carpenter's original 1978 film. So, whereas in Carpenter€™s film we only caught a glimpse of the - decidedly middle-class Myers family - here we are properly introduced: albeit with a little historical amendment to justify Michael's knife-wielding ways. His mother Deborah Myers, (played by Rob Zombie's own spouse Sheri Moon) is now a whore with a heart, who makes money for the family as an exotic pole dancer, while her disabled vile-mouthed slob of a stepfather (played by William Forsythe) lies around at home all day eying up his decidedly sluttish teenage stepdaughter, while taunting and teasing 8 year old Michael- who periodically hides behind a Halloween mask - with profanities about his supposed homosexuality. We also follow Michael's troubled school life, where he is targeted by school bullies who tease him about his wayward family, and where he frequently gets into trouble with the principle, who appropriately recommends counseling for the troubled child...and then that pivotal fateful day comes when he finally flips, lashing out in a fit of relentless vigilante rage...well you know what€™s coming.What is equally disturbing about all this is how the audience is forced to sympathise with the character despite all the blood slaughter. Michael is vindictively made up to resemble quite a cute looking kid, who at one point even displays a fit of devotion: planting a kiss on his baby sister 'Boo' and projecting genuine affection for his own mother throughout. However all this sympathising is undone when events lean forward to that fateful Halloween night in Haddonfield, where the film loops into a disappointing, conventionally cut remake. This is where the film really sank for me, as Zombie simply stumbles over Carpenter€™s old ground and then peppers the film with pointless, 'haven't seen them in a while' cameos: everyone from the actress who played Captain Callahan in the POLICE ACADEMY films, to one-time horror film icons Ken Foree (from George A Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD) Dee Wallace (THE HOWLING) and veteran genre actor Brad Dourif make an appearance. In addition there's overcooked homage to Carpenter with clips from THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (and FORBIDDEN PLANET) playing repeatedly throughout, together with former Carpenter regular Adrienne Barbeau, (THE FOG, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK) turning up in a brief role along with streams of regurgitated dialogue from the original. But, tellingly one particular quotable line from the original is not capitalised on here: 'everybody is entitled to at least one good scare', murmured by a policeman in the original and echoed again by Janet Leigh to off-screen daughter Jamie Leigh in HALLOWEEN H20 20 years later. Yes, Zombie installs the film with moments of unspeakable gore and, rather predictably, uses sudden jolts in the soundtrack to make you leap out of your seat, along with welcomingly reverberating Carpenter's self-composed original creepy theme, but at not one point was I terrified in the true sense of the word. For all his recent career-derailing misssteps, John Carpenter did know how to inflict creeping terror in his audience€™s mind with both that brillant haunting piano score, and his clever utilization of the remote corners of the screen to impose a sinister something suddenly lurking into frame. It was also all about body language. 'The shape', (as previously motioned by actor Tony Moran) used to walk with a slow, pacey but determined stride which reinforced the eerie prospect that he would catch up with you no matter how fast you ran, while at other times he simply drifted into frame to further enforce his omniscient presence. Here Michael Myers is happily stabbing away at an innocent family one moment and behind the door playing hide and seek the next. It must also be said that it is diminishing that we are given so much information about him, as if being let in on all of this boogieman's bad family history has desensitised and subsequently tamed the nature of the beast. And what€™s happened to our main protagonist Laurie Strode? Once immortalized by Jamie Leigh Curtis as a young bright intelligent female protagonist who could almost give Michael at least a little run for his money, is now portrayed by young Scout Taylor-Compton as a wimpy, irritating mousey idiot who we couldn€™t care less about! Thank god then for that true thespian Malcolm McDowell, who momentarily lifts the film with his knowledgeable, determined and convincing portrayal of Michael€™s ageing former psychiatrist Dr Samuel Loomis. McDowell installs the character with great gusto that suggests an almost father like connection between him and his former patient Michael. But unfortunately it's not enough. What we are left with is another disappointing and repetitive diversion into remake territory that ultimately leaves little to the imagination. It€™s certainly revealing when, at the climax, Zombie€™s film kills off one major character along with combining pivotal plot developments we learnt in previous sequels. This will no doubt come back to haunt us, opening the film up to the possibility of a brand new set of sequels, which leaves a somewhat nasty, premeditated taste in the mouth.

rating: 2