Halloween II

Synopsis: Michael Myers returns home for a deadly reunion with his sister.

Release Date: August 28, 2009     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Horror,

Film Review

If you have not seen the first re-make, by the same director Rob Zombie, of Halloween from a few years ago you will be completely lost during this movie. It is not just a sequel, it is a continuation. The changes made to it, from the first Halloween as the story is almost identical, are detestable. Michael is now lead by ghosts consisting of a white horse, his mother (looking ethereal while being evil in all white) and the remnants of himself as a child. Sound interesting? It’s not, even in the slightest. The only really interesting part of the movie is one of the sub-plots involving Dr. Samuel Loomis (McDowell) and his quest for fame and notoriety through his first hand knowledge of Michael Myers past and the prior killings he did. This small fragment of a sub-plot cannot save this movie in any way. Gone is any form of internal desire or deeper meaning to why Michael kills. No, this film is only concerned with showing him kill and the gory mess that comes along with it. This is a sad excuse for a horror movie, or any type of movie at all.

People use slang every day when talking to each other. It is a fact. Do we use every phrase or term repeatedly in every single sentence that comes out of our mouths? No. Do the characters in this movie? Yes. Is it annoying and completely unrealistic? Yes. The story itself is written so poorly that to add this layer on the dialogue only dumbs it down to a level unheard of before. It is one thing to try and be ‘hip’ when writing a screenplay so the younger generations feels like they relate to the characters on screen. It is something completely different when you overdo it to the point where you can see how hard the writer was trying to do it and ultimately failing miserably. Perhaps the time should have been taken in developing an actual plot people would want to watch, and one that made sense. Just an idea.

The Foley technicians obviously had quite a good time with this movie. However, it is a shame they could not change it up a bit. The sound of the knife cutting through skin, the crushing of bones, breaking of windows and wooden doors – it is all unnerving and very real. It is repetitive too. The sounds are always the same and after you have heard bone cracking or a knifes blade cutting through flesh five times, the tenth and twentieth get really boring really quickly. Especially when every moment of this is coupled with a sudden blare of music or ambient noise. This does not scare you as a viewer, it simply alerts you that its time again for someone to die. By the third act you know what that involves, more of the same sounds as before.

Calling this a scary movie is possibly the funniest thing you could say to anyone.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Rob Zombie
• Producer(s): Rob ZombieTyler Moore (Michael Myers)
• Screenwriter(s): Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Samuel Loomis)Brad Dourif (Sheriff Lee Brackett)Scout Taylor-Compton (laurie Strode)
• Story: 
• Cast:  Glenn GarlandBrandon TrostGarreth Stover
• Editor(s): Mary McLeod
• Cinematographer: Tyler BatesEast Coast Films
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: 
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USA