Friday, August 28, 2009

Review - Halloween II (2009)

From Blogger Pictures

Halloween II is exactly what I expected it to be… a jumbled mess of lights, blood and ghosts. I went in having real low expectations but I walked out with a sense of ‘what the fuck did I just watch,’ which I guess was better than what I expected but it was still a pretty bad movie nevertheless. The plot, in simple words, is centering on Laurie who is trying to overcome the terror that had happened to her but Michael is back and he is seeing apparitions of his mom and of himself as a little kid. His ghost mom and his ghost kid-self tell him that he must make Laurie part of the family. Psychological subtext and stupid metaphors layer this movie to the point where it becomes confusing and jumbled. In the end, I don’t know who is who and there is no explanation when it clearly needs one.

From Blogger Pictures

What really bothered me about this movie was the fact that none of the characters were likable or even remotely enjoyable to watch. What I enjoyed about the original Halloween II is that Laurie still retained her innocents on the whole subject; she still was this helpless girl that tangled with evil. That’s not the case here! Laurie is a stupid, alcoholic whiny bitch who you kind of want to see get killed. Even Loomis is an asshole in this movie. He writes a book about Michael Myers and then profits off of it and then is a douche to his editor and the people around him… and he is so convinced that Michael is dead. The REAL Loomis would never do that; he is not out there for profit or anything… just to help Laurie avoid this monster. He was still a nice protective man, not like in this movie. The only real person that I actually cared for was the Sheriff because he had depth and emotion.

I loathed the supernatural aspect of this film because it did not need to be in there. They are adding layers of character to Michael that didn’t need to be added… they are trying to make him seem like a person that has a conscience but he simply does not, he is the Boogeyman. For whatever reason, there was Sheri Moon Zombie dressed in a white gown with a white horse; I fail to see where this fit into the plot. Are they trying to find metaphors to pump in to this film? I don’t know. Also, why does Michael Myers dress like a homeless guy and why does he have a beard? A homeless looking Michael is not something that I neither am used to nor do I want to see.

From Blogger Pictures

In fairness, this movie does have its brutal killings, a lot of blood and some pretty awesome camera angles but what throws me off from this movie is the fact that there are points (specifically Laurie’s dreams) where it’s so LSD induced and so fucked up, I don’t know what to think. It’s like watching an 80’s music video while on acid. It steers away from the plot. Furthermore, there are comedy sections that didn’t need to be there specifically the line “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” said by the ambulance attendee. And the cameo by Weird Al was very unnecessary.

Overall, this movie was a mess and it was hard to follow. There were points where it tried to be serous but it failed and there were times when the corniness, supernatural elements and the characters got in the way of the already fucked up plot. I think this movie could have been better had they kept it in the same night and not over the course of a few days. But, this is Zombie’s rendition so I can’t complain… coming from the guy who did House of 1,000 Corpses I expect nothing more. I am still a somewhat fan of his music though. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen this movie, but your review pretty much confirms what I thought when I saw the trailer. As much as the first Halloween was a bit of a mess (I thought Loomis was killed by Michael. Didn't he get his head crushed and his eyes gouged out?) it was still fairly coherent (in the Rob Zombie sense of the word) as it adhered to an established story. As soon as I saw the ghost of his mum in the trailer, that was it for me - I was out. I've been a fan of Rob Zombie since the early nineties and The Devil's Rejects is one of the best horror/exploitation movies of modern times, but I just wish he would let the fan-boy side of his personality reign a little bit more and realise what he's doing. The sad thing is I'll probably end up going to see it anyway, giving the studios the idea that we like this sort of thing.

Mr. Johnny Sandman said...

I totally agree!! If he stuck to exploitation movies... he'll be golden but I don't think he has the power to direct a remake of classic movie. Plus, I also enjoy his music. Those dream sequences are acid trips... don't go to the theater drunk.

Bloofer lady said...

He ruined the Hallowen films by trying to over explain Michael. If he hadn't of done that his movies may have stood a chance.

Mr. Johnny Sandman said...

Oh I agree... as Mike Dougherty once said "the less you know about your villain, the scarier he is."

ZedWord said...

But the real question is whether Loomis screams, "I SHOT HIM SIX TIMES!" over and over again in this version. That could be a deal breaker for me.

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