The Optimist: Rob Zombie's Halloween

I don't feel that I've explained well enough about what I plan on doing with The Optimist. I'll be reviewing both "bad" (There are very few bad movies) and good movies. I'll just review and talk about whatever piques my interest in a certain movie. Not really review, just talk about. This time it's the Halloween series and Rob's re-imagining. Before I go into this, and those who would bitch about spoilers. There aren't any huge surprises with this new movie. It's a logical step into what happens with Michael during his time in Smith's Grove. We all know the ending.

I have a very long and intricate history with Halloween. It was the first R-rated horror movie I ever saw. It's also the reason I love horror movies like I do.

I bought my first copy of it at Blockbuster for five bucks. (I say first because I have three different versions of it.) We had just moved here to Apple Valley, and my Dad and I were checking out the local Blockbuster. At the time Blockbuster had their own brand of movie releases. They released a bunch of older movies with their name stamped on the cover. I also have a copy of Night of the Living Dead from this series. My Dad said to me that it was a good movie and that I was old enough to watch it now. I was 11 at the time. I had no idea what it was. He just bought it for me. It was strange, and it changed my life. (Yes, it's a cheesy line, but it really did change my life. You'll soon see why.)

At the time all I knew was that it was an R-rated horror movie and those were forbidden in my house. (Now at all hours of the day and night you will hear screaming coming from my TV or computer.) We brought it home, and I was so freaked out at the prospect of what I might see that I couldn't get myself to watch it for five days. (Whatever you can think of is always scarier than what the movie actually is.)

Everyday I tried to put it in, but I just couldn't muster the courage. Finally, on the fifth day, I remember this like it was yesterday. It was early September, and the leaves were just starting to turn. My parents were out, and my aunt was watching my brother and I. She was in my parent's room watching a movie with my brother when I finally got the courage to put it in and hit play. I'm not entirely sure what it was that I like about it, but I LOVED it.

I'm still not entirely sure why I love it so much. From there on I saw them all out of order because of the differing prices of the movies, and the availability. At the time Halloween 4 and 5 were out of print. It was almost a year before I found them, and at Funcoland of all places!

The first one I saw after the original was Halloween 6. It was so much more violent than the others. The original didn't have much gore. It was more of the suspense of not knowing where he was or why he was killing everyone. This one had so much more, and it really freaked me out and enthralled me at the same time. I was in awe of what was going on before my eyes, the sounds of the knife going in, that haunting melody that John Carpenter wrote. It all just fit perfectly. I remember being amazed that they brought Tommy Doyle back. 6 was a decent movie, and it doesn't deserve all the flak it gets!

After Halloween, I started renting every horror movie I could get my hands on. Now I buy horror movies weekly. The DVD's are so cheap now. I have over 300 DVDs and easily more than half of them are horror.

Last year, I heard rumblings of a new Halloween movie, and this of course excited me. Then I heard that Rob was directing it. I was ecstatic! He's perfect. I couldn't think of anyone better to direct it than him. He definitely knows how to make a good horror movie. (Devil's Rejects is awesome!)

I heard that he had talked to John Carpenter about it and he gave him the ok. Even better! Then I heard that Rob was going to be basing this new movie in reality rather than the supernatural storyline that was part of the series already, and I was sort of put off by that, but it was Rob Zombie. He'd do a good job no matter what!

This movie is more of a re-imagining than a remake. Only part of it is a remake, and it's completely different from the original. The first third of the movie is about Michael and his life before he kills his sister. We see the classic beginnings of a serial killer. He's killing small animals, and taking pictures of road kill, he's being picked on, and he's just generally anti-social. He also wears this creepy as fuck clown mask all the time. The kid who played Michael did an amazing job, this kid is just creepy. His name is Daeg Faerch. Of course he snaps and is put into Smith's Grove Insane Asylum. This is where we meet Dr. Loomis played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell. This part we see Michael slowly slip further and further into his insanity until finally he stop talking all together. The third part of the movie is where he escapes and where the remake part comes in. We all know what happens so I won't have to explain it.

Fast forward to a year later, last Friday. My Dad, Brother, and I went out to see Rob Zombie's Halloween on the huge screen at Carmike Cinema. We saw the midnight showing. There were surprisingly a lot of people there for something so late. As the movie started, I was so excited, and a little bit on edge. As the movie kept going, I was actually getting scared and genuinely freaked out with what was going on. This never happens with me and horror movies anymore. It takes a lot to bring that out of me now, and Rob did it with flying colours. As the credits hit, my jaw was on the floor. The first thought that came into my head was, "He did it. He actually, made a better movie than the original!"

In the earlier films Michael's story became so outlandish that it wasn't scary and just interesting. You always wanted to see where he'd go next. That's part of what I loved so much about them. In this Rob stripped all that away, and made Michael a human. Just a very sick person who wants a family. All he's got left of his family is Laurie, and his whole motive in this movie is to find her and connect with her.

That's what this movie boils down to: Family. Michael wants someone to connect with. His Mom killed herself shortly after realizing Michael would never leave the sanitarium. Shortly after that, Laurie is adopted by a new family and never told about her relation to him. He knows she exists, but he cannot get out. Loomis over the course of 15 years, tries to get through to him, and fails. He tells Michael there's nothing he can do for him, and leaves. Michael is left alone, and when he breaks out he just wants to find Laurie and make some kind of connection with her. This was the strength of the movie right here. Rob made Michael a human. I saw Michael as a human for the first time in this. There were times in the other movies where something similar to this was attempted, but the story made the impact slightly less than what it should have been like it was in this. This is shown especially in the scene where he meets Laurie for the first time since she was a baby. He drops his knife, takes off his mask, kneels in front of her, and gives her a picture of the two of them when they were young. At that point, my jaw was on the floor. It was such a powerful scene.

Every single actor in this movie did a great job in the parts they were given. The music and sound was mixed perfectly. I was glad that Rob kept the original theme. Early in development there were rumours that it wouldn't be kept. This is definitely a worthy remake and superior to the original in many ways.

Over Labour Day weekend, it broke records. It has already doubled the money it cost to make it, and everyone I've talked to seems to like it. I can't wait to see it again, and I suggest to everyone with an interest in horror to see this movie. This is what a horror movie should be. It shouldn't be torture porn, or a lame PG-13 movie. It should be balls out terror, and that's what this movie achieved.
-VampKei, The Optimist