Halloween II

Halloween II

Halloween II - Written and directed by Rob Zombie, starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Malcolm McDowell, and Tyler Mane - Rated R (Unrated cut on DVD)

This movie just spits venom all over the place. There is no joy in it, no camp, no likable characters, etc. It's all very brutal. That's not really a knock on the film, but I could have used a break from the constant cussing and gore in this film. I would have also liked to have a character to slightly care about. I could care less what happened to Laurie Strode in this film. She was hateful to everyone around, she cusses to the point of stupidity, and she is constantly screaming. I don't just mean when Michael Myers is chasing her, either. She freaks out throughout the entire film. Which is understandable since she's been through so much, but I don't want to see it. And you know what, I don't really care for Michael Myers. I'll take my slasher flicks with a hockey mask, thank you. Oh, and someone should have told Rob Zombie, "Make sure Michael wears his mask the whole movie and he shouldn't have dialogue, not even a single grunted word." Zombie needs to take his "vision" (as the previews called it) to an original story rather than trying to force one of his stories into a Halloween packaging. I would much rather see something along the lines of The Devil's Rejects than this miserable crap. If this film had been made by a no-name, I would consider it mediocre, but Rob Zombie is wasting his time with this, so I judge this a bit harshly.

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Halloween II

Following straight on from the events in part 1. Rob Zombie allows himself to remake the 2nd instalment of John Carpenters franchise. Sadly it's all down hill from part 1. I'm struggling find anything good to say about this film apart from maybe the casting.

The now deceased Deborah Myers (played by Sheri Moon) , Michael Myer's mother returns as a ghost and figment of MM's imagination spuring him on to find Laurie and 'Unite' them all in death. This is incredibly cliche and I cant help but think Zombie was unable to not give his wife a part in this film.

It completly frustrates me to see Zombie remaking films like these, when will he see he is limiting himself with slasher flicks, its just borring now and old. Just when I thought the genre was perking up with House of 1K Corpses and Devil's Rejects, he goes and brings us this rubbish.

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http://robinollysays.blogspot.com

Super Marcey's Halloween II Review

Rating: 2/5

I am a fan of Rob Zombie’s Halloween,  and I was looking forward to seeing the sequel, that was until it was  released and it got terrible reviews and hardly anyone seemed to like it  at all. I had to wonder where could it have gone wrong? The trailers  looks extremely promising, and Rob Zombie in my opinion has shown  himself a very capable and interesting director (I am a big fan of House  Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects). I finally sat down to watch  this film, and I have to say my reaction after seeing it was ‘Rob Zombie  just took a giant poop all over me’.

You are probably wondering, now why was  that my reaction? Well after the first film, and the direction he took  with this, I just felt as a fan he slapped me across the face, I felt  insulted. Most of the things I really loved about the first film were  just washed away with this. It started off very promising, it starts off  right after the first one ended with a nice homage to the original  Halloween 2 sequel with the hospital setting. Now I watched the  Director’s Cut and in this version it skips ahead two years later rather  then just one. Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton) is a mess, living with  Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and her father Sheriff Brackett (Brad  Dourif). Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) is alive and has been living like a  hobo and killing people. Dr Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has written a book  and he has become a real jerk off. Since Halloween is approaching, and  Laurie is loosing it, Michael decides to return and kill. Oh did I  mention Michael sees his dead mother (Sherri Moon Zombie) in white with a  white horse in strange visions and so does Laurie, and it make no  sense.

To say it plain and simple I felt this  was mostly a complete mess. The visions I felt were so unnecessary, I  mean we know Michael is not a sane person, we went over all of that in  the first one and adding this white horse and mother stuff was just  silly and a dumb reason to bring Sherri back. Note to Rob, you do not  have to have your wife in all of your films! Laurie was a completely  different character, yes she has been through something terrible, but it  apparently made her an extremely unlikeable twat! All I wanted to do  was slap her non stop every time she was on. She was annoying, stupid  and just a plain old pain in the back side. Sure they tried to explain  it with therapy sessions, but her therapist seemed a bit on the idiotic  side (although a nice cameo by Margot Kidder). And as it went on it just  got worse and worse, and while I didn’t mind in the end how they  handled her character I thought the dumb visions were really not needed.  We have Dr Loomis, possibly one of my favourite things from the first  one, now he is just a big jerk and like Laurie so unlikable you just  want to slap him around and punch him in the face. Why was it neccessary  to make these characters unlikable? You need to like them, but you  don’t and it makes the film that much worse.

There were some decent elements, the  Brackett’s for one. Annie and her father are really the only likable  characters, and they are fleshed out more in the film. You do care for  them and to see how Laurie treats them you just want to again slap the  little bitch. Both Danielle Harris and Brad Dourif give the best  performances in the film, and you do really feel for everything they go  through. I would have enjoyed a film just based on them vs. Michael.  Tyler Mane again does a really good job as Michael, Michael is a brutal  character, even more so in this film I thought. I had no problems with  the hobo look, it made sense to me. The mask after years has withered  and that too made sense, it wasn’t going to stay perfect was it? One  thing Zombie knows how to do is raw brutality, and he does that well  here. We get some really nasty kills, very sadistic and brutal kills. He  at least has the balls to do that, and I do applaud him for doing that.  However next time Mr. Zombie please do not insult me, I don’t like  getting pooped on dude.


(Written on March 28th 2010, first published at SuperMarcey.com)

Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-03-27 20:20:05 by SuperMarcey

Halloween

My original Destination on Friday night was meant to be a Final one, but due to an error, my buddy picked up tickets to the 2-D showing of The Final Destination as opposed to the "in yo face" version of the film. So with time constraints lingering over our heads, we opted to check out Rob Zombie's second incarnation of his rebooted Halloween series. I am one of the few that didn't completely hate the first Halloween remake, I thought the theatrical version had some solid moments, but the film mostly suffered from too much being crammed into one uneven story. The DVD release on the other hand, was different enough from the theatrical release to almost make the film unbearable, but I would rather not spend time on remake past, so I'll just get into my thoughts onHalloween II already.

I'm not planning on spending too much time on this film, because it is clearly not worth spending too much time on, and I would gather that most that have seen the film would agree with me, though I haven't seeked out any one else's thoughts on the film to really know what other horror fans think. I actually liked the first 35 minutes ofHalloween II; it was going along at a good pace as it took off right where the first film had ended. There are some grotesque little touches that were satisfying to the sadistic horror fan in me, and the way everything is shot and presented is quite impressive. Halloween II's first act, if you will, works as a pretty solid Slasher film, a Slasher that is very mean spirited with some harsh moments strewn about, but then, the 35 minute mark hits.

If you have, or if you will see Halloween II, you will know what happens at the 35 minute mark that made me think to myself "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" And things just went downhill from that moment and just continuously got worse the longer the movie went on. Story wise, Halloween II is basically Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) coming back to life, where he then proceeds to spend almost the entire film, making his way back to Haddonfield so he can have a sort of "family reunion" with his kid sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). With her parents murdered in the first Halloween, Laurie is now living with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif aka CHUCKY!) and his daughter/Laurie's best bud, Annie (Danielle Harris) who survived a brutal attack via Myers, but lived so she could serve the plot of the very film we are discussing here.


The other main character from the first Halloween making a return is Dr Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), who amazingly still has eyeballs after what seemed to be his demise in the first film. To me, Loomis seems to have absolutely no point in this film except to serve as the catalyst for Laurie finding out that Myers and she are siblings (via his new book). Other than that, he serves no other real purpose except to be a separate story line that is just meant as filler material for when Myers wasn't eating dogs, or when Laurie wasn't hanging out in crusty bathrooms covered in graffiti and draped in bad florescent lighting.

Another recurring character is Misses Voorhees err...I mean, MissesMyers as played by Sheri Moon Zombie. I personally have no problem at all with Rob Zombie using his wife in his films, she's not agreat actress, but at times she is serviceable, plus I think she's pretty hot, though she unfortunately refrains from showing her butt crack in this movie. Butt...her character in this film is that of a ghostly apparition, and how her ghostly appearance serves the plot is just plain terrible, on top of her showing up five times too many - with a horse to lame it up a bit. I won't go into detail as to what purpose Mama Myers serves, but it is one of the bigger issues with Halloween II's story line.


Another big problem with the story is situations are created for the soul purpose of having someone to kill for Michael Myers. This happens in plenty of Slasher films, sure, but it seems like it happened more in Halloween II, than in your average film of the genre. I did get a kick out of the kills for the most part, they are very mean spirited, and there isn't anything silly, or unrealistic about them - every murder is very harsh and simple, but still disturbingly satisfying. I was honestly kinda shocked at how much violence got by the MPAA, and for them to garner Halloween II an R rating is a big surprise. While I did like these kills, I think many horror fans will find them off putting, especially in the context of a Halloween movie. I don't mean Zombie's Halloween, but the original series. It may offend some of those fans, but this isn't the original series, so I'm fine with it.

Michael Myers look is something that should certainly get a shit load of classic Halloween fans all riled up. I think it's funny to be honest, so many complain about the essence of the original Michael Myers being completely disregarded, and how it's a travesty and an embarrassment to the original Boogeyman character from Halloween past to handle Michael Myers the way that Zombie does. However, if Zombie had made his films in the same vein as the original series, and stuck to those characteristics of Michael Myers, we would have something like Gus Van Sant's Psycho all over again...how did that one go over? I appreciate that Zombie has tried to make the character different, and his own; going a different direction gives us something new to watch, instead of treading the same shallow water that has been gone over numerous times in the original series. On top of that, in the sequels, Michael Myers usually looked pretty shitty in comparison to the '78 Carpenter film, so I would prefer a drastic change to the characters look over a moronic over sized mask like the ones found in the middle of the original franchise.


Personally, I thought the new, revamped, Myers looked very badass and it was nice to see a realistic take on the character. There are three different versions of Myers to be found in this movie - the first would be the classic look, the second would be the homeless Myers, and thirdly, a hybrid of the two styles. As I said, I like the realistic aspects of the character, and when you see Myers walking around in the woods without his mask, but rocking a seriously dope beard, it may be a little strange for some. But why would Myers be wearing a mask when he isn't killing people and no one is around? In addition, having a beard is much more plausible than having him shave - out in the woods - with no bathroom - let alone a mirror or a place to keep his Mach 3 and shaving gel (his skin is very sensitive).


 As for how the movie is actually made, on a technical level,Halloween II has some seriously impressive scenes, with a style all Zombies own. This dude has real talent, and people who say other wise are being obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious. There are moments where his grimy white trash look shines through in fantastic ways, but there is this other side of him that drops the ball completely. It's almost like Zombie has two styles: One being the very pleasing to the eyes, subdued, gloomy, trashy look that shows his strength as a filmmaker. On the other hand, he has a repugnant side that is an overblown version of his trashy style of movie making. This is the style that was very prevalent in the utterly terrible House of a 1,000 Corpses. These are the scenes when everything becomes orange and the camera gets all wacky and wild! so distracting, and unbecoming of what is done in the rest of the film.

These loathsome techniques are mainly found in the strip club scene...yes, Zombie has once again found a way to fit in a strip club scene. But he really didn't find a way to fit it in, as it has nothing to do with the story line of the movie. Then there's the party scene. Ugh...I was so all done by time the party scene came to be - what part of Haddonfield would I look to find a place with hot girls dancing topless on separate stages, while some rockabilly band plays music...that everyone seems to like?! The scene reminded me of the Titty Twister found in From Dusk Till Dawn. However, the Titty Twister was in the deserts of Mexico, not in a fucking suburban area neighborhood!


In the end, I really wish that we had gone to see The Final Destination instead...at least I know what I'm getting out of that movie, and it is something that I usually really enjoy. I am a very forgiving person with my cinema, and can find some good in many movies that I probably shouldn't. With Halloween II, even though I dug some of the kills, Myers' look was appealing to me, and I liked most of Zombie's film style, there just wasn't enough good to offset the bad. I wouldn't say not to see Halloween II though, it may be worth it for some of the positive aspects I mentioned, and maybe you will be more forgiving than I. I'll probably watch it again, and chances are I will like it a little bit more, now that I know it sucks, and my low expectations are completely nonexistent.

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Recommendations: High Plains Drifter , Dalkomhan insaeng , Dial M for Murder

Halloween 2

Halloween II

Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie,Chase Wright Vanek, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif and Malcolm McDowell

Director: Rob Zombie

Genre: Horror

Rated: R

Halloween II is the sequel to Rob Zombies interpretation of the Michael Mysers Legend.

While the first Halloween from Rob Zombie takes its cues from John Carpenter just extremely amped up; The second one is 100% Rob Zombies vision.

All the visionary elements of Zombies style are here the great lighting, the gritty realism and the strangely macabre visuals. Halloween II follows Lorie Stroud as she tries to pick up the pieces of her young life while dealing with the bad dreams that haunt her. At the same time Michael Myers is heading her way and killing everyone in his path.

What sets Zombies Halloween apart from the others is the gritty realism and sheer brutality of his Michael Myers, Zombies version of Myers doesn’t just quickly slash with a knife and go on his way to the next victim, this Myers will slash you and then stab you twenty more times to make sure the job is done.

Halloween II visually reminded me of Zombies House of 1000 corpses. With different camera techniques utilized as well as a combination of interior claustrophobia juxtaposed against the moody atmosphere of an empty field on a moonlit night. Zombie puts on the screen what he finds scary and for the most part he is right. The hardcore Fans will flock to this version while the average person who catches the occasional horror film will not enjoy this nearly as much.

3 sniper kittens for me but only 2 for mainstream america.

Opinion: This movie is trippy as hell with these crazy dream sequences,  the scene where myers boot stomps a dude till his face is unrecognizable is pretty awesome. Could have done without the Rocky Horror picture show costume. Chicks with Sideburns = not sexy. Also really glad that topless girls are thrown in for no reason at all at the Halloween party.