Halloween II
posted August 28, 2009 4:43 PM
Zombie aims to make us feel every brutal blow
Rob Zombie's approach to the Halloween franchise is clinical. His first installment delved into Michael Myers' psychology as an abused child, as dark and frightening a place as the forest with his heavy footsteps close behind. This second take is medical—the first 10 minutes don't need a machete to upend your stomach. Zombie's fixated with what the doctors have to do to put Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) back together again after the ambulance whisks her away from her first/last stand against her psychopathic brother. Several close-ups of stitches and peeled fingernails later and Zombie's viewpoint is clear: he's taking Michael's inexorable killing spree to its brutal extreme, and he wants us to feel every blow. Horror audiences who want their deaths with a jolt of laughs will gravitate to The Final Destination, so opening numbers should be modest, but expect to see Halloween II, like Michael himself, tirelessly stumbling along until it makes good on its humble expectations.
After a decade plus of sardonic slashers and tongue-in-cheek massacres (the best of which was Sam Raimi's recent Drag Me To Hell), Zombie's straightforward and cruel approach to Michael's brother-from-hell franchise feels oddly fresh. (His idea of humor is cutting from Laurie explaining she's a vegetarian to Michael eating a raw dog heart.) Unlike today's flicks, Zombie never winks, and unlike the sexy '80s screamers, he doesn't stack his cast with bimbos. Last year's nightmare has turned Laurie miserably punk. She and best friend Annie (Danielle Harris) aren't the type to take titillating bubble baths; their spray-painted bathroom looks like a crime scene even before Michael's boots stomp up the stairs. In short, they look like White Zombie fans, which must be a thrill for the goth-billy teens in the theater.
The girls live with Annie's dad, Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif), whose character reverberates with paternal love, and set about trying to recover from last year's attack. Laurie's in therapy but beset every night by bloody nightmares (Zombie's cheap way to ensure there's a stabbing every 8 minutes). And though everyone assures her that Michael must be dead, his corpse is still at large.
Meanwhile, Michael's shrink Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) is on a press tour promoting his latest book on his most infamous patient, and receiving either angry boos or creepy applause. Until Michael gets riled up, Loomis is the monster, an alpha jerk who wears rock star shades and snipes to his assistant, "When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you." A killer with his spark would make a great movie. But, of course, we're stuck with Michael, who ties Jason for being Hollywood's dullest mass murderer. The casting of Tyler Mane is as good as the franchise can get—his silent size is scary as heck. He doesn't do much besides lurch and smash. Or, to be accurate, smash and smash and smash—he'd rather stab a nurse 20 times than slice her neck. Halloween II is just that: a death march. Michael's too clumsy a character to invite the audience on a dance of suspense, but if you like your blood thick and your humans miserable, go ahead and follow his lead.
Distributor: Dimension
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Chase Wright Vanek, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Caroline Williams, Malcolm McDowell and Tyler Mane
Director/Screenwriter: Rob Zombie
Producers: Malek Akkad, Andy Gould and Rob Zombie
Genre: Horror/Slasher
Rating: R for strong brutal bloody violence throughout, terror, disturbing graphic images, language, and some crude sexual content and nudity.
Running time: 101 min.
Release date: August 28, 2009
17 Comments
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Gilles de Bathory said:
I enjoyed this film immensly!
August 28, 2009 11:51 PM
MrPeepers said:
spot on review
August 29, 2009 1:25 AM
Justin said:
This movie was bad...not just bad, but horridly, grotesquely bad. No plot, no suspense, and only the most degraded minds would find this enjoyable. It was horrible! This review was right on...there is nothing more than how much blood can be splashed on the floor of any given scene.
August 29, 2009 4:06 AM
kayla said:
i like the old ones better..
August 29, 2009 8:49 AM
stephen king said:
worst movie i ever spent money on...period...what the hell man...
August 30, 2009 8:05 AM
lynch said:
I love Zombie, but this movie was horrid. He needs to let somebody write his scripts.
August 30, 2009 1:49 PM
nobody said:
I loved John Carpenter's original Halloween and Halloween 2. I loved Rob Zombie's Halloween.
But this one was just terrible.
August 30, 2009 3:11 PM
tommylee said:
this should be burned and Zombie should be hanged for destroing one of the best horror movies of all time.
September 1, 2009 9:35 AM
TIZED94 said:
I have been and always will be a Halloween fan, I especially loved the old movies, I will admit at first I did not care for Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween but I bought it (as I did the complete old series) and I watched it again & sorta got into it and thought this is'nt that bad but this H2 I am absolutely stunned... Laurie Strode drunk with dreadlocks? I will admit the graphics were awsome but what good are they if the storyline sucked? Dr Sam Loomis a self centered cocky smart A## ? Donald Pleasence God rest his soul kicked that characters a##, noone could nail that character like he did? Like I said I am a diehard Halloween fan and I will go watch however many they make but please listen to us and take more time and pay more attention to the storyline and less time trying to fit "your friends" (that are in all your movies) into the picture. The potential here is more than fantastic, like I said the graphics were great & the storyline actually started out pretty interesting before going straight down the toilet.... I am gonna 4ever have nightmares of Laurie being drunk with dreadlocks.... Make my nightmares end & take your time with H3 and make it more enjoyable for us diehard fans.
September 1, 2009 11:15 AM
himasaid said:
forrealthisisascarymovie
September 5, 2009 12:48 PM
cadillak said:
best halloween ever dont get mad he killed some old ladies old people hahaha
September 6, 2009 2:57 AM
esmeralda said:
i love any halloween movie good or badd just please make a h3 and h4
September 6, 2009 10:51 PM
God said:
Are you people insane? OK, I've watched all the Halloween movies to date and there are only 2 worthwhile Halloween Movies, John Carpenter's Halloween and Rob Zombie's Halloween. All the sequals (on both lines of films) have been garbage.. none so bad as Halloween 2 by Rob Zombie. I would rather watch Busta Rhymes bust Myers ass for 2 hours than sit through 60 seconds of Zombie's latest "vision". I have the say I loved House of 1000 Corpses, even better was The Devil's Rejects and his first Halloween was great as well with the whole first half following Myer's as a kid.. brilliant. This new one though is garbage. In my opinion the only redeeming quality of it was the hot punk girls getting drunk. Other than that it was nothing but boring, tedious nonsense watching myer's wonder around aimlessly and hack people up with no explaination or story worth noticing. And also what in God's name was with this white horse crap? Zombie has obviously taken a bit too much acid.
September 12, 2009 1:51 PM
lilsassy1000 said:
well it was bad but i think all Zombie needed was a better story line ......
September 12, 2009 3:09 PM
langy said:
Come on you so called halloween fans!! 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 were garbage! (7 wasnt bad)!!! rob zombies has taken halloween to its roots again and made michael scary again, the whole story felt real! am sick of all these negative reviews. .zombie as made a realistic vision and tried to make it dark and horrifiying. . when someone dies you feel it not like in the others were you just laugh and dont care. all you with the negatives, come on then give us a better vision or just go back to ressurection
October 22, 2009 8:08 AM
GIOVANNI STIVALETTA said:
HALLOWEEN 2 WAS THE BEST BEST BEST BEST HALLOWEEN OF ALL TIME CARPENTERS SUCKED I CANT STAND JOHNS HALLOWEEN ITS SOBORING AND THERE ARE ONLY FIVE KILLS IN THIS MOVIE THERE IS LIKE 30 OR 25 BEST HALLOWEEN EVER WHO EVER WRIGHTS BAD STUFF ABOU THIS MOVIE CAN GO DIE
November 4, 2009 12:44 PM
GIOVANNI STIVALETTA said:
HALLOWEEN 2 IS THE BEST BEST HALLOWEEN EVER ITS SHOULD HAVE GOT FIVE STARS NOT 2 AND A HALF BESIDES CARPENTERS HALLOWEEN SUCKED AND IT WAS REALLY BORING AND REALLY DUMB HALLOWEEN 2 KILLS HAD ATLEAST 25 TO 30 KILLS **** ALL U PEAPLE WHO THINK ITS BAD AND **** JOHN CARPENTER AND HIS BORING HALLOWEEN COMPARED TO THIS MOVIE THE OLD HALLOWEEN IS RATED G GO **** CARPENTER U DIRTY BASTARDS
November 4, 2009 12:53 PM