Rob Zombie’s Halloween II
Halloween IIpicks up literally where author / director Rob Zombie ’s 2007Halloweenreboot left off : Michael Myers scoot down by his little babe Laurie Strode ( Scout Taylor - Compton ) , while Laurie herself is left battered , crashing and half - madden by her ordeal . The first third of the subsequence middling much revels in the backlash of the first film , focusing on the survivor and the hell they go through physically , mentally and emotionally as their lesion ( literal and metaphorical ) are treated and the gore is wiped clean . This first third is also the only real nod to Rick Rosenthal ’s 1981 sequel to John Carpenter ’s originalHalloween , which was almost solely limit in the infirmary Laurie Strode is being treat in following Michael ’s Halloween massacre .
However , even as Laurie ’s body heals with time , her judgement is still deeply bruise - so much so that almost every time she closes her eyes to sleep she is terrorize by waking nightmare ( dart in the surreal fashion of a White Zombie television ) , which get a bit tiresome after the third sequence or so . Helping Laurie softwood are her best Quaker Annie ( Danielle Harris ) , also a survivor of the massacre , and Annie ’s father Sheriff Brackett ( Brad Dourif ) . Meanwhile , Michael ’s former shrink Dr. Sam Loomis ( Malcolm McDowell ) is out and about attempt to tug his much - despised Holy Scripture exploit the Meyers family account .
A full year passes and as Halloween once again rolls around , the rippling of Michael Myers ' violence start to consume aside at the public security of the survivor , even as the killer himself appears once again to finish what he begin .
Now , when Rob Zombie set out to reboot theHalloweenfranchise , he made it clear from the get - go that he would n’t be trying to remake John Carpenter ’s 1978 original about a deep , homicidal stalker . Zombie ’s ambition was to get ( literally)beneaththe mask of Michael Myers for research larger themes of passion , hate and ferocity and how pervasive and destructive those forces can be .
It was an interesting concept , specially in the showcase of Michael Myers . The revulsion icon was n’t even a " quality " in Carpenter ’s original film - in fact , the closing credits bill Nick Castle , the first actor to fiddle Myers , as " The Shape " and not Michael Myers . Only in the more and more absurd sequels to Carpenter ’s picture show was the forward-looking myth of Michael Myers unfeignedly accept , and even as that mythology develop , the fictitious character of Myers himself became more and more drab and moth-eaten : a automatic murder - valet de chambre with the supernatural ability to resurrect himself from any and every destruction .
Flash - forward to Zombie ’s reboot : I think the dream was honorable , but the execution of the film was n’t nearly up to the challenge of its destination . What we end up with was an overdone origin story about unseasoned Michael Myers and his trashy family ( oscitance ) , ending in a by - the - numbers slasher movie that pale in comparison to Carpenter ’s lusciously slow - burning stalker creep - fest .
Which brings us back toHalloween II . With this sequel I mean Zombie had a much firmer grasp on themes he was trying to explore and the story he wastryingtell in the first installment . And while this subsequence sure does bid a impertinent look at theHalloweenmythos , with some very strong ( read : disturbing ) scene , ultimately Zombie ’s acquisition as a film producer - while demonstrate signs of vast advance - still require clip to flourish .
The defeat scenes in this picture are doubtless the high-pitched point . Gone are the gleefully formulaic and emotionally vapid death scenes of the mean slasher motion-picture show ; actor Tyler Mane ( SabertoothfromX - Men ) win in portray Michael Myers like a material body and descent world , rather than a supernatural phenomenon . Each time Michael kill , Zombie lets the camera linger over the fallen victim while Mane provides a decided and disturbing " performance , " grunt and huffing as he stabs and stabs and stabs , catches his hint and then stabs and stabs again until the wall are crying parentage . They are shockingly real and brutal moments of violence that make you actually find the desperation , repulsion and all the sick emotions you SHOULD sense when witness a murder .
A especial sequence set in the strip club where Michael ’s female parent ( Sheri Moon Zombie ) used to trip the light fantastic toe is especially memorable ( read : gruesome ) . You really have to see it to appreciate how barbarous it is . Every instance of ferocity in this film communicate a clear and pointed discernment of Michael Myers ' total disconnect from the rest of humanity . Tyler Mane is easily my favorite actor to take on the part , and even though many the great unwashed freak when they first heardhe would appear masklessfor a important parcel of the film , Mane without the mask twist out to be a far more terrific front . Through him we can in reality see just how unimportant life looks to those shark ’s eyes glistening through the shadows of " Hobo Myers ' " hooded crownwork ; the big man has never been more genuine , or more scary .
Halloween II is the sequel to Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake. In the sequel, Laurie Strode contends with the psychological trauma inflicted by her murderous brother, Michael Myers. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis is attempting to profit from Laurie’s trauma by writing a book about the incident as Michael returns to Haddonfield to continue the hunt for his sister.
every bit accomplished is the performance from Scout Taylor - Compton . One of the things I hate about slasher motion-picture show continuation is that I almost never believe that the surviving main character has been through any kind of real ordeal - they do n’t have scar , they seem moderately well adjusted to liveliness again , and if they have ANY mental issue it ’s commonly that corny conceive - I - power saw - him - in - the - mirror stuff . Not Laurie Strode , though . This female child DOES have scratch ( the open scene of her being handle for her extensive injury in the ER is pretty intestine - wrenching ) ; she ’s fighting to hold onto any semblance of a life worth live on ; and all the while she ’s slipping further and further down the bank of insanity , her idea wholly perverted by the furiousness and anguish she can not work out . And Taylor - Compton pull out off that twisted performance pretty well , IMO . By the goal of the film , I in truth consider that Laurie stop up where she does , making the last build of the celluloid ( Taylor - Compton ’s smiling look ) really haunting .
So why is this film , which has some strong positives , earn such horrible review and being reproof by horror fans ?
Well , the " surrealist " aspects of the film certainly help to drag it down . The moving-picture show opens with a definition lifted from a college psychology text Scripture , explicate the significance of white horses in dream and how the image relates to anger and ferocity . After that erroneous start ( having to explain your major themes and imagery upfront is never a good sign ) , we go through the entire pic have to watch the " spectre " of Sheri Moon Zombie , costumed in a pure white nightgown , leading a ashen stag and a young version of Michael around the screen . Huh ?
Yes , Rob Zombie once again makes the stumble of stress to take us into Michael Myers ' psyche , wasting time on the killer ’s warped POV instead of letting the premise - Laurie Strode is actually Angel Myers , Michael ’s sister who he want to " bring in home " - provide the motivation , while Taylor Mane ’s capable performance provide the insight into Michael ’s fad - fueled bloodlust .
It ’s this same " get inside Michael ’s head " idea that completely derailsHalloween IIin its third act . Like Carpenter ’s original , Zombie ’s sequel is a slow - burn down news report , bit by bit crank up the tension until Halloween night once again come around . Only , when we in the end do get to the titular holiday , of a sudden the motion picture shifts from 40 mph to 80 mph , and all those standout moments of disturbing violence and tension give way to a surrealist " climax " between Michael and Laurie , which hardly make sense on newspaper publisher or onscreen . After that massive deflation , the moving picture sputter to a dark , agitate end without a ray of hope in sight - which would ’ve been a very veridical and mature style of reckon at the result of not bad furiousness , IF it had n’t been so poorly executed from a filmmaking standpoint .
Even Malcolm McDowell ’s Dr. Loomis - somewhat of a throwaway character in this sequel - had interesting thematic potential at the showtime , only to have that arch totally fizzle out out and be cast off aside at the destruction . It ’s the problem of much ofHalloween II , and really Zombie ’s entire venture into the franchise : the cinematic abilities of the filmmaker fall unretentive of the storey ’s ambitions .
There are a few ray of hope for Zombie ’s future calling , though : the hospital sequence at the start of the film is pretty vivid and well done , as are many of the killing scenes . There are tad of a really talented repulsion director at work here , even if those talents are n’t yet fully realized . To be sightly : I thought this sequel improved upon its predecessor and is sure as shooting better than Zombie ’s horrendous other piece of work likeHouse of 1,000 CorpsesorThe Devil ’s Rejects .
Slasher flick sports fan , I ’ll be honest : you will detest this cinema . It is n’t " fun , " it is n’t " scary " and it sure as shooting is n’t " funny . " It is dark , it is disturbing , it is brutal , weird and depressing . Who WILL enjoy it , then ? Horror fans with receptive minds for new styles and citizenry like me , who have stay loyal to theHalloweenfranchise through all of its terrible , terrible continuation . Because for all of its massive faults , I have to confess thatHalloween IIwas the most pursuit I ’ve had in Michael Myers since John Carpenter ’s original . It ’s too speculative I ca n’t run that praise to the moving-picture show as a whole .
Halloween II is the continuation to Rob Zombie ’s 2007 Halloween remake . In the sequel , Laurie Strode repugn with the psychological trauma inflict by her homicidal comrade , Michael Myers . Meanwhile , Dr. Loomis is attempting to benefit from Laurie ’s trauma by writing a record book about the incident as Michael returns to Haddonfield to continue the search for his sis .
