Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Dimension Films, 2007. Based on the 1978 screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Written and Directed by Rob Zombie. Music by Tyler Bates. Starring Malcom McDowell, Daeg Faerch, Scout-Taylor Compton, Danielle Harris and Tyler Mane.

     By Stephen Pytak 

     This is like the Mad Magazine 'Scenes We'd Like To 
See' of the 'Halloween' franchise. 
     Young Michael Myers getting back at a school bully.
     Smith's Grove guards bitching about how slow 
adult Michael walks. 
     Dr. Loomis at the gun shop. 
     Hilarious! 
     And Rob Zombie's "Halloween" is also a more brutal 
take on the material.
     "Michael (Tyler Mane)" bouncing "Big Joe Grizzly (Ken 
Foree)" repeatedly off a men's room stall.
    The killer beating a topless "Annie Brackett (Danielle 
Harris)" to a blood-caked mess. Jesus. In the end I wasn't
sure if she was dead, alive, or what.
     It was kind of neat to watch someone else's take
on John Carpenter's 1978 landmark. I had a heck of a good
time first time I saw it. Maybe that's because I wasn't taking the 
whole thing too seriously, like some "Halloween" fans who
decided it was cool to slam it. 
     I didn't think it was all bad, but I found it doesn't hold up
too well in repeated viewings. In the end, Rob Zombie's
"Halloween" was p a strange  experiment which had 
some interesting results, but no potential for a legacy.
    Here are some of my observations, both good and bad:
     I never thought I'd see a "Halloween" film which focused 
on young Michael, and pull it off so well. And I'm glad 
Zombie didn't make the kid one dimensional. 
     The scenes with young Michael take up half the 
movie. And that's O.K., because Zombie got Daeg 
Faerch to play the role. Faerch creates a Michael that's 
disturbed and mischievious on the one hand, yet 
sympathetic. His performace drew you in, made you
curious about what was going to happen next.
     The part where he bludgeons a school tough to 
death with a stick is awesome. I wish I could have done
that to a few people I knew when I was 10.
     The scene where he's flicking candy corn off the 
kitchen table contemplating how to kill his mother's 
white trash boyfriend (William Forsythe) is cool.
     The scenes at Smith's Grove, the early treatment
sessions with Dr. Loomis (Malcom McDowell) were
sometimes funny, sometimes touching, sometimes 
downright disturbing. 
     Through Faerch, Zombie managed to give the
Michael Myers character a lot more personality. And
I thought these scenes were among the best in the film.
      The second half of this flick revisits territory covered
in John Carpenter's original. But here The Shape is much
taller.
     Mane, at 6-11, towers over all other previous 
incarnations of Michael Myers. It's interesting. I guess it
could be seen as a homage to "The Thing From Another World."
    Zombie kept showing scenes from that film featuring the 
creature, who was played by the very tall James Arness. And 
that's how adult Michael comes off in this film, a towering,
unstoppable hulk.
    By the way, I thought the origin Rob came up with for
the Shape mask was another interesting touch. And it's a good
version of the Michael Myers mask, which resembles the one
used in Carpenter's original. It always frustrated me when
they'd make a sequel to one of these films and get the mask
wrong. 
     The best scenes in the film are the ones Zombie wrote
from scratch. When he was forced to retread territory
Carpenter covered in the original, he faltered.
     I still think Scout Taylor Compton (Laurie) and Danielle 
Harris (Annie) did the best they could with what they had to 
work with. But the scenes with the girls never quite clicked.
     The score by Tyler Bates, a take on Carpenter's original
music, was O.K. It was great hearing that familiar "Halloween"
theme in some sections. But I think in other parts, the familiar
themes were overused. Some of Bates' original themes really
helped the final chase scenes. And I'm curious to hear the entire 
score isolated on CD. But now, seven months later, it still hasn't 
come out. 
      Will Rob Zombie's "Halloween" have legs?
      I'm starting to doubt it.
      I'm not looking forward to a sequel, as much as I am 
awaiting the release of the next issue in a new comic book
series dedicated to John Carpenter's "Halloween." 
     Called "Halloween: Nightdance," it gives the traditional
Michael Myers a new adventure in slaughter. I thought 
issue 1 was excellent.
     So what's the future of the "Halloween" franchise?
     I don't know. But one thing I do know is it will never
die. And that's O.K. It's fun. I've grown up watching
sequels and remakes, both good and bad. I've gotten used 
to them.  And while some are tired retreads, some aren't. 
And you never know when something special might come 
out of them. 
     What I'd like to see down the road is another 
visionary's interpretation of the material, much the way
Rob did here. It's kind of neat to see a filmmaker step
up and try to outdo a masterpiece.